My ideas about the past and present were formed fairly early
in life and dictated many of my decisions. For example, when I graduated from
college with a degree in accounting and the Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
exam under my belt, the career trajectory was clear: join a CPA firm and
complete the experience requirements to become a licensed CPA. I dutifully
interviewed with the major accounting firms and received several offers but,
through the interview process, I realized CPA duties were retrospective –
reviewing the past. I wanted to affect the future. 
In my quilt I tried to represent the importance of the
moment and how we choose to use it. I also wanted to depict the intersection of
past and future, and the reflections that our actions have both forward and
backward. Having said that, I really wish I’d reflected a bit more on the past,
I would have remembered that lamé is virtually impossible to use and
photograph. |
| "Time Trials", 9" x 27" |
A recent trip to Ireland provided the inspiration for this challenge. Unlike the relatively "young" USA where we think of history in terms of decades, Irish history is measured in millennia. My family name (O'Brien) harks back to Brian Boru, who united the tribes of Ireland 400 years before Columbus set out to "find" America.
Of the many things that captured my imagination during our visit to Ireland were these ancient stones carved with Ogham writing. The stones date back to 4th and 5th century AD, but some scholars believe the Ogham alphabet was invented around 100 BC.
There are a few hundred of these stones still standing today. They're typically carved with names, as memorial stones or border markers for tribal territories. Family stories are very important to the Irish, as a way to stay connected with past generations.
I based my drawing (image on left) on one stone that was found in County Kerry and later moved to Adare. 1,500 years ago, when this stone was freshly cut, it honored the people who lived before. Usually names were written as part of a family or lineage. This stone reads (translated to English) "Coillabus, son of Corbos, descendant of Qeraios". There were stones that listed daughters too, but not many survived and I didn't see any of them in person.
In this piece, I've added a mark of my own in Ogham letters, along right side of the composition. It reads "cate inigena iosef mucoi obrien". Crudely translated it means "Kate, daughter of Joseph, of the tribe O'Brien". (I apologize to any Irish language scholars; I have no idea how our names would be spelled in old Irish and the grammar is probably shite.) All I can say is my heart is in the right place.
This piece represents my appreciation for my parents, grandparents, and the people who raised them – as far back as our stories go. I doubt my marker will last a thousand years, but you never know. Maybe a generation or two.
Technical details: finished size 18"w x 45"h. The edges are not completely straight, which is a departure for me. I used a remnant piece of fabric for the background, and I liked the way it was shaped. Slightly imperfect, like a fragment of paper or weathered stone.
I created the image of the stone starting with light cotton fabric, spots drawn and colored with black sharpie markers. Black areas were then quilted heavily with dark thread, leaving the light areas in shallow relief. Light lines (on right) were cut in fabric strips, fused to background and quilted.
