Out of Left Field

"New Zealand: Pukeko" ©2015, 9" x 27"

Confession, Diane, my piece has nothing to do with baseball, beyond the fact that it was something that took place in a field on a sunny day.  I did totally embrace the play idea, though, and had a wonderful time with it, and thank you very much for that…….not that it started out that way.

I had the great good fortune to be invited to accompany Betty on a teaching trip to the Quilt Symposium Manawatu in New Zealand last month.  Planning to be away, I thought to bring some things with me to work on the Play Ball Challenge.  As it happened, I didn't use any of them, but instead, participated in Lisa Walton's "Permission to Play" class.  A real "freeing" class - we painted and dyed and sun printed, and stamped and stenciled, and did various and sundry other things to lots of squares of cotton and bits of velvet.  At the end of the second day, there was a stack of a dozen pieces of unrelated fabrics that I had no idea what I might do with.

Ta-da!  I actually used every single piece I made!  First, the pieces of fabric were divided by value (the color kind :), then sewed them together in randomly cut strips creating 4 different strip-pieced fabrics to work play with. In the interest of trying more new things, I attempted freeform curves.  It came out really cool - a kaleidoscopic, colorful world!  This was layered it with spatter-painted organza and quilted.

And, of course, there had to be birds!  The birds were from photos taken on the trip to New Zealand.  Pukeko is the Maori name for the purple swamphen. Our very patient host in Golden Bay, Liza Eastman, stopped the car here and there (and everywhere) so I might take pictures of them - but they were never very close.  Still, their shape and posture was so distinct and the chase was a memorable part of the trip.

"New Zealand: Pukeko", detail

The pukeko were made with collaged crumpled tissue paper and matte medium on crinoline.  I trimmed them and fused them to the quilted background and then stitched them.  It was all great fun, the whole process - - and I know I am better at this than baseball!

In closing Viewpoints 9's second cycle, I have to say this is the best team I have ever played with!  Thanks, everyone, for a winning season!  I'm looking forward to the next cycle and the prospect of getting to see each of you in person at some point over the next year!

After Life

After Life ©2014, 9" x 27"

Thanks for this challenge, Betty.  It had the wheels turning despite all of the hubbub of holidays, which, in retrospect, may be the genesis of some of this.  I embraced the phrase "hidden potential" and tried to work with that idea.  Suddenly everything I considered had hidden potential.  My piles of fabric, the fruit on my trees, my children, an airplane trip…  The one thing I kept coming back to was the sunrise on a new day.  Everyday is filled with opportunity and promise as the sun rises over the trees (or sand or snow).  What can happen in a day?  Almost anything.  We work to have control over our path in life and yet, it can all change in a matter of moments.  It can be fabulous, it can be disaster, and yet every morning I rise and see the sun and I am filled with optimism and hope.  For myself, for my family and friends, for the whole world.  So much potential.

After Life evolved from the idea of a sunrise, to take on greater personal meaning.  I looked through my photos of sunrises, from mountain tops, on beaches, and settled on a photo of the sunrise I took the morning my father had passed away.  As I left his side and wandered to the parking lot, the sun was just coming up over the trees.  It was Sunday morning.  My father was a minister and rose early, often before sun up, on Sundays to prepare for church.  How fitting.  And what of the hidden potential of an afterlife?  What is after life?

After Life is made from hand-painted silk organza.  There are 3 layers of pojagi like patchwork, the sunrise, in yellows and oranges, is only on the bottom layer.  The tree line is a photo transfer of my image.  I was pleased to perfect the tiny French-type seams - something new.  The sewing is both machine and handwork.

Backlit (may favorite way to view pojagi), the piece shares another glimpse of hidden potential.

After Life (backlit)

Magic Beans

The Challenge: a vessel with hidden potential that could change the world.  Seeds came to mind.  I guess they came to a lot of people's minds. The potential to feed the world.  Jack and the Beanstalk.  The miracle of life.

    Consider a seed.  Add water and sunlight…..and they do the rest!

Seeds are fascinating.  Did you know - if you plant an apple seed, you will not necessarily get the variety of apple the seed came from?  The type of apple you get is determined by pollination.  

So if you plant a Braeburn, you could get a Fuji. That's sort of hidden potential….I hadn't really contemplated this until recently….interesting.

But, could their hidden potential change the world?  In the tropics, there are varieties of plants that grow seeds with thick, water-tight coats inside large pods.  

As the pods decompose, the seeds fall to the ground where they can be washed to rivers and subsequently, to the sea, where they become caught in the currents and drift.  Because of their buoyancy, they can drift for thousands of miles. A different kind of potential...

They say Christopher Columbus was intrigued by tropical seeds he observed on the beaches in the Azores.  The sea heart (Entada gigas), left, is called "fava de Colom" or Columbus bean there.

Isbjörn

"Isbjörn" ©2014

The polar bear (Isbjörn or ice bear) has come to be the poster child for climate change, standing adrift on its dwindling iceberg.  With only 20,000 to 25,000 bears worldwide, polar bear status was raised to threatened in the US (Alaska) and vulnerable in several other places they reside.  Loss of sea ice is the primary threat to polar bear populations as they hunt and breed on the ice.  Changing temperatures mean earlier melt and later freeze which in turn limits time to hunt and build the thick layer of fat necessary to survive and reproduce and nurse their cubs.

Why should you care?  Polar bears are known as an indicator species - they are the top link in a marine environment food chain, thus their survival and status is indicative of the entire ecosystem.  Additionally, the polar bear plays an important role in the cultures and economies of Arctic peoples.  A failing ecosystem affects us all.

Details: Isbjörn, 40 cm x 80 cm
            Raw-edge appliquéd hand-dyed silks and cottons with machine quilting.
            *inspired by a photo by Kathy Crane, NOAA Arctic Research Program

Meet the Beetles

June Bugs emerging from the ground,  North Carolina

One of my scientist friends is a climate change expert and has come to meetings in California the last couple years.  It's given us a chance to catch up and, for me, to learn new things.  This year, when we were out walking, I asked what the biggest issues were going to be that we would be facing imminently.  You can probably guess the first would be water.  Next?  Bugs!  Bigger, buggier bugs.  We see evidence of this already with Lyme disease, Dengue Fever and West Nile Virus on the rise, and the influx of fire ants and killer bees.  As the temperature has risen, the range of insect species expands and as they expand, the damage they do can be catastrophic, destroying crops, exacerbating the spread of wildfire, and spreading disease.

Mantis on my mailbox

It's not all gloom and doom, though.  Insects really are fascinating.  Although they can wreak havoc, they also do a lot of good, from pollinating plants to natural pest control.  My praying mantis visitors are always a welcome sight, as I understand (and hope) they can control black widow populations.  And entertainment wise, you can't beat a field of fireflies on a warm summer evening.

Dobsonfly

It does seem like there are more bugs than I recall in the past - bigger, more exotic ones, things I've never heard of.  We were visited by a "Dobsonfly" at a playground in Maine this summer.  A huge thing, with 4" wings and when its photo was blown up, quite intimidating!  Apparently, rare and harmless, but quite amazing.  I find I've been photographing more insects these days.  Changing interests?  New camera?  More bugs?










Another interesting take on insects…In a report released last year, the UN reminds us there are more than 1,900 edible insect species! Apparently 80% of the world already eats bugs, something the western world is reticent to embrace.  The most commonly eaten insect - beetles - long-horned, dung, june and rhinoceros varieties.  High in protein, they can be roasted over coals and enjoyed like popcorn.  Or enjoy the latest pairings, Beer and Bugs!  Embrace the change!

Dinner

Viewpoints 9 Exhibitions

Viewpoints 9 is pleased to announce a special exhibition of contemporary fiber art selected from each of the original 2012 and 2013 challenges. Exhibits will be held at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XXI, September 18-21, 2014 and Quiltfest Oasis Palm Springs, October 2-4, 2014. 

To learn more about the artwork in the exhibition, visit www.Viewpoints9.blogspot.com.

Wild Life: Salmon

Wild Life: Salmon, 9" x 27"

I have been contemplating the tragic extinction of species and the curious arrival of new hybrid species as our climate changes and our world evolves.  Pacific salmon have had a rough ride in this story.  An incredible group of species, they are born and raised in freshwater, spend their adulthood in saltwater, and years later, return to their natal freshwater rivers and streams to start the next generation.

Historically, these salmon have thrived with annual runs in the millions.  However, in recent years many of the runs have exponentially declined.  The causes are many - destruction of habitat, overfishing, water diversion, climactic changes, to name a few.  Loss of these fish species would be devastating in and of itself. But, the environment is an incredibly complex mesh of interactions between species.  There is nothing that exists truly independently and most have an amazing number of connections to organisms.  Scientists in Washington state have identified over 130 species that have one or more relationships with Pacific salmon - from humans to bald eagles to macro invertebrates.  Loss of any species, will have reaching effects, some, farther than others.  So, this is my animal kingdom "Stitch in time…".  Saving one species, in turn, saves many.  Biodiversity is critical to everyone's future.

Wild Life: Salmon was a total surprise.  I started the piece with just this beautiful piece of linen.  On a visit with Diane Wright, I added some Japanese fabrics from her collection. I was sure it was going to become some sort of hand-stitched, contemporary sampler, but, miraculously, Salmon evolved. It is raw-edge appliqué with machine quilting and machine and hand embroidery.

Some thoughts on Samplers

from the Benton County Historical Society & Museum

I've been on the road thus far this round and have had the opportunity to consider different interpretations of our "Stitch in Time" challenge, but I keep coming back to the stitching part in general and this sampler idea in particular.  One of the things I really love about V9 is going down that rabbit hole researching on the internet when I have an idea for a theme. I've barely scratched the surface and I've uncovered so many interesting stories about samplers - so much to consider!

Million dollar schoolgirl embroidery

In the past, a sampler would likely conjure an image like the one above, done by 10 year old Dolly Parker.  In simplest terms, a demonstration of needlework skills.  But, of course, they are so much more!  The Benton County site (link above) has pictures of samplers from around the world, each depicting a personal history and cultural/regional traditions over time. An exquisite example (right), stitched by 12 year old Mary Antrim in 1807, recently sold for over a million dollars!

Elizabeth Parker's Sampler

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has quite a bit of information about samplers including this very interesting story about a "confession" sampler by a young woman, Elizabeth Parker, sharing her most deeply personal thoughts.  All of these captured my imagination for the first time as I traveled, and examples frequently turned up in the antique stores in New England.  Something I'd known of, but never gave a lot of thought to its history and significance.

Mary Lancaster collection

Something even less familiar to me, were the "practical" or plain sewing samplers.   My brother had a great example in his house, which I neglected to photograph, but I've found several photos online, courtesy of the Embroiderers' Guild of South Australia Museum.  There are pieces from the Mary Lancaster collection and have particular significance as they demonstrate the skills taught in So. Australian schools in the first half of the 20th century.

I'm especially intrigued by these last 2 pieces as I love their asymmetry and their almost "architectural" quality.  Not sure what I will create this challenge, but this has been a great introduction to the recent history of stitching for me.  Thanks, Sue!

Mary Lancaster collection

Grace

"Grace" ©2014, 9" x 27"

How did I wind up here?  Alicia's challenge was a free-association extraordinaire for me.  I struggled to get beyond the "what are the odds" idea until the last time I read the quote.  At home, we've been talking a lot about social justice and the concept of privilege - so the last time I read it, I read the final line as "I have had the privilege". Period.  And I realized, I have.  I have never gone to sleep hungry or in the street or not had clean water to drink.  I've had access to education and medical care.  I have lived in a place that is neither war torn or filled with violence.  I have had basic privileges that many go without, here in the US and abroad.

My piece, "Grace", is about those things that I am fortunate enough to have, but have done nothing to deserve them.  The piece was inspired by a photo my son took of the “pueblos jovenes” or young towns of north Lima, Peru where some 3 million people live in poorly constructed shacks in slum settlements. Most are lacking electricity and proper sanitation, while many homes have no potable water supply. So many things we take for granted.  So many privileges.  With all of the places in the world one can be - what are the odds I would wind up here?

"Grace" was created with multiple layers of photo transfers on silk organza.  Layers were assembled and machine stitched, colored pencil was added and then finished with machine quilting and hand embroidery.  9" X 27"

What Are the Odds?

Grandma Wolfe at 88, Lambertville, NJ

Off in a totally different direction with this challenge…..the discussion of chance and coincidence got me to thinking about probability in general and the odds of events which in turn lead me to:

Celebrating her 97th Birthday!

There's a billboard along the highway near where I live in Northern California announcing that 1 in 3 babies born today will live to see their 100th birthday!  My initial response was "that's ridiculous", but with a little investigation, I learned that that is, in fact, the case.  That's pretty good odds!  Turns out that I have about a 1 in 6 chance of seeing 100.  When my grandmother was born in 1887, the odds of living to 100 were well below 1 in 100.  But she beat the odds and did live to 100 and we all celebrated the event.

In Grandma Wolfe's arms, Plymouth, CT

She was an interesting woman.  She worked for 50 years as a tipstaff in the Pittsburgh courts.  I don't think she had much use for small children and her home reflected it.  We maintained a respectful distance from each other.  Despite our rough beginnings, as she got older, she softened, a bit, and when I was in my 20's we actually bonded, a bit, over one of her hobbies.





She was an avid contest enterer - you know, all of those sweepstakes that you see advertised everywhere - -  win a free trip…win a new home…win a car - - the ones you don't enter, because you'll never win.  She entered all of those, hundreds of times!  She'd been doing it for many years and she'd won with some regularity; money, TVs, wardrobes, etc.  When she asked me to help her, she was already in her 90's and she had her methods to increase her odds of winning.  Every 3" x 5" with your name and address was exactly 3" x 5", so you couldn't be disqualified for not following the rules to the letter!  I filled out 3" x 5"s.  She had envelopes in every conceivable color, to stand out and increase the odds of being drawn from a bin of envelopes.  I addressed envelopes.  And she mailed several entries a day, from different parts of the county, thereby increasing the number of places her entries were in the big pile.  I mailed letters.  Whatever she did, it worked.  In 1980, at the age of 93, she won 1st prize in a big Warner-Lambert Sweepstakes -$16K in cash, audio and video equipment, a library of videos. The town came out to celebrate her win with marching bands and a big banquet and she got a letter from the Vice President!

On occasions, she had me enter contests in my name, and we won at least a couple times that I can remember.  One win I will never forget was a $100 check for groceries - which at the time, with 2 young children, living paycheck to paycheck, was huge!  I took the check to the grocery store and shopped with abandon, putting whatever I felt like in the cart and when the cashier rang it up, it totaled exactly $100.00!  What are the odds of that?

Lost in Translation

"Jet Lag" ©2014, 27" x 27"

Lost in Translation is one of my favorite movies - - though I've never been really sure why.  For me, the  movie creates a familiar emotional space in a place that fills my imagination.  The young woman, looking at her life and wondering where it will take her.  The older man, looking at his life and wondering where he has been.  Seizing the opportunities that surround them.  Set against the backdrop of a hotel in Japan……..and jet lag.

Jet lag is an interesting experience.  Upon arrival, I shift into survival mode, and despite my addled mind staring out at unfamiliar scenery, I manage to find food and make conversation and contemplate some interesting thoughts about what is going on around me.  I guess that is the connection with the film, it's a familiar, fuzzy place. (And, coincidentally, when I looked the film up in the imdb, it was released in September (2003). Nice!)

My piece, "Jet Lag"began as a cityscape of Tokyo at night.  I envisioned layers of silk organza and satin over the hand-dyed cotton background bringing city lights to life.  But when the background was finished, I wasn't sure layering anything on top would add anything to it.  I liked the simple, "modernness" of it!  So, it remains, all pieced, hand-dyed cotton, machine quilted.  27" x 27"

….and I love it backlit, before I finished it :)

Platform 9 3/4

I've always loved movies on the big screen.  The dark room, the overwhelming sensory input - sight and sound - the opportunity to check out for a couple of hours and reset whatever was going on in your head before it started.  It's just not the same on a DVD or your cell phone.

My earliest movie experience was seeing "How the West Was Won" at age 7 with my two brothers - I remember almost nothing, except that it was incredibly long and had an intermission.  In retrospect, I wonder what my parents were up to…. In the following years, I fell in love with Julie Andrews in "Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins".  I wanted to sing and dance and be an actress and those movies fueled my imagination and were the soundtrack for my life.

Fast forward through many, many movies, to 2001, we began a decade of near annual releases focussed on going back to school - something that reminds me of September and autumn - with Harry Potter waiting at Platform 9 3/4 to go off to Hogwarts.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Harry Potter book series, reading the first few aloud to my youngest son before he was able to read them on his own.  And then it became a bit of a family affair with several generations of us sharing the books and movies.  It was a wonderful run of the beautiful English/Welsh/Scottish countryside and our imaginations all those years.  It was sad when it was over.

Alp Sigel

Alp Sigel ©2014, 27" x 9"

I've given a lot of thought to Lisa-Marie's 9 = nein = no challenge and it seems to play tricks on me. When has the negative been positive in my life?  So many different ways to go with that idea.  But I decided to build on my alpine tale (thanks for the suggestion, Kate).

In my experience, the greatest adventures I've had have been the result of saying no to logic and reason and taking a chance.  I'm sure there are plenty of instances where I've cast better judgement aside and the outcome has been less than positive….but I'm focusing on positive negatives.  The mountain biking down the mountain in the dark, or hitchhiking around Northern California or taking the ski lift to the summit the first time out…...things that could have gone either way, but wound up in the great memory category.  I now know, that if it's a little edgy and I'm a little undecided, it's worth it to take a chance.*

Such was the unexpectedly challenging hike up the mountain in the Alps with hungry children, darkness approaching, and possible rain.  In the morning, we were greeted by a herd of cows and these two very obliging models that posed over and over.

Alp Sigel was created with hand-dyed cottons, silk organza and painted non-wovens, layered and raw-edge appliquéd, with machine quilting and hand embroidery.

*Results may vary.

No Ideas

Oh, my, Lisa-Marie.  I think you have won for most challenging challenge, at least for me….  It's interesting that my current conundrum is similar to mine earlier with your "Preconception" challenge. I have lots of ideas for the opposite, i.e., things that "sounded really good at the time", but few, if any, of the "had my doubts but it worked out great" variety.  So, I am starting, like the picture above, not knowing where I am going…..

This past summer, I spent time with my brother, Ken, and his family in Switzerland, which is always a wonderful thrill for me.  My youngest son was eager to go hiking in the Alps, so my brother arranged a farm-stay for us at Alp Sigel, a beautiful rural area near the border of Liechtenstein.

Ken had indicated the first half of the way would be a fairly gentle, uphill walk and later there would be some more vigorous climbing, after the cafe mid-point.  We headed out, late afternoon, he and I, with our 3 youngest children.  About a quarter of a mile from where we had parked, the walk got steep - ten steps, stop, catch your breath, I can't talk, 10 steps and so on, through lush forests, past waterfalls, up and up.  Not what I was expecting - nor quite how he had remembered it - but, hey…we can do this.






Around 7PM, we reached the midway.  The first half had been a pretty brutally, challenging effort and it was time to reassess. Alas, the cafe was closed, so there were no snacks to be had.  We were now going to be navigating, hungry, into the forest through the "steep" part.  Darkness was coming, we hadn't packed a meal as we were expected for dinner at the farm.  It would be totally reasonable to turn back and perhaps make it to the car by dark. It's not a great idea to go on…..BUT, what's the worst that could happen?  It's an adventure, so despite my doubts (and keeping them to myself), we headed onward and upward.







Now we walked on steep, narrow switchbacks, single-file through the forest.  Cowbells rang in the distance, but we couldn't see the cows or at times, each other, consumed in a dense fog.  The temperature dropped and everything got damp, but we were warm from the effort.

And finally, we found our way, arriving at dark (thank goodness for l.o.n.g summer days) for one of those simple "best meals of your life"!  And so to bed…






When I made my way to the outhouse at 5 AM, I got the first glimpse of the breath-taking view all around us.  A gentle rain fell through the perfect sunrise, casting a rainbow on the mountains beyond.  The cows moo'ed and it was so idyllic I stood there, in the rain, and took at least a hundred photos.

And it just got more and more beautiful.  And, although, I would never have actually turned back and abandoned the adventure - I did have some trepidation about it, and went through with it.  And it did turn out exquisitely and will always be one of my favorite memories.

Does that count, Lisa-Marie?  Now to come up with an idea for my piece!

"Der fröhliche Wanderer"

"La Ville-Lumière", 9" x 27"

Thanks, Kate, for an interesting challenge.  As always, it inspired a lot of day-dreaming.  What would you do if you couldn't fail, if no harm could come to you?  Hmmm.

If I had 9 lives, I'd pack my bags and I would be out of here…..unquestionably, I would hit the road, all by myself.  With a pack, a camera and a GPS (okay, and probably an iPad or laptop), traveling far and wide, the more foreign, the better.  Visiting places where I can't decipher the signs with a cursory knowledge of Germanic languages. I'd visit Zanzibar and Namibia, India and Japan. I'd go to Morocco and Turkey and Thailand.  I'd climb mountains, soak in hot springs and witness celestial events.  I'd attend local celebrations and visit ancient ruins.  I'd wander off the beaten path and into fantastic cities. Everywhere. I'd go where I didn't know a soul or the language or the customs and I would experience it all and take it all in.  I'd send postcards to myself, collect tiny trinkets and baubles in my bag and take a million photos.  I would live in the moment, smiling to myself, rain or shine, humming "The Happy Wanderer".

And at some point, I would come home, briefly.

"La Ville-Lumière" (City of Lights), 9" x 27", was created with hand-dyed silk charmeuse, and silk and synthetic organzas, raw-edge appliquéd and machine quilted.  And, although I chose the Eiffel Tower to depict my travel bug, it would never be a destination in this venture. Far too western and familiar.

Kowabunga

Me……in my dreams

As a tweenager in land-locked Ohio, I lived my California, surfer-girl fantasy via Sally Field as Gidget!  Gidget's real name was Frances - - which is *my* middle name, so it had to be we were like the same person!  In an effort to experience California first hand (and to convince my parents it was the perfect vacation destination), I wrote the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce for information to plan my fictitious trip.  I was absolutely deluged with glossy flyers and coupons….but all for naught.

In 1967, our family relocated, very briefly, to Daytona Beach, FL.  Despite our close proximity to the Atlantic, we rarely made it to the beach and only once did I actually (attempt to) stand on a surf board.  Being a pale, freckled redhead, it was probably for the best.  But the fantasy persisted.  When Bruce Brown brought "The Endless Summer" to the Peabody Auditorium, *I was there*!  Everything about it appealed to me.  And continues to.  A poster from the movie graces the wall of my studio.

I don't know what the magic is about surfing, but it calls to me.  The opportunity to surf has been there in my life but it seems like there was always an excuse - not enough time, the water was too cold, the sun was too bright, whatever.  When I was turning 50, I found this great surf safari camp, Las Olas.  Their motto,  "we make girls out of women".  That was my plan for my celebration.  But, alas, it came and went.

But now that you've brought it up, Kate……maybe :)

Lisa-Marie, I can hear you the entire time I am writing this…..shush.

Time Trials (and tribulations)

"Time Trials", 9" x 27"

Having recently relocated to a community where biking is a primary form of transportation, I'm reacquainting myself with my bicycle and the joys of life on 2 wheels.  But my bike is 20+ years old…..which amazes me and amuses the bike mechanics in town.  It's still a good ride, it's been maintained over the years, and I intend to use it for a good while.  Nonetheless, it's obsolete in the biking technology world.

In our world, it seems like things lose their cutting-edge or go out of vogue and are cast aside and left to the landfill…..which makes me wonder, all these abandoned earthly goods were once shiny and new and made someone very happy.  Probably a metaphor for aging in there somewhere - but it's not intended.  New becomes old……where does that time go and all that goes with it?

"Time Trials", 9"x 27", was inspired by a series of abandoned bicycles (coincidently) photographed in and around Stockholm this past summer.  It is a raw-edge appliquéd collage of hand-dyed and painted cottons and silks, finished with machine quilting and hand embroidery.