Jan 12, 2011

Volcano quilt: Pele, goddess of fire and dance


When Clark saw my finished volcano quilt last night, he was was quiet. I know it's not pretty, but ... Finally he said, "Pele."

Pele is the goddess of volcanoes & violence, fire & lightning … & also of dance. She lives in the mouth of Kilauea Volcano, where we visited last year. I wasn't consciously thinking of her as I made this, but her spirit must have inhabited my workshop. I hope she stays!

I began this quilt collage in Maya Schoenenberger's workshop sponsored by Quilters Unlimited. It's 20 1/2" x 21 1/2", made of cotton, paper, acrylic paint, tulle, packing material, felt, silk, velvet, organza, burlap, & sand. (I was reading a biography of Jackson Pollack, which told me he mixed sand with paint to produce lava-like drips. I borrowed a cup of sand from Ana's sandbox & mixed it 1:1 with acrylic: Pollack was right!) Machine appliqued, & mostly machine quilted, with a little trapunto & a little hand quilting.

3 comments:

Jess in FL said...

Hi, Kathleen! Found your blog address at the bottom of your email about the show and tell you had last December (which I was too sick to go to). I'd like to see your Pele quilt in person sometime. I saw a real Jackson Pollack once after seeing lots of his work reproduced in art textbooks, and trust me, there's no comparison. I never thought I liked him much, but I was impressed by the actual painting--the scale and complexity and texture of his work doesn't translate very well in small scale photos.

Kathleen said...

Have been obsessed with quilt-making... Thanks for your thoughtful response. Our paths will cross again, since we're both in FL.

Cindy said...

This is gorgeous Kathleen. I'm just blown away by your work.

It's so ......

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