Women's Words

The most recent challenge from my art quilting group was to make a 16 x 20" piece inspired by a story or anything literary. With the vitriol of the election underway, I chose The Handmaid's Tale, in which literacy (and therefore Scrabble) was forbidden by an authoritarian theocracy. When Margaret Atwood published her book in 1985, she described it as “Speculative Fiction.” By the time I read it in the mid 1990s, I cavalierly believed that earlier generations of feminists had pretty much solved the biggest problems for American women in the modern world, that there might be some ironing out and fine-tuning left to do, but that the bulk of the work had been done.

Nope.

Even a cursory level of attention to news about women’s healthcare, body autonomy, and political voice makes it clear that for every inch of progress, there has been pushback strengthened by economic woes, a poorly educated populace, and shamefully misinformed male decision makers.

The question I want this piece to inspire is: How “speculative” is this fiction?

Women's Words (16 x 20", 2016)

The grid arrangement of Scrabble words are inspired by the novel itself, but in quilting the spaces in between, I added some contemporary quotations that illustrate just how very far women still have to go. In mostly chronological order, starting with the outrageous example that probably inspired me to read the book in the first place:

“The facts show that people who are raped -- who are truly raped -- the juices don't flow, the body functions don't work and they don't get pregnant," North Carolina State Rep. Marvin Warren “Henry” Aldridge (R-Greenville), 1995

Women's Words, detail (North Carolina State Rep. Marvin Warren “Henry” Aldridge [R-Greenville], 1995)

“if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” – US Rep. Todd Akin (R-Missouri), 2012

Women's Words, detail (US Rep. Todd Akin [R-Missouri], 2012)

“ ‘If you’re going to go down that road, you may have consensual sex that night and then the next morning it may be rape.’ So the way he said it was, ‘Just remember, Roger, some girls, they rape so easy. It may be rape the next morning.’ ” – Wisconsin State Rep. Roger Rivard (R-Rice Lake), 2012

Women's Words, detail (Wisconsin State Rep. Roger Rivard [R-Rice Lake], 2012)

“If it’s an honest rape, that individual should go immediately to the emergency room. I would give them a shot of estrogen….” – US Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), 2012

“Bimbos”… “dogs” … “fat pigs” … “slobs” … “bleeding from her wherever” – Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump (1946 - ?)

Women's Words, detail (US Rep. Ron Paul [R-Texas], 2012)

Women's Words, detail (Donald J. Trump)

Women's Words, detail (Donald J. Trump)

So, again: Speculative?

Junk drawer challenge: Results

[ETA: This was #1 on my list of Q1 finish-along goals.]

My journal group has recently adjusted the schedule so that we make a group challenge every other month with general show-and-tell/technique-oriented meetings in between. Unfortunately, winter got the best of us this month so we cancelled our February gathering. I had been hoping to get photos of the remaining one or two projects that were not shown in January, but I will just edit this post later to add them.

Our project for January was to use a collection of junk drawer items; each of us brought in fifteen identical (or mostly so) items, which we then exchanged so everyone would have the same collection of random items to incorporate into a piece no larger than 18" on any side. The items were varied:

Ribbons, beads, bells, doodads...

Mostly because of the purple tassels and all the spangly bits, my initial thoughts were of desert horses in costumed riders...then carousels...but I ended up taking the equine shape in a more watery direction. I don't have a lot of process photos, although I did post a few onto Facebook (www.facebook.com/quiltingafterdark) and Instagram (@quiltingafterdark). I started with some lightly textured mostly-solids (something like Moda Grunge for the sky and a darker more washed green-blue for the water), added just a little pearly paint for some foamy texture in the water, then stitched the two pieces together with the wiggly white ribbon sandwiched between for a whitecap effect. The rest was an exercise in fabric collage and heavy embellishment. I'll let the photos and descriptive captions do the rest of the talking.

Poseidon's Chariot (2016, 18 x 18") -- see the original inspiration image

Poseidon's Chariot, detail -- extra beads (not in challenge packet) used for hair and beard; seashell as codpiece (get it? cod? It's funny because it's Poseidon!)

Poseidon's Chariot, lower left detail -- chariot is fussy-cut from a commercial nautilus print; heart clips attached as tail fin; folded hexagon cut into scallop shape with pearl embellishment; painted ribbons and yarns used as kelp and sea ferns

Poseidon's Chariot, jellyfish detail -- made by quartering a felt sphere, hand-sewing beads along edge, securing decorative ribbons to bottom, attaching in front of transparent "bubble" sequins.

Poseidon's Chariot, hippocampus detail -- made by folding tassel trim in half, hand stitching along applique as "mane" with tiny decorative bells interspersed; heart clips attached as "fins"; additional charm (not in the challenge packet) added as headdress.

I took photos of the other group members' "solutions" as well. These are identified only by name below.

Paula Fullar

Mary MacIlvain

Marlene Shea 

Susan Kozikowski

Gerry Terninko

Patti Slason

Rosemary Dziubinski

Anna Tufankjian

Color Journals: Purple for Ann Marie

Ann Marie likes purple, with accents of teal and turquoise; she wanted a page that conveyed something about the natural world or the idea of change. I started with a beautiful fabric with hints of metallic sheen, added a stylized silhouette applique, and finished with a little curved piecing in the lower section. Tight loopy quilting in the lighter fabrics made the bird shape stand out from the foam batting, almost a trapunto look. The words ahead of the bird's wings are the first line of Maya Angelou's "Caged Bird." I love her poetry, how she chose words that could transform the ugliest reality into beautiful possibility, and I thought they were appropriate for this lovely simple page.

Purple page for Ann Marie

Purple page for Ann Marie (reverse). For the first time ever, I planned the back too, so the outlined bird shape would appear to be dipping its wing into the orange sun rays.

First verse of Caged Bird

All caught up! I've already finished most of the work on the next page, blue and brown for Rose -- hint (but no spoilers!): my husband asked if we could keep this one...

Color Journals: Orange for Patti

Orange! I was a little surprised that somebody else picked orange, but happily so, since it gave me the chance to work in my favorite color. Patti asked us to make a page that would inspire her to work in different directions, so I decided to create a hard-line geometric page. I had been doodling on my triangle graph paper trying to get the look of ribbons woven through one another over the isometric grid; I realized that elongated hexagons in Y-shapes would do it.

The next challenge was to scale the design so it would work on an 8 x 10" page, so I used PowerPoint to draft the two shapes, scaled so the tiny triangle was 0.5" high and 0.58" wide. I basted three colors of oranges (light, medium, coppery dark) in sets of three, then sewed the Ys together. I didn't wrap or sew the white triangles until I had determined how many I would need to fill the space. I originally intended to embellish the Y intersections, but once I finished the hand quilting (not masterfully done, but let's call it a "wabi sabi" aesthetic...) it was done. I like that the small scale of the piecing remains central.

Orange journal page for Patti.

Color Journals: Daydreaming in blue for Gerry

Due to my vacation schedule, I haven't been able to attend my journal art meeting since April. I finally made it this Tuesday, with three projects that have been backlogged. I hope the delay wasn't too disruptive to the group. I'll put up separate posts for each.

My assignment for May was to make a page in blue plus a neutral for Gerry, who also selected a theme of Daydreaming. Traveling is what I daydream about, so I worked through the basic techniques in my newest book purchase Art Quilt Maps, to build a background layer of cottons, sheers, and a few interesting upholstery bits. I added some very faint neutral paint (I can't believe there's a color called "Metallic Taupe" -- reminds me of National Lampoon's Vacation), then started building a river, roads, fields, and houses. I used a nice combination of machine and hand stitching, glued on a few embellishments, and finally had some success with the sparkly Angelina fiber. I'll let the photos say the rest.

Inspiration and technique. I love this book.

Daydreaming -- full view

Daydreaming close-up. I thought this looked kind of like a cul-de-sac, but without the compass rose it was more like a big grey lollipop. I loved how the tiny squares -- cut from a Stonehenge print -- looked like houses on a development plan.  I wasn't replicating a specific map of any particular place, so I don't know what the rectangular bit is "supposed" to be; it's all rather abstract.

Daydreaming close-up. I love the gridded grey sheer on the right. I can envision using this on a bunch of other map projects. The hand stitched Xs were for some dimension and interest. I glued some brass caps onto this segment of the "houses."

I love how these circles above the river came out. Hand stitching and glued brass embellishments. I stitched down each wale of the white corduroy rectangle in the upper right corner.

Coming soon: Patti's orange page!

Color Journals: Ocean blue for Lesa

I had so much fun working on Lesa's blue ocean-themed journal page. After I went to the SAQA meeting in March, I came home wanting to make some less useful strictly-for-aesthetics things, so I went small. I got caught in a frenzy of making artist trading cards and some really teeny "inchies", which are terrific with a pin glued on the back so you can wear them.

I had a little (maybe 7 x 7"?) scrap of a tropical islands/travel map fabric that I decided to slice up and inch-ify for Lesa's project. I sandwiched the scrap with a regular piece of batting and backing, did a quick simple meander, THEN I sliced the piece up and zig-zagged over every edge. Instead of making all the pieces the exact same size, I cut them in incremental widths like the pieces in a convergence quilt (Fun Trivia Fact: a convergence quilt was the first project I ever made in my Modern Era). After all the edge stitching was done, I added a little fraycheck to the corners and let them all dry overnight.

At this point, I had 25 miniature quilts that needed embellishment. One by one, taking great care to keep them in order so they could be reassembled onto the page, I added beads, pearls, shells, coral, angelina fibers, yarns, charms, sea glass, and some beautiful tiny bits of ocean-tumbled pottery. Some of the segments had only a single seed bead, but the overall effect was (in my opinion) like a Calvin & Hobbes title: There's Treasure Everywhere!

Once the inchies were finished, I prepared the main page. I used a piece of shimmery ocean blue fabric as the background, and I quilted wavy lines so that each piece would be framed. This took a little measuring effort and resulted in a scrapped first attempt. After the quilting was done, I layered a large piece of angelina fiber on the upper right of the page, and fused a fussy-cut fish from a different area of the same tropical print fabric. I added a little sparkle to the fish as well, but I fused him down BEFORE adding the inchies, to give the appearance of swimming behind the main work. To wrap it up I just glued the inchie segments in place and added a regular binding.

On the label, I copied a line from my favorite poet, Rainer Maria Rilke:

When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.

Lesa's journal page. Zoom in as much as you can -- there's so much to see on this one!

Upper-right detail of Lesa's page. I love the bubble bead on the fish, and the colors of the sea glass, coral, and pottery really vibrate. (Maybe you can barely make out the next one over on the left -- a tiny sand dollar!)

Center detail of Lesa's page. Fussy cut fishy swimming behind the inchies.

Tune in next month for the blue+neutral "daydreaming" page for Gerry...

Color Journals: Green for Lynn

Last week our journal group finally managed to have a meeting on a snow-free Tuesday evening. I pulled out my tiny twister to make Lynn's segment. I was a little hesitant to commit to this idea, because it doesn't have any "deeper meaning" or philosophical statement, but she asked for green and white and this is what was speaking to me at the time. So, a miniature wreath for Lynn!

Next up: a "Story" page for Marlene's mustard-color journal.

Twisted greens for Lynn's journal. Approximately 10" square. 

Tiny cut glass beads at every intersection add just the slightest sparkle. 

I did manage to find a nice quote for the label on the back.

Color Journals: Rust for Anna

Last night our journal-arts group finally managed to sneak in a meeting, after winter postponed both our December and January dates. I made a page for Anna, whose color is rust, and who chose the theme of Country Music. (We didn't all choose a theme, but some did. It has been interesting that some of us find working with "just" a color to be difficult, but others find working with a color AND a theme to be a barrier to creativity. I'm in the second group.)

I'm not really a fan of current country music (by which I mean anything after the 80s), but I dug back into some memory reserves and decided to use George Strait's funny song "All My Exes Live In Texas." The photos say the rest:

"All My Exes Live in Texas" journal page for Anna (2014)

To get the shapes of the states right, I printed simple outline clip-arts of the states, then pinned the paper right over the layered rust (from an upholstery sample book) and background fabrics. I straight-stitched right along the edge of the shape, then tore the paper off and clipped the rust fabric very close to the stitching line. Then I used the turquoise embroidery thread to satin stitch around the whole thing. I had these little bronze alphabet brads from a scrapbooking clearance extravaganza (hey, a use for all those X's!!) and they just looked perfectly western for this project. The X's are located at the cities that he mentions in the song -- Allison's in Galveston, sweet Eileen's in Abilene, Dimples now lives in Temple, Rosanna's down in Texarkana, and the old Frio River, where he wore his welcome thin -- because I am a geography teacher, after all. I sweated a little about how to add the women's names, but when I found those tiny wooden tags at yet another scrapbooking sale, I knew they would be perfectly scaled, and they even had holes in them so the brads could hold them on. I was particularly pleased with the lettering, which I did free-form and without guidelines of any sort! The cowboy hat (hung on Tennessee, get it??) is made from a teeny scrap of upholstery pleather. These journal projects have a way of encouraging hoarding.

"All My Exes Live in Texas" journal quilt close-up. I felt like a western project needed some fringes, so I frayed a strip of text. Also -- full disclosure -- I changed which line of the song to quote right there. Command-level design decisions!!

Simple back view of Anna's journal page

The meeting was, as always, fantastic and inspiring. The 14 of us who are doing this project are an incredibly creative and talented bunch! Pats on the back all around! My assignment for next month is to make Lynn a panel for her green-and-white project. Gears are already turning...

Color Journals: Harpa for Sue (finished)

After my previous post about starting Sue's journal page, I decided to wait until after our group's meeting to post more photos -- it's more fun to do the "Big Reveal" in person! These meetings are very exciting -- Lisa made a glorious orange dahlia page for my orange hexagon book...although I had a chance to look at it, I can hardly wait (over a year!!) to get the finished book back here so I can just sit and pore over every page for hours and hours. In the meantime, my next assignment is to make a rust-colored page for Anna T's "Country Music" journal.

"Memories of Iceland" for Sue K. (14 x 15.5")

Piecing and quilting detail

I made some runes with Sculpey -- these are the runes that say "Iceland" (at least according to the T-shirt that we bought!).

The Vegvisir is a magic symbol that prevents the wearer from becoming lost. I hand embroidered this on a scrap of Belgian linen.

For the back of the page, I made a Metropolis block using a very pretty selection of map and Celtic-inspired fabrics in the gold/teal/green colors that Sue requested.

I used a light strip for the last segment so I had a place to sign the page.

Color Journals: Harpa for Sue

I have Sue's color journal this month, and she has selected the theme of travel for her book, using rich golds and teals as her base palette. She asked us each to create a page of a place we have been to, or a place we dream of visiting, or even a mode of transportation.

For about two years (and two months) I have been wanting to make a quilt project inspired by the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik. The entire building is constructed of hexagonal and diamond-shaped panes of glass, build right on the sea to reflect the waters swirling around it. The inside was also breathtaking, with light bouncing everywhere in 16.9 million different colors and heavy black (hexagonal!) columns as interior walls, designed to look like the basaltic columns created by the volcanic geology. Before I saw this incredible structure, I hadn't ever really paid much attention to architectural design, but this building...it just sang to my heart!

Harpa Concert Hall (Reykjavik, Iceland), interior view

So, for Sue, I am making a tiny version of Harpa. I drafted and cut the paper shapes this afternoon. Time for more fabric wrapping!

English paper-piecing units for Sue's Harpa Concert Hall journal page.

Color Journals: Purple for Polly

On the first month of our color journal exchange, I made a purple page for Polly's fantastic journal. I loved the elongated shape that she chose. I used a simple Karen Eckmeier freeform technique to make a mountain landscape, accented with some free-motion quilting and a few aqua beads that looked like emeralds in the deep dark earth:

"Misty Mountains Rise" -- my boys gave me the name, which is apparently from a Hobbit song. SciFi geekery for the win!

Who'd'a thunk I'd have some purple and mint ice cream fabric? Perfect for the back!

The meeting last night was a delight -- I think everybody was so excited to share what they had made that we blew through all 13 projects in less than an hour! My next assignment is to make a "Travel"-themed page for Sue's gold-and-teal journal. So many ideas brewing for this one...

Dance the Orange!

After the successful River project, our journal art quilting group has begun a new project that will take over a year to complete. Each one of us has chosen a color (and some have added a theme as well); using that color, we each created the covers of a journal that will be passed around for the others to make the pages.

I considered a few other options, but ended up with my best beloved after all...Orange. I decided to create the entire book as a big hexagon, which meant custom cutting some art boards to the right shape for the covers. The whole thing is about 14" wide and 15-16" high. I couldn't resist doing a little more micro-(not nano-)hexie piecing for the spiral on the front cover...but these are about twice the size of the river hexies so it felt like it went very fast. The tiny gold beads at the hex intersections gave just the right amount of glitz, and the bee just looked at home there in the middle of the honeycomb spiral. Plus, bees do something called a waggle dance when they get back to their hives, and that seemed like yet another layer of meaning for this project that I have entitled "Dance the Orange" after one of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus.

Front cover of my "Dance the Orange" journal.

Inside front cover, with complete text (different translation than the link above) of the "Dance the Orange" passage from Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus.

For my sample page, I used a few of the Renaissance drawings that my friend Deb gave me, covered with sheer orange organza to warm them up for this project. The adoring look on the woman's face seemed perfect with the poem. The six-petaled "frame" shape around her picture is based on the shape of the symbol for the orange chakra Svadhisthana. To make the tabs that hold the page into the book, I cut up a little orange leather swatch that I got at Crate and Barrel when we were considering some new chairs a few years back. Perfect use for a 4" swatch! Finally, I added the leaf on the right just because I loved how the warm copper reflected the orange glow of the page. 

Sample page

My nine-year-old let me use his typewriter to type Alicante (in the original French!) on a pretty packaging ribbon.

Alicante, by Jacques Prevert

I sewed a tiny booklet and stitched it into the inside back cover for signatures and comments. (I can't wait to read this at the end of the project!)

Inside back cover

Isn't this notebook paper fabric perfect as a booklet?? A single fat quarter makes an eight-page 5x7" booklet. I had a tiny bronze D-ring of just the right scale to make a closure tab with this little piece of ribbon.

Inside back cover, booklet opened.

Again, the boy let me use his typewriter to add the typed text (on orange typewriter fabric! how delightfully meta!):

Inside back cover (close-up)

Our meeting of this project was on September 17, so I have already passed this along to someone else to make the first page. I haven't decided yet if I want to see each page as they are completed, or wait a year and a half to see it again -- what a wonderful and difficult choice!

In the meantime, I currently have Polly's purple journal to work on...the first of many challenges over the next year or two!