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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Sacred Threads Exhibition: Transformation



Today, I'm only focusing on one quilt, partly because I'm short on time. "Fear of Transformation, " by Denise (Denny) C. Webster, of Peachtree City, Georgia takes the honors.

I thought it was a good choice for today as the last couple of posts have a heavy element to them. While this one does as well....I think it is more uplifting than not.

I'm also really impressed by her innovation. Look at this picture and notice the panel hanging out over the quilt at the top.




This is a sort of poor shot, but I'm trying to show you WHY it has that panel. See? The figures are hanging out over the face of the quilt. This quilt has depth and dimension achieved by floating the individual photographic cut-outs of people reaching out....Really masterful!




You can actually see it better on this straight on shot below.





I think one of the reasons I really appreciate this is that I have been struggling with a hurricane quilt I've been working on for a year. Solving problems with resolving the vision of the quilt with the reality of how you can portray it is difficult. So Denny gets an award just for that!


Here's Denny's artist statement: Many years ago, during yet another time of life transition, a dear late friend sent me the wise words of Danaan Parry and a card depicting a woman reaching for (?) / falling away from (?) a trapeze. The image haunted me until I began to take photos of women reaching for an invisible trapeze. Some were of students I met while a visiting professor in Thailand. Others were members of the Feminist Therapy Institute or trusting souls whose paths crossed mine while I was in the gathering phase of this project. I extend my gratitude to all of them.(permission granted to use text).





While Denny has permission from Danaan Parry to use his words, I don't know if I can re-type them so you can see it here without infringing on copyright....So, I would suggest you go to the library or to the various sites and see if you can bring it up. The poem starts out "Sometimes I feel that my life is a series of trapeze swings." It's in The Essene Book of Days. You may find it at the following website:





Are the people reaching or falling? For me, ever the optimist, they are definitely reaching. They will grasp that bar and fly, soaring to new heights and experiences.









2 comments:

Denny Webster said...

This is the first time I've made a comment on a blog-I hope I've done it correctly. Someone alerted me to the posting of my Fear of Transformation Quilt on your blog. I am so pleased that you liked it and recognized that is took many days of experimenting to get it to "work"--quite a project. Thanks for your kind words.
Denny Webster

Unknown said...

You have indeed done it correctly Denny. Thanks for letting me put it up before I had your permission.

Sometimes when I'm working out a combination or design in the garden, or trying to figure out a quilt, I walk around just thinking. A couple of weeks ago, my husband came to me when I had my shovel in hand and said "Why don't you do something? You just keep wandering around out here like you are lost." Indeed. Lost in thought trying to figure it all out. :) Lisa