2017

We move forward from two successful exhibitions in 2016 in Prague and in the USA to the challenge of an exhibition in the Netherlands in the Autumn. We continue to work on A2 sized pieces in portrait format and will be producing four pieces over the year with the theme of 'Freedom'. An essential part of our art is working in series to a common format which does give us all a framework for our creative endeavours.

Thursday, 12 April 2012

Egoli

My second quilt is called "eGoli" which means "City of Gold" and is another name for Johannesburg. I started playing around with the monoprinted fabric I have been making lately and then I discovered a sort of source book I made years ago. Paging through it I found this picture of a mineworker and his eyes and general facial expression really spoke to me. I just had to use him. I grew up with the minedumps of Johannesburg being a very visible part of the landscape. There was even a drive-in at the top of one mine dump called the "Top Star" which we often went to on a Friday evening - this being an almost weekly family outing.
I also used stamping, free motion sewing, and hand stitching on this piece. What really surprised and pleased me was that when I outlined the miner's face it ended up looking like the map of South Africa. This was total co-incidence or "meant to be" maybe?

I enjoyed working on this quilt and it has lead me to some interesting reading about a time in my country which was very significant - the fifties. More about that on my blog : www.fantasticfabric.blogspot.com

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6 comments:

  1. Ineke12 April 2012 at 11:31

    Prachtig uitgebeeld!

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  2. Wil13 April 2012 at 17:59

    It definately was a 'meant to be'. Great quilt Laura.

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  3. Trish Graham16 April 2012 at 15:32

    great piece. Loved your commentary as well. thanks

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  4. Magie Relph26 April 2012 at 10:00

    An excellent piece Laura - love the lines and colouring of the background - looking like strata (is that the right word?) The miners face is great - one of those images that can just hold your attention. Looking forward to talking over what you've been reading about!
    M

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  5. ElaineRM28 April 2012 at 15:07

    We have relatives in Jo'burg, but have never visited. Should we? I particularly like the red French knots which add a lot to the piece. It is a far cry from trying to be "pretty" and is all the more effective for that.

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  6. Unknown5 June 2012 at 21:05

    I've been to that drive in Laura! I had forgotten all about it. Thanks for the memory. The quilt also reminded me bith of the rather theme park visit we made to a gold mine and the much more realsitic vist to the mineworkers hostels in Soweto. This was in 1991.. Our white hosts thought we were nuts to go there!

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