The Arava Desert

 

Following an oil pipeline leak, about 5 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Israeli desert called Arava. It was the worst ecological disaster we ever knew, that was to destroy the desert because we were in the rainy season. It was a race against time to prevent the spread of infection further into nearby cities. My last quilt for 2014 is dedicated to the uncertainty of life and how easy it is to break nature's balance and cause an ecological disaster.

 

Shoshi Rimer

Glacier

 

Glaciers are very dominant part of earth. I felt it is impossible not to address it when I create a series on the theme Earth. Exploding Glacier is no doubt a spectacular view, but it is also a danger phenomenon. The rapid melting can change the water level and flood many countries.
I used a picture I got from a friend who visited a crashing glacier in Argentina.

 

 

Shoshi Rimer

The Dead Sea

 

The Dead Sea is 420 meters below sea level. In fact it's the lowest place in the world, and is located in the southeastern part of Israel.
Dead Sea is just that. There is no life, but it is full of minerals and is very salty. It is used as a cure result for people who suffer from skin diseases, and on the other hand the cosmetics industry produces very special and well-known products using its minerals.
My quilt reflects the variegated depths of the sea and the salt that lies on its margins, causing the sun reflection differently during the day.

 

Shoshi Rimer

Forest

 

My favorite subject is forest. Unfortunately in my country there are not that many areas filled with trees, so I enjoy seeing the various trees when I travel mostly in Europe. Forest has several functions. It gives shade and mysterious atmosphere, but it also protects natural climate. Massive deforestation causes global changes that will affect the glob greatly in the future.

 

Shoshi Rimer

Impressions--Grand Canyon

            My final piece for Voyage Art Textiles 2014 is titled “Impressions--Grand Canyon”.  We have all seen photographs of the Grand Canyon showing it in every season and in all weather.  However, I have never seen a photograph that really captures the depth, immensity and amazing color of the Grand Canyon.  I believe that is a virtually impossible task.

 

            The Grand Canyon is located in Northern Arizona and is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet or 1,800 meters).  Nearly two billion years of Earth’s geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted.  Recent evidence suggests that the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago.  Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.

Rather than attempting to make yet another “photograph” or “painting” of the Grand Canyon, I decided to record my impressions of the Canyon.  When I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time, I was immediately struck by the color and the layers upon layers of color in the rocks.  The blue of the sky and the glitter of the Colorado River far below constantly compete with the colors of the rocks and vegetation.  The sigh of the ever-constant wind and the distant screeching of hawks and eagles intensify the “surreality” of the Grand Canyon's vistas. 

I returned to one of my favorite processes, intuitive piecing, to construct the Grand Canyon Quilt which I thought would give it a structured feeling without losing the feeling of constant change and motion that continue to shape the Grand Canyon.  

 

Frances Murphy

My favourite place on earth

 I have just finished the series of quilts for 2014. 

My slant on the topic was 'My favourite Place on Earth'. A place that is close to my heart for many reasons is the Outer Hebrides, that wonderful archipelago of islands that is off the North west of Scotland.

In this series I have tried to depict some of the many facets of the islands that makes them unique and special.

The beach at Luskentyre, on the west side of Harris has been voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world - and rightly so!

One of the main industries of the islands is the fishing and being a novice fisher bringing up twelve fish on one line at a first attempt was thrilling!

Rain features a great deal but viewed as a backdrop to a single croft on the horizon it can be quite beautiful.

An antidote to rain is the wonderful sunsets that light up the landscape.

The  islands hosts a multitude of interesting and rare flora and fauna. The Great Yellow Bumble Bee is only found in this part of the world.

The other main industry is the weaving of the world famous Harris Tweed.

I have really enjoyed creating this series of work in many ways - reflecting on the topic, taking myself back in my mind to regular visits there and recreating the colours of the landscape.

Enjoy!

Pat

my theme for 2014 was South African Trees

they are thread sketched and I had a lot of fun doing them
they are:-
1. The Monkey Orange Tree
2. The Fever Tree
3. The Baobab Tree
4. The Sausage Tree
5. The Umbrella Tree
6. The Marula Tree

Apple Peel and Onion Rings

Apple Peel and Onion Rings December 2014

Close to the village is the mountainous area called the Cevennes made famous in Robert Louis Stevenson's book Travels with a Donkey 1879, a journey one can still make today. The Cevennes is famous for its chestnuts, and also for apple growing and the production of large sweet onions. Many of the local recipes are based on these ingredients.

Using a halved apple and onion I printed with fabric paint onto hand dyed cotton. These were than quilted, leaving a space for one to be only quilted.

I have really enjoyed making these six small quilts which feature produce from around our village in France. We have now sold our house there and are returning to live in England, so the quilts will be a momento of that time.

Merlot to Grenache

Merlot to Grenache October 2014

Surrounding our village of Combas are vineyards, kilometres and kilometres of vineyards on the stony, calciferous soil. The Languedoc Roussillon region of France is one of the largest wine- producing areas of the world. Our village has its own Cave Cooperative where the vignerons bring their grapes each harvest or vendange, which are then collectively turned into wine.

On my piece the names of many grape varieties are quilted. The vine leaves are of a mix of fabric – silk,cotton,sheers – and the bunches of grapes are stencilled using fabric paint. The right hand background fabric is a synthetic net which reminds me of the mottled bark of the old vines.

Earth Quotes - Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth....

For this, the sixth piece for 2014, I have used a John Updike quote  that I always remember being quoted at school.

"Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth without rain there would be no life....."

This piece was rather experimental -I wanted to try to give the effect of a summer rainstorm with the sun shining through the rain. Having used discharge pastes to create my background effects on my work all year - I wanted to try them to see how they worked with the subliminal contact inks ( transfer inks). I started by colouring the fabric by painting the inks loosely on paper then transferring them to the fabric with an iron. (All the information you read says that trnasfer inks/paints only work on polycotton or polyester / manmade mixes - I find they work fine on cotton if correctly applied) I then tried to use discharge paste sponged on to lighten areas - this did not work - the inks are fixed very well to the cotton fibre - only bleach had any effect and I don't like to  use bleach on my work. So I painted some more inks to create the lighter areas  to create the effect I wanted without the aid of discharge pastes!

As you can see from the enlarged view  below, I used a machine triple stitch to accentuate some of the 'rain' lines as well as differing weights of threads.

Jean