At last, after several workshops that didn’t really light my fuse, this one does. Today’s workshop teacher is Washington artist Clarissa Callesen, a ceramicist who has become fascinated with the sculptural qualities and potential of ‘fabric’. She’s focused on the potential of this medium to recycle and repurpose textiles.
The workshop schedule has just changed to an expanded format, each now lasting two weeks instead of one, with a second video and additional q&a sessions scheduled – giving far more opportunity for enrichment for those who want it before moving on to the next workshop. A good response to our feedback to the organisers. I’m only at 18:30 of the lesson video so far !!! and am already remembering the3D forms I used in some of my pre-quilting mixed media textile art decades ago.
Much of what is now termed mixed media technically fits into the concept of an ‘art quilt’ as defined by SAQA, Studio Art Quilt Associates: “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.” and indeed, a number of artists are showing 3D work. But for travelling SAQA exhibitions, the logistics preclude inclusion of those 3D works. Over the years of quiltmaking, soft sculpture has retreated to the back of my mind, but this morning’s video reminded me of my most satisfying 3D moment: a soft sculpture model of the famous Golden Eagle Nugget , which was found in 1931 near the mining town of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
The Patchwork Pollies and the Goldfingers Embroiderers were invited to participate in a nationwide project to produce double sided quilts to form a large portiere exhibition at the entrance to the touring Australian Bicentennial Exhibition 88. As construction proceeded, our letter ‘H’ was formed by blocks of crazy patchwork, the embroidering of which enabled many people in the community to do a few stitches on work days held for that. For the reverse side we decided on a traditional quilt format of a medallion in the centre sourrounded by strips/rays of goldfields colours. Sewing those strips of fabric together in work days was another avenue for communityh involvement. It was suggested the medallion should feature something very central to the region. I don’t remember who suggested a nugget, but I certainly offered to make one somehow and agreed to free machine embroider some local motifs on the orange-brown goldfields soil of the nugget’s background. That nugget was to be added only after the quilt construction and quilting was all finished, and, typical me, despite having several months to produce that nugget, I really only tackled it about a week before it was due! By that time, we were preparing to leave town and relocate to the other side of the world, meaning our household goods including my fabrics and sewing machine would soon be all packed up :-0 Of course I’d been thinking about it, but with all the other things going on in my life, I’d serially procrastinated until, finally, with just a few days left before the deadline, I focused, sat down and made it. These photos were taken at the official handover the very day before we flew out of town.
