Inspirational Sunday (17) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

The quilts this week all have a similar color scheme, or lack of one, and yet are beautiful and interesting.

The first quilt is called "The Eternal City" by Kate Stiassni of New York, NY, quilted by Jackie Kunkel.  It is machine pieced and stitched.  Her design source was Ancient Rome.

She says, "Traveling to foreign cities and looking at buildings has been a source of imagery for a  number of my quilts.  The Eternal City is based on my explorations of the Roman Forum, a vast area that was the center of everyday life for Romans.  Soaring columns and outlines of foundations are ruins, and thus shadows of their former selves, but they communicate the magnitude of the original city.  I love being able to walk around them, imagining ancient civilizations.  The fact that these traces of the past coexist side by side with modern Italian life makes them that much more intriguing."

Another quilt inspired by architecture is called, "Building Bridges" by Jacquie Gering and Sheryl Schleicher of Chicago, IL.  It is improvisationally pieced, and matchstick quilted.  The design was inspired by bridge/trestle structures around the city of Chicago.

"Building Bridges was made after my move from Kansas City to Chicago.  I was starting a new phase of my life in a new place and this quilt reflects the challenges of a significant life change.  Building Bridges is my attempt to illustrate the need to connect my old life to my new one, but also to move forward in a new place."

I love how the absence of quilting in this area spells out Kansas City, as if it is a ghost of the past.  That matchstick quilting must have taken forever!

The next quilt is called "Gone" by Laura Bisagna of Winchester, CA.  It is hand appliqued, machine pieced and machine quilted.

Her statement, "After being evacuated from our home for about a week due to the thread of wildfires, I began searching the internet for any clues that would tell me whether or not our home had survived.  That's when I found an aerial photograph of our neighborhood that was taken after the fire had passed through.  I quickly discovered that our home was indeed gone.  This piece is an interpretation of that experience.  The plaid houses are made of material from matching pajama bottoms that my sister gave my husband and me for a wedding gift and which we packed in our suitcase upon evacuation.

I noticed this next quilt, and thought to myself, "I know I've seen that quilt somewhere before."   Sure enough, it is in the Quilting Modern book by Jacquie Gering.  I really enjoyed seeing it in person.  It is called, "Shattered" by Jacquie Gering and Angela Walters.  It is improvisationally pieced, and is an original design inspired by shattered glass.

Jacquie says, "Shattered was inspired by a break-in at my home.  A window was shattered, but still intact.  The shapes formed by the shatters inspired the design and my anger at the act is reflected in the dark colors I chose for the quilt."

Evidently man made structures and loss have a very bleak color scheme.  So, if these quilts have you down, good news....next week is all about color!  I hope you will join me next Sunday to see them.

Thanks for reading today,

Jen