I have been busy finishing up both my round on the Pelham Quilters 2012 Round Robin top #1 and since I was fortunate enough to be the one who got to keep the top (Thanks Donna and Doris :-) I was anxious to get it quilted.
At our May meeting when I shared my progress with the guild, I had most elements pinned in place, but not all, and nothing from my round was pieced in or appliqued down. It was just truly a concept. Since then, with the possibility of it making it into a gallery show, I had to steal all the minutes I could to get it finished.
Well I submitted the photo of the unfinished top and told myself if it was accepted, I would get it done. If not, I would prioritize some other projects that I have going on... boy is my studio a mess :-(. Well it was accepted...WooHoo... but wait, be careful what you wish for. I had no idea how or when I would get it done!! Well for the last two weeks, I had to burn the mid-night oil, cutting sleep to a minimal, but I made it.
I posted bits and pieces on facebook as I went along, but have refrained from posting the entire quilt. Why, because I want to drive as many of you as possible to the exhibit. It will be a wonderful exhibit made up of 50 or so fiber artists who have chosen to take on the challenge of the folklore surrounding the Black Mermaid... Mamiwata or the Mermaid goddess Yemaya. There will be over 100 pieces, both quilts and fiber dolls, depicting black mermaids and the folklore which has been passed down over the years from the slave women who were taken from Africa during the slave trade era.
The exhibit, entitled "Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore: A Fiber Arts Exhibiton" takes place at The City Gallery, in Charleston, SC. The exhibit runs from August 28th thru October 28th, with three days of Opening Weekend festivities, September 6th - 9th. Interestingly enough, the old Afro-Brazilian women celebrate "Boa Morte" on Wednesday, August 15th. What is Boa Morte or the Sisterhood of Good Death Festival? It is the celebration of the old ways and cultures, cultures that slaves were forced to denounce when brought to Brazil. It mixes the Assumption of Mary from the Christian community with the "Good Death"... those slaves who died free. Well these women believe in the existence of the Black Mermaids who were the watch guards of the dead souls, those who did not make it across the seas and were thrown overboard by the slave traders. So, guess where I will be on that day? In Brazil! It is as if I was meant to participate in this entire experience!
Won't you join me? You can find all the details here... "Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore: A Fiber Arts Exhibiton" .
To tempt your fancy, here are a couple of snippets of my entry, Sirenias, A Pelham Quilters 2012 Round Robin. The center square was done by Donna Chambers and it was two fish appliqued onto a white sparkling background.
Doris Green added the seaweeds floating around the fish on a light green background.
I then added another round of a darker green batik, with more seaweed, starfish, etc on the bottom and the mermaids on the top.
Of course like many of my newer quilts, I doesn't have straight borders. But you will have to wait to see the quilt once the exhibit opens to see how it is finished.
Once the exhibit opens I will post a picture of the completed top :-)....
Did I tempt you ??? I hope so!
At our May meeting when I shared my progress with the guild, I had most elements pinned in place, but not all, and nothing from my round was pieced in or appliqued down. It was just truly a concept. Since then, with the possibility of it making it into a gallery show, I had to steal all the minutes I could to get it finished.
Well I submitted the photo of the unfinished top and told myself if it was accepted, I would get it done. If not, I would prioritize some other projects that I have going on... boy is my studio a mess :-(. Well it was accepted...WooHoo... but wait, be careful what you wish for. I had no idea how or when I would get it done!! Well for the last two weeks, I had to burn the mid-night oil, cutting sleep to a minimal, but I made it.
I posted bits and pieces on facebook as I went along, but have refrained from posting the entire quilt. Why, because I want to drive as many of you as possible to the exhibit. It will be a wonderful exhibit made up of 50 or so fiber artists who have chosen to take on the challenge of the folklore surrounding the Black Mermaid... Mamiwata or the Mermaid goddess Yemaya. There will be over 100 pieces, both quilts and fiber dolls, depicting black mermaids and the folklore which has been passed down over the years from the slave women who were taken from Africa during the slave trade era.
The exhibit, entitled "Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore: A Fiber Arts Exhibiton" takes place at The City Gallery, in Charleston, SC. The exhibit runs from August 28th thru October 28th, with three days of Opening Weekend festivities, September 6th - 9th. Interestingly enough, the old Afro-Brazilian women celebrate "Boa Morte" on Wednesday, August 15th. What is Boa Morte or the Sisterhood of Good Death Festival? It is the celebration of the old ways and cultures, cultures that slaves were forced to denounce when brought to Brazil. It mixes the Assumption of Mary from the Christian community with the "Good Death"... those slaves who died free. Well these women believe in the existence of the Black Mermaids who were the watch guards of the dead souls, those who did not make it across the seas and were thrown overboard by the slave traders. So, guess where I will be on that day? In Brazil! It is as if I was meant to participate in this entire experience!
Won't you join me? You can find all the details here... "Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore: A Fiber Arts Exhibiton" .
To tempt your fancy, here are a couple of snippets of my entry, Sirenias, A Pelham Quilters 2012 Round Robin. The center square was done by Donna Chambers and it was two fish appliqued onto a white sparkling background.
I then added another round of a darker green batik, with more seaweed, starfish, etc on the bottom and the mermaids on the top.
Of course like many of my newer quilts, I doesn't have straight borders. But you will have to wait to see the quilt once the exhibit opens to see how it is finished.
Once the exhibit opens I will post a picture of the completed top :-)....
Did I tempt you ??? I hope so!
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