Breaking Day: Art Quilt

 On September 9, 2020, the San Francisco Bay area woke to an orange sky; it was dark all day. We had our lights on as if it were evening. A photo I took became the inspiration for the quilt, another fire quilt, but this time more about the light and air. The daybreak really felt like a broken day.

Breaking Day
25.5 x 45" (65 cm x 114 cm)
Hand-dyed cotton, velvet, linen, silk; woven cotton; cotton painted with glow-in-the-dark paint; hand quilted with cotton thread

I had the orange silk that Dianne had dyed as a test for our collaboration last year, which was perfect for this project. I crumpled and overdyed some of it (that's the brown over orange that appears mostly in the top left). All the silk was backed with cotton, which made it easier to sew.

Detail:

I had painted some cotton with glow-in-the-dark paint for an odd project of fabric flowers (never mind), and this seemed a good reference to the lights that we kept on all that day. Plus, it was fun.


My original photo had captured the tree and the sky.


But I found I was most drawn to the roof angle. That was where I felt an emotional connection. So, the quilt became full of houses.





Comments

Liz A said…
"brooding" immediately came to mind ... but likewise the recognition that "brooding" has both positive and negative connotations ... how this quilt holds both hope and despair
Alisa said…
Liz A—Interesting! Thanks. We never know what will hatch, I guess. : )
FA Neophyte said…
That's incredibly evocative, and immediately recognizable for anyone on the west coast who lived through the worst days in September. All you'd have to do for an Oregon version is to add trees.
Alisa said…
CrowGirl—Glad it translates. Perhaps the one tree can stand for the many.
Lynn in Tucson said…
This is lovely. I grew up in Sonoma County and my folks evacuated (again) during this last round. It pains me to be so far away sometimes.
Alisa said…
Lynn—Thanks for writing. That must be incredibly hard for them, and for you.