Two ideas for 'looking up' kept calling to me so I decided to combine them into one piece. I loved the simplicity of ladders against a wall with simply sky above but I also was intrigued with idea of 'looking up' the meanings of unknown or foreign words. This idea was inspired by the various salutations that my friend Elizabeth in Canada and I use in our emails to each other. I often use a Portuguese expression, from my time living in Brazil, while she often uses Czech expressions as her parents emigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia. So this piece is extra special as it also celebrates my renewed friendship with Elizabeth, whom I had lost touch with but thanks to the internet and Facebook we met up again after not having seen each for almost thirty years!
Making the quilt ...I pieced the lengthwise strips of sky and wall and then used 'quilt-as-you-go' to stitch them in place.
Next was some free motion quilting. I love using variegated threads and these colors seemed perfect to add to the wall effect I was hoping for. I had placed my fabrics in a brick-like fashion but wasn't concerned if they didn't end up looking like brick, but hoped to at least get a wall look.
Next was adding the salutations. I went back through our emails and copied out various expressions we had used but discovered there weren't as many different ones as I had expected so I went into Google Translate and found a few more including several in Norwegian which is a language I heard occasionally growing up as my great-grandmother was from Norway.
The ladders were appliqued in place and a black binding completed "
Vzhlédnout'. You should discover this translates to 'Look Up' in Czech.
One salutation we often use but I didn't get onto my quilt is 'Namaste' so I end with a big thank you to Janet for this challenge and Namaste to all!
Gina, this is a wonderful story and a stunning piece of art!
ReplyDeleteit's great that the internet allowed you and your friend to look each other up. I love what you've included in your piece - the looking up against the sky with the ladders and wall, and then the looking up of all the different words and translations and including them as well. Great story, too!
ReplyDeleteGracias, danke, хвала, buíochas a ghabháil leat
aren't translators fun?
Love the "verbal" connection you have made to your art piece. I wanted to climb those ladders to peer over the wall at the greetings in the sky. How wonderful to reconnect with an old friend! Amazing how our textile challenges also impact our personal lives.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful story Gina! I’m curious now if the Dutch translation of look up made it into the quilt! The ladders are very inviting to have a glimpse over the wall. Love the quilting, the colours and the idea.
ReplyDeleteYou color palette is very striking- turquoise and rust is one of my favorite combinations! I love your interpretation and the way you included language in this piece.
ReplyDeleteI must say, I have never seen ladders on a quilt, but I like it!
ReplyDeleteAs I said the other day, I love your sky colours and the brick red is almost an orange, so the two pop. A quilt with a story is important and this is such a lovely story, like Brigitte, the orientation of the ladders makes me want to climb up and the words in the sky then capture me. Great!
ReplyDeleteWhat a meaningful interpretation of our theme and such a joyous way to commemorate a friendship. The simplicity of the ladders and the texture of the quilting complement each other so well.
ReplyDeletePerfect. It does say looking up.
ReplyDeleteOh, I think it's wonderful how you've included the direct visual reference to up with those strong ladders, and a much more mysterious, subtle "looking up" meaning with your use of words from different languages. You've combined your layers of meaning very nicely!
ReplyDeleteAhoy! Ahoy! Ahoy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a thrill I had climbing up the ladder to find our words at the top. I'm so glad Gina, that I "looked you up" after all those years!
Já jsem beze slov,
Elizabeth