A QUESTION OF WHEN
22.5"w X 28"h. Acrylic paints on canvas, collaged fabrics and newspaper clippings, with machine stitching. Hand painted fabric border and cloth backing. Fabrics in the "toxic soup" section are altered with bleach discharge, soy wax resist with acrylic washes and paint spatter.
ABOUT THE PIECE: As a Floridian, watching the news of the gulf oil spill unfold this summer was horrifying. While residents of the gulf coast experienced this catastrophe first-hand, those of us further away experienced it through news reports. Each day brought a new, unimaginable report: the stop device that wasn't working, the continuing gush of millions of barrels, the predictions of the long-term consequences. The news was as ugly and horrible as the spreading toxic mass itself. In the quilt, I wanted to portray the oil as ugly, and to merge news accounts with that ugliness. At the same time, as a Floridian, I could still see pristine beaches and awe-inspiring sunsets as they are intended to be. I wanted to depict those too, to contrast with the ugliness. To strengthen the vision of how the natural beach should be, I collaged into the top portion words from Psalm 8: " Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas."
Great contrast between the innocent bird and the bright sunshine with the soupy swirls underneath the surface. I imagine that as a Floridean you did watch with horror as the weather reports showed the oil advancing towards you. You acheived what you said you wanted to do in contasting the beautiful with the ugly.