Tonight on my easel, a work-in-progress includes some simple little houses. This one is constructed of stenciled fabric of trees, stitched, then appliqued to the quilt face.
This one (there is another similar slightly smaller one) is stencil-painted directly on the quilt face, over the quilting stitches, then zig-sag stitched.
Where do these little houses come from?
If you look at the artwork created by children, a house is a common component. People who live in the house, and maybe a dog, stand nearby, often under a tree. The classic child-like form of a house: a rectangle with a triangle on top, conveys enough structure to say “home.”
I have always found images of homes compelling. I liked doll houses. I liked setting up villages for a train set. Even now, I enjoy looking at real estate ads that show the inside of people’s homes. I just like to see how people live, to wonder about their lives.
Ever since I began to incorporate storytelling into my quilts, images of home have showed up.
Art quilt So They Will Not Break in Two
This is one of my earliest artworks in which I put together images of a house and a tree. I love the ambiguity of the house and the tree relationship. Are we seeing the shadow of a tree? Is the tree growing up inside the house?
Art Quilt So They Will Not Break In Two (Detail)
This house is in a tumultuous setting.
Art Quilt Float Away in Dreams
Art Quilt Float Away in Dreams (Detail)
There was no point in my artmaking when I made a conscious decision;” I think I will depict the shape of houses.” It occurred organically. As I began to tap into memories and dreams, the houses were waiting for me.
(A note for artmakers who want to incorporate a personal symbol into your work: I don’t believe you can just decide on a symbol and start plunking it into your work. It will need to be discovered. This will happen as the inner meaning of your artwork and the working methods intersect, through time with your thoughts and your materials.)
Now that I can look back over a body of work spanning some years, seeing how the house image has appeared and reappeared, I can use it more consciously as part of an ongoing narrative.
Art Quilt Living in the House of Blue Shadows (Detail)
Sometimes the house will be more complex. Sometimes it will be in the background of other elements. But I know emotional connections to the concept of home are part of who I am, and will be part of work that I create.
. . . . . .
For all of us: focus each day
on the good that needs to be done in the world.
Be part of doing it.
Thank you for reading.
I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
How I keep in touch:
BLOG POSTS - once a week: Mostly about what I am creating in the studio. If you would enjoy receiving blog posts by e-mail, please subscribe here: I post and send by e-mail each Sunday evening. BLOGS-BY-EMAIL
NEWSLETTER – about once a month: Mostly news of exhibits and my way of introducing new work. You’ll get FIRST LOOKS at new artwork and members-only discounts. You’ll hear from me about once a month. NEWSLETTER