Grave Rubbings Quilt Series: Father and Mother

(Click on image above: Grave Rubbing Quilt Series. Father and Mother. 30" x 30". Crayon on silk rubbings. Vintage drawn work linen. Silk. Hand and free-motion machine embroidery.)

Okay, this is officially a series: The Grave Rubbing Series.

I made all these rubbings in Maine while at the MacNamara Foundation residency program. I had fantasies of making art with the results. It all seemed so bohemian and exotic...dancing alone in a cemetery with yards of silk fabric and a child's brown crayon...dreaming about the art I'd make...letting nature and a sense of eternal peacefulness take control.

(Click on detail above to enlarge.)
Somehow...in the autumn sunsets and the picture-perfect setting...I thought this was just a "wish" or wishful thinking. I thought that I'd feel regret for purchasing the fabric and wasting a perfect afternoon pursuing an idealized idea of "being an artist". Honestly, I hoped to make art...but never would have bet on actually doing it. The "censor" in the back of my mind chided me...saying, "You'll never really DO anything with all these grave rubbings".

(Click on image above to enlarge.)
Well....I did. I am.....and.... I will be doing even more. This is officially a series. Where it is going is anyone's guess. Father and Mother is the latest one finished. I think I stitched it to within an inch of its life...or death! I used some sort of Pellon, stiff material on the back so that the corners would hold their positions despite a lower placement for the rod sleeve on the reverse.

(Click on image above to enlarge.)
I'm going to England in less than a week. I'm quite excited about this trip because it really isn't about ballet or Mathias. Sure, I'll be staying with Mathias and his girlfriend Laura-Jane at their Birmingham apartment....but I'm making trips...to Bath and now to Cardiff! Details are unfolding by the minute. Train schedules are being consulted. I'm going to be meeting at least one, special cyber friend and will mention it as soon as she says "when and where". I'm also going to see an embroidery show recommended by Maggie Grey. Plus, I'm going to Bath...to see the mosaics that I've only dreamed about seeing! I'm too excited for more words!