Another Year

 (Above:  Another Year, a Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. 11 1/2" x 21 1/2". Crayon grave rubbing on silk with vintage doily.  Free-motion and hand stitching.)

At one point in my life, I had numerous grave rubbing art quilts in production. Taking a crayon and a length of silk into a cemetery was an obsession.  I haunted burial grounds, collecting unique epitaphs and photographing sculptural angels.  The work was my "rock", a firm anchor. I reveled in it. Although, I'm still drawn to final resting places, only occasionally do I make a new rubbing.  The sad fact is, I don't need more of them.  Last Words, the solo installation that grew from this obsession, only has one future exhibition ... next October at the Caldwell Arts Council in Lenoir, North Carolina. 

 (Above:  Detail of Another Year.)

I could do this work forever but it doesn't make sense.  There are so many related area for me to explore ... like suggesting narratives for the anonymous people staring out of forgotten photographs.  Truly, my current solo installation, Anonymous Ancestors, grew out of my passion for "all things funereal".  Other avenues exist too, and yet I can't quite give up the relaxation found in the running stitches that cover most of my Grave Rubbing Art Quilts.

 (Above:  Detail of Another Year.)

I adore this series.  The concept comes from the very heart of my desire to express myself.  So, it really isn't any wonder that I return to it upon occasion.  Cemeteries remind me of the passage of time.  2019 is another year and this is another piece in my ongoing love affair with final words and the motifs of death. For me, none of this is morbid.  I am not so concerned with the "last day" but how I intend to use all the days leading up to it.

(Above:  Another Year, reverse.)

I also have a great desire to give vintage household linens a "second life" as art ... even if they are used only for the reverse side of my work.  Every piece on the reverse was donated by my friend Valerie Summers.  Thank you, Valerie for rescuing them!