Found Object Tornado

(Above:  Found Object Tornado. Custom framed: 40" x 40". Found objects and custom cording hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Click on any image to enlarge.)

I started this piece weeks and weeks ago.  It seems like this one took FOREVER to stitch and I did spend much more time on it than most of my other found object art quilts.  Yet, the truth of the matter is that I started it before leaving for three weeks.  Thus, it only seems like forever! LOL!  I am quite pleased with the results.  It was well worth the effort.

(Above:  Detail of The Found Object Tornado.)

The inspiration for this piece came from several sources ... not the least of which was a donation of Barbie shoes and boots from the Pixeladies:  Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki.  These dynamic artists have been collaborating since 2003.  This year, however, Kris retired from fiber art to focus on her writing.  Deb is continuing to make art quilts and has her own website.  Apparently, these Barbie shoes and boots were found while shutting down their joint studio.  They thought of my artwork and sent them to me!  Thanks!  Somehow or the other, these little items reminded me of the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy's ruby slippers. The idea for a tornado started to form.

(Above:  The vintage quilt donated by Ginny Merett before it was cut.)

Another source for inspiration came from the gorgeous, vintage quilt donated to my stash by Ginny Merett.  It was very, very well loved.  (Please read "threadbare"!)  Star-centered quilts are actually difficult to use for a Found Object Mandala.  I'm used to cutting at least four sections, each centered around a block.  But a quilt like this is centered on a single focal point in the very middle.  Yet, the undulating purple, pink, and blue ring was quite inviting.  I could already imagine using part of this ring as the background of a tornado against a white middle ground ... with an upper left corner in the sky.  So ... I went ahead and cut the quilt and stapled it to a stretcher bar.

(Above:  The section of the quilt stapled to a stretcher bar.)

Pieces of blue and purple bridal netting were hand cut in shapes to help define where the tornado would appear ... in the area where the pink, purple, and blue of the quilt seemed to be rising up and along the entire top.  These pieces of netting were layered onto the quilt before I put a large piece of white netting over the entire space.  This white netting is really important.  It covers all the surface, protecting the threadbare areas.

(Above:  Detail of The Found Object Tornado.)

Next came the cording.  It was made last year during an art residency at Catoctin National Park in Maryland.  This cording just never got stitched into a fiber vessel.  It was pinned on top of the white netting in lines representing the ground and the tornado.  After I stitched it down, I started with the shoes and boots ... and then amassing lots of other objects on the "ground" and in the sky.

(Above:  Detail of The Found Object Tornado.)

Thank you to everyone who has donated to my stash ... because lots of the items that went into this whirlwind came from too many people to list!  It was great fun to stitch all the game pieces, dice, Scrabble tiles, keys, pull tabs, clothespins, dominoes, and everything else to this piece.  As I stitched, I thought about the abundance of my life and what it might look like if hit by a tornado.  Over the years, I've seen too many news reports from disaster areas.  I've seen too many people picking through the remains of the homes, people who have to start all over again.  Thankfully, many can start over.  Thankfully, there are services in this country to help.  Thankfully, I don't live in a war zone ... like some of the stories being covered in the news about people who aren't able to recover like I would if I were hit by a tornado.  I also thought about climate change ... because at the rate civilization is going, there's bound to be more and more occasions when a tsunami, a hurricane, a landslide, a forest fire, or a tornado causes another disaster.  For me, this piece really is about the abundance of my own life and how fragile the world is due to climate change.

(Above:  Detail of The Found Object Tornado.)

While I was stitching all the found objects in place and thinking about climate change, I also turned my attention to the area that didn't include the tornado.  I knew I had to "do something" there.  Climate change weighed on my mind.  I thought about tornadoes and storms until the idea of rain hit me!  This is why this piece took the length of time it did.  Perle cotton running stitches in four different shades took a long, long time but the results are perfect!

 

(Above:  Detail of The Found Object Tornado.)

Finally, I was satisfied with the piece.  Today, I mounted, framed, and photographed it!  Yes ... this one was definitely worth the effort!