Thursday, April 26, 2012

Where Has Summer Gone?





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First challenge
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: Summer

Music does not ordinarily translate to visual imagery for me.  So, Martha’s challenge was a big one.  After listening my favorite, Aaron Copland, just to get in the mood, I left my mental pictures of Shakers and cowboys and focused on Vivaldi’s” The Four Seasons: Summer”.  Indeed, I had to revert to the music class directions and write down my impressions:  Tension, Urgency, Strings, Pitch, Dark, Bright flashes, Structure and Rigor.
 And this is Summer?!
What happened to Summer?  Why the urgency?  Why the tension?  Need another layer of fat for the winter?  Not enough nuts and seeds stored away?  Still have that off-spring to fledge?

“End of Summer” is made from kimono silk and cottons.  Machine stitched and hand painted.  I found a hand dyed cotton with dark parts that I thought might connote an end of summer evening.  Just next to it, out of place, was a dark, lightly lined piece of vintage kimono silk that immediately reminded me of strings.  The two were meant to be together. 
The Challenge surprised me.  I was able to connect in unexpected ways.  And, it was fun, also an important element.

Diane Wright

4 comments:

  1. Diane, your quilt is lovely. I especially enjoy the ascending gold birds, such a beautiful element against the strong lines.

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  2. Great work, Diane! The alternating yellow dashes within the vertical lines makes me think of musical structure, especially strings. Love the birds too. That adds a nice "living" element to the work.

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  3. The magical movement of the birds parallels the movement into lightness, but the moody dark fabrics really capture the drama of the quilt and music.

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  4. This is great, Diane! I love the ascending from the depths. It captures the music, building higher and higher!

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