Friday, October 26, 2012

Copper Lily

CopperLily (4)For the Scent of a Memory challenge, my inspiration was the IV drug Heparin.
For me, Heparin has very distinct taste and smell which evokes a vivid memory. During cancer treatment the nurse would inject this blood thinner before starting the heavy hitter chemo drugs. Every time they injected the heparin I would get an absolutely definite taste/smell right in the back of my nose and throat.

The best way I can describe the sensation: take a deep whiff of a Stargazer Lily while holding a copper penny in your mouth. To this day I cannot be around Stargazer lilies. Their scent makes me nauseous.  (The taste of copper has not really been a problem as long as I don’t put pennies in my mouth.)

I knew I had to pursue this idea because it was the first thing that came to mind when I read the challenge.  I thought it would be interesting to make something positive and beautiful (or at least visually appealing) from this negative association. By using the Stargazer image and copper color palette, I concentrated on the smell/taste itself and not the memory it triggers.


Technique: I used metallic thread to make the veiny lines in the background.  The rest of the piece was created with cotton fabrics and quilted with poly and rayon thread.

CopperLily (7)

6 comments:

  1. Exquisite tribute to a very tough memory. I used heparin for years while nursing (not for cancer treatments but in other areas) and never knew about the taste/smell...

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  2. Kate, your piece is gorgeous. I would think a difficult memory? Perhaps this is a bit of a catharsis? You've made it very beautiful ... I know it is not the experience that is beautiful, but perhaps what evolves from it.

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  3. Thanks Margaret and Martha! I have actually done a few sketches over the years, themes centered around my treatment days. But I never really brought any of them "to life". Maybe I'm superstitious - like not saying the names of demons for fear they'll appear. But I think mostly it's because I wouldn't know what to do with such a negative piece once I was done with it. But I'm glad the challenge was about memories and smells. This way I could explore the subject but still make something that I'd be willing to hang on the wall.

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  4. Wow Kate- strong and beautiful, yet dark. Flower as metaphor!

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  5. I agree with Betty...A very strong piece, indeed!

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  6. Very brave Kate for facing your demons and making such a beautiful piece. We call these Oriental lilies and their scent is overpowering.

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