Diaspora: Landfall of Empire 65″ x 68″
Materials: Silk organza, original photographs, color photocopies, acrylic gel medium, cotton sateen, metallic paint, school glue, Procion dye, cotton thread, silk thread, silk/rayon yarn, water soluble pastels, wool batting.
Techniques: Paper collage of color photocopies, transferred onto silk via acrylic gel medium; machine quilting, hand stamping, hand dyeing, glue resist, couching, screen printing, reverse applique.
About the piece:
This image shows the entire art quilt, which is made of 2 layers of fabric, wool batting and a muslin backing. This piece features original photographs which were photocopied, made into a collage and then transferred onto a large piece of sheer silk organza with the use of acrylic gel medium; the photographs are of the Lincoln Memorial, Auschwitz and hurricane Katrina. Underneath is a large piece of cotton sateen which is hand stamped with the shape of the national weather service hurricane symbol using metallic paints. The overall image is one of a swirling storm. The text which dominates the piece is from Lincoln’s Second Inaugural which I photographed at the Lincoln Memorial; this text is repeated throughout the piece.
I envision this as one of 2 large pieces about diaspora and the American experience.