Friday, February 27, 2015

Gloria Patri: Finished

I'm so excited to have finished my "Gloria Patri" quilt.  In case you haven't seen the in progress posts, they're here.  Mike took photos for me over two days this week, and then yesterday evening I finished sewing on the pockets.  I'm so grateful that he took the pictures  (some of them are here in the post)- I hate doing it, but even more importantly, I can only get good pictures with natural light in my studio which means I can't take them during the week (when I'm at work during the day).  I had some show deadlines this week, so it was nice that he was able to take them.
Gloria Patri, Shannon Conley, c. 2015 35 x 31

Looking at it, I think of the feeling of walking in a meditation garden or labyrinth.  The artist statement reads:  There is no top and no bottom, only the center.  How to regain equilibrium when the center is lost?  Slow, repetitive, meditative, stitching; slow repetitive, meditative prayer.









 




Probably all that busyness and color wouldn't be calming for many people, but it does the trick for me!  This project didn't go quite as smoothly as I'd hoped, but the outcome is what I had in my mind from the outset, so I guess that's as good a definition of success as anything.

Even though this is a text quilt (which would ordinarily have a right-side-up), one of my goals from the beginning was for it to be reversible.  Thus the central ambigram and the dual spiraling arms.  You can see what I mean- here it is one way,

Gloria Patri, Shannon Conley, c. 2015 35 x 31

And here it is rotated 180 degrees.

Gloria Patri, Shannon Conley, c. 2015 35 x 31

To keep with the right-side-up theme, I made the label reversible, sewed it in the center, and added two pockets.





I'm linking up with Nina-Marie, TGIFF, and LAFF over at Richard and Tanya's.
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11 comments:

  1. KendasCraftsFebruary 27, 2015 at 8:28 AM

    Beautiful, Shannon!

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  2. Lucy | Charm About YouFebruary 27, 2015 at 2:37 PM

    This is so incredible! I have to be honest and say that although I hugely admire the work that goes into art quilts they aren't usually to my taste but there is something hugely mesmerising about this. It really is stunning. The artist statement is so fitting and special. I went back and read the progress posts and am totally impressed with all your work. The photographs are beautiful too! I still loved it before you added the paint but I completely agree it seemed washed out and comparing it with the finished result you can really see how rich it had become. It's taken me a while to write this comment because I was speechless there for a while! LOVE it!

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  3. JoanGFebruary 27, 2015 at 5:16 PM

    This is a truly amazing piece of work. It reminds me, in both color and complexity, of the early books of hours. Congratulations on this piece.

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  4. JanineMarieFebruary 27, 2015 at 9:14 PM

    Oh, you've captured the look and emotional impact of an illuminated manuscript beautifully. This is just stunning, and it has been fascinating to see how you developed it to match your vision of what it could be.

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  5. LNGRDRFebruary 27, 2015 at 9:34 PM

    Very nice pics :)

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  6. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2015 at 9:40 PM

    Well done! It turned out beautifully.

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  7. guajalote?February 28, 2015 at 2:57 PM

    Exquisite quilt....Great pictures

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  8. adriprintsMarch 1, 2015 at 1:23 PM

    Wow! You finished it! It's stunning!

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  9. TurtlemoonimpressionsMarch 9, 2015 at 12:04 PM

    Shannon, this is really special! What an accomplishment!

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  10. Teresa Duryea WongMarch 11, 2015 at 8:37 PM

    Shannon:I am behind on my reading... but I LOVE this. I really just can't tell you enough how beautiful it is. You are so talented. I love the originality and how you've made such interesting art from this subject matter... wow! In awe. Truly!

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  11. Hilary FlorenceApril 2, 2015 at 4:05 AM

    Hi Shannon
    I am so behind commenting on your blog. One of the reasons is that I think so highly of the work, I want to do more than give a throw away comment on how great this piece is - and then I think I am too tired today, I'll do it tomorrow - and you know what they say about tomorrow!

    When i saw this piece, I immediately thought of books of hours from the middle ages and the work of Jean de Berry. The cleaness and accuracy of both your quilting and printing is amazing. And although it took me back to guilded manuscripts, I'm pretty sure they never did anything circular, so you have truly put your own modern stamp on it. It is a stunning piece and one of a kind. I love the sentiments behind its creation and I think you have succeeded in your goal.
    Are you intending to send it to any shows? It certainly deserves to be seen by a wide audience.

    I got very interested in Calligraphy (and did a bit of black Gothic too) and even took a foundation Diploma in it many years back. I gave up, partly because I was taking a degree and too busy to do both, and partly because I came to realise that to do the kind of work that I wanted to do, I would have to practice for an hour or two every day for several years. Then I got hooked on quilting instead, and I often think that there is a link between calligraphy and free motion quilting. Both demand practice, but I think FMQ is more forgiving. When I do FMQ, I often look both at how the lines relate to each other and the space in between them - which I believe is very 'calligraphic' thinking.

    Congratulations again on a wonderful piece. You must be thrilled.

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