New Quilt: Self Portrait

Last year I made a quilt for the SAQA call for entry called Guns: Loaded Conversations.  The call for entry solicited quilts on all sides of the issue, and I decided to make a quilt about the role shooting and firearms has played in my life.  The quilt didn't get into the show, and I more or less forgot about it.  Periodically I've remembered I still need to write a post about it, and have finally gotten around to it!

This is an issue of particular importance to me.  In spite of being a blue voter who finds myself frequently at odds with our state and federal government, I'm nonetheless an avid sport shooter.  I don't talk about it much here since this is a quilting blog, but my primary hobby outside quilting is action pistol shooting.  My dad first taught me to shoot as a kid, and I've enjoyed it for many years as an adult.  I even teach women's firearms safety courses and spent several years running action pistol competitions.

Guns are such a divisive issue, and I object to the routinely presented stereotype of all firearms owners as uneducated rednecks.  I'm saddened by the polarization of this issue in our country, it mimics so many other topics where the loudest people/groups on both sides have such extreme positions that there seems little room for conversation.  I'm saddened by the perception that firearms owners aren't just as enraged or appalled by tragic gun violence as others.   I have extremely strong feelings on the essential need for firearms safety education, and above all, responsible gun ownership, as well as the need for stronger penalties for irresponsible firearms owners.  

However, I love shooting.  It gives me a chance to move around and to get outside. Competitions satisfy my competitive urges, they give me a chance to improve my performance over time and provide an unparalleled opportunity for mental focus, and I've made many many friends while shooting.  It's also something I value as a family tradition, a strong connection I have with my father, grandfather, and even my uncles and my sister.  It's that family tradition aspect that I chose to depict in my quilt.  A couple of years back I came across this photo my mom must have snapped of me and my dad shooting around 1987 or 1988.   Of course my perm and rainbow jacket should be a dead giveaway for the time period.  I remember really loving that jacket and would wear it today in a heartbeat.  Less so the perm.  It's really fun to have a picture of me and my dad doing something like this together.

I blew up the picture and used the same approach to paint the figures as I did for the portrait I made of Becky's kids.  Unfortunately, I evidently didn't take any in process pictures at all, skipping from the snaps of the painted background to the final quilt, but the process for painting the figures is clearly described here.

For anyone who cares, yes my stance in that picture is terrible, one reason I'm still not really a rifle shooter....

Self-Portrait of the Artist and her Father c. 1988, 41" x 32" c. Shannon Conley, 2017 

In retrospect I think the background could have used some more work, it feels a bit flat and plain in spite of some effort on my part to add depth and shadow, but I really love the way the figures turned out and am overall happy with it.  It's going to the Dallas Quilt Show in just a couple of weeks so other people will finally get to see it.

I love you Dad!!