Only You: Finished

Earlier this week I talked about auditioning various 3D forms for my latest art quilt.  I finally settled on this intersecting fan pattern.   One of my goals for this piece was to have it collapsible so it wouldn't have to ship oversize  (more on how that happens is below).  That meant that the whole thing had to be able to maintain its shape without the help of fabric stiffener.  One way I did that was to stitch a straight stitchin monofilament along the edge of every single fold.  This helps the pleats and folds hold their shape a little bit.

Originally the piece was inspired by sunset colors but upon finishing, it reminds me more of forest fire colors, an ever increasing problem in the mountain west.  I decided to name it "Only You" after Smokey Bear's motto, "Only you can prevent wildfires".  BTW Smokey Bear is pretty much the most awesome mascot ever.

Only You, c. 2023 Shannon Conley, 59" x 42" x 4"

I spent two weekends working out how to hang/support it from the back so that you couldn't see the frame but so that it wouldn't flop or require fabric stiffener.  I wound up with thiss assembly of seven partial yardsticks that bolt together and then are held onto the quilt via a combination of loops and velcro.   It hangs from a picture wire suspended between two of the yard sticks.

Excitingly, the whole thing easily disassembles and collapses down into this small compact area, which will be a great boon for shipping.  I wrote pretty detailed instructions for re-assembly, so I hope whoever winds up having to put it together on the other end (at shows for example) will not have too much trouble.  In the meanwhile it's just hanging in my living room to make sure that no unanticipated things occur (with regard to hanging) over the next few months.  So far it's been just fine for the last few weeks.

I'm pleased with how this turned out, especially the hanging and collapsing.  That was a big puzzle and I was so happy to solve it!  A fun challenge!