LINDA SEWARD

Image reproduced by permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library
from Department of Manuscripts MS.DAR.121:p.36

Click on image to see larger version

Charles Darwin's Tree of Life

When I was tossing around ideas for this challenge I asked my husband what he thought of when he heard the word 'Breakthrough'.  He immediately said 'Darwin': the theory of evolution'.  I thought this was a good start, but when I found the image of Darwin's tree of life on the internet, with the words 'I think' written above it, I knew I had found my design.  The Cambridge University Library holds the copyright to this image, so I contacted them and after a series of phone calls and em-mails with men who had no idea what a quilt was, received permission to use this iconic image for my quilt.

I decided to interpret it in bold colours and give it a bit of sparkle with Swarovski crystals.  I quilted it with a series of criss-crossing, slightly curved lines to symbolize natural movements and the complexity of scientific thought.


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