This is one of a series of quilts called Cadence, a musical term; I aimed to incorporate musical references, albeit in an abstract way. Working with colours and techniques that I love, I am slowly rekindling my creative voice after a period of uncertainty and disconnection. I find joy and comfort in the steady rhythm of making: the repeated actions of printing, cutting, piecing and quilting. Inspiration for this quilt comes from artwork by American artist Jacob van Loon, on the album The Wilderness by Explosions in The Sky. In a similar palette to my Cadence series, his multiple horizontal and vertical lines, brought alive by the addition of parallel angled lines, are an organised riot of line and colour that just makes me smile.
With a palette of turquoises, blues, blue-greys and brown-greys, I used breakdown printing and thickened Procion MX dyes to print my fabrics: monochromatic pieces in each colour, with a good range of value as well as colour; and some complimentary orange-red. Different width strips were pieced in varied combinations, then cut at angles and stitched together. 2mm acrylic felt as a wadding gives a very flat finish. I machine quilted parallel vertical lines across the whole piece using hand-dyed cotton and Madeira Cotona. The quilt was finished with flashes of pure turquoise and orange-red fused appliqué and more quilting. These lifted the composition and referenced Jacob van Loon’s artwork.
