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Sunday, December 2, 2012

Stitching the Land


A lot of ink has been spilled about mega-storm Sandy, so I’ll follow suit and spill just a little more. The terrible blast of nature’s anger, for which we are at least indirectly responsible as individuals and directly responsible as humanity, left a swath of destruction requiring gigantic repairs and clean-up. Mending. And so my thoughts turn to mending the land, stitching the land for my Wings Cloth.

This stitching creates the bird’s eye view that we see from an airplane. Mountains, fields, forests, roads, rivers.
The brown bands are made of tea-dyed scraps of white cotton machine-pieced together. 
They have become the frame for the Wings Cloth.

 This is a work in progress. If you are wondering what will go in the middle...I'm wondering, too. For the moment, I'm simply stitching the land and contemplating what the future may hold for our exhausted planet.

 And yet, nature's sense of humor seems indomitable. While taking a walk, I met a lemon who sported a tomahawk, oops, I mean, mohawk haircut. 

21 comments:

  1. SarahDecember 2, 2012 at 9:29 AM

    Love the mapping with stitches!

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  2. AnonymousDecember 2, 2012 at 11:14 AM

    Lovely work!

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  3. UnknownDecember 2, 2012 at 11:24 AM

    Like this idea, mapping out the land and the wings that scatter over head. Will be watching to see what ends up in the middle!!

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  4. bohemiannie! artDecember 2, 2012 at 12:12 PM

    Your piece is making me want to get into the play room and make art!!! I'll look forward to seeing how this evolves.

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  5. UnknownDecember 2, 2012 at 1:58 PM

    Really like the meandering lines--map. And it is great as a frame for the center piece.

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  6. sewing susanDecember 2, 2012 at 3:51 PM

    Nadia I love how you have stitched the land while thinking of Sandy's destruction and our mother earth. And the land fits so perfectly on the winged cloth. The story of the middle will come. And your turned under work is mind boggling so intricate and beautiful. Blessings susan

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  7. Kristen DoneganDecember 2, 2012 at 4:41 PM

    So beautiful- reminds me of being in a plane looking down on the ground below- just gorgeous!

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  8. aliDecember 2, 2012 at 4:42 PM

    Your work is exquisite, and this piece embeds so much meaning--layers and layers, stitch by stitch. Inspiring.

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  9. Mo CrowDecember 2, 2012 at 5:50 PM

    love this exploration of the aerial view Nadia, another layer could be the view of cloudland! Whenever I get to fly in an airplane I spend the truip sketching all those wonderful fluffy white hills and valleys with the little glimpses of the land (or ocean) below and then there is the satellite views of the terrifying beauty in the spiral of the hurricane that are broadcast whenever a hurricane (or cyclone for us here in the Land Down Under) is on it's way... the spiral of life that our earth is made of... it's in our DNA, in the unfurling of a fern leaf, in the power of the ocean currents and in the wind... just some thoughts

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  10. Cate RoseDecember 2, 2012 at 6:03 PM

    Beautiful cloth work, Nadia. Are you familiar with Katherine Clark? She does a series of handwork quilts depicting home foreclosures in different parts of the U.S. Here's her blog ~ http://kathrynclark.blogspot.com/
    Hope you're well.
    xo

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  11. AnnefredDecember 2, 2012 at 6:29 PM

    Wunderful, I love this kind of work and I'm indeed curious how you will fill the middle. But I'm convinced that you will find the right way.

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  12. GaiaDecember 2, 2012 at 6:31 PM

    This is lovely. I specially like the sewing done on tea dyed fabric.

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  13. RachaeldaisyDecember 2, 2012 at 7:22 PM

    I love your stitches representing the land. Very beautiful.

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  14. Julie FukudaDecember 3, 2012 at 2:00 AM

    I love that kind of art that takes you where you want to go. Lovely so far!

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  15. Sujata ShahDecember 3, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    Nadia,
    This quilt is so pretty. These stitches truly represent the land's view from up above. I love your new look of the blog. Enjoyed seeing amazing body of your work at once. Those extreme needle-turn appliqued quilts are just incredible!
    Keep inspiring us!

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  16. ClaireDecember 3, 2012 at 1:10 PM

    This is seriously wonderful Nadia. I showed the image to one of my classes and quite a discussion ensued. Inspiring stuff.

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  17. Linda’s TextilesDecember 3, 2012 at 2:05 PM

    Beautiful & thoughtful work Nadia, both your arial view of the land and your incredible needleturn applique piece.
    Thanks for commenting on my work.

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  18. grace Forrest~MaestasDecember 3, 2012 at 11:28 PM

    that right side...mine, as the
    viewer, the Cloth's left
    i like it so much.
    and what will you put in the
    "middle"...which actually could
    be anywhere, that middle of it all.
    i am interested how you work the
    sense of it all as well as the
    actual cloth work. what will be
    your ending "take" on the dilemma
    we face, in this particular cloth.
    and how do the wings play into this?

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  19. KathyDecember 5, 2012 at 12:16 AM

    I just think this is so unique and beautiful. How much time and effort you are putting into this quilt!! Love it!

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  20. YvetteDecember 7, 2012 at 12:40 AM

    this is a real emotional piece with a toutch of humor....great

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  21. blandina December 25, 2012 at 9:19 PM

    Oh, how beautiful and inspirational this is. I love every tone, every stitch, every piece of cloth.
    Merry Christmas dear friend.

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