Prayer Flag Project Announcement

I know that many of you  who check in on this site work with a variety of creative media.   Given that, you may be interested in participating in a special event recently announced by the Prayer Flag Project:

CALL TO ARTISTS

PRAYER FLAG PROJECT

Give visual voice to your prayers by creating a prayer flag and submitting it to OMA’s Prayer Flag installation on view at Oceanside Museum of Art October 14 through December 31, 2012. Artists are invited to design a unique flag made of fabric and other materials that reflects their current and future hopes and dreams. Flags should be approximately 5” x 8” with a 3” sleeve on the top-backside of the quilt and must arrive at Oceanside Museum of Art by September 21. Please include your name, date and the desired prayer on the back of the Flag. It is suggested that the artist uses an iron on fabric label for this information.

Please address or deliver Flags to following address

OMA Prayer Flag Project

Oceanside Museum of Art

704 Pier View Way

Oceanside, CA 92054

Artists are responsible for mailing and/or delivering their prayer flag. Flags will only be returned if the artist includes a self-addressed and stamped envelope. All other flags will become property of the museum.

Basic principles I try to keep in mind

I am trying to think what I wish to focus on in the flag I’m going to make for this .  Since Prayer Flags are a part of Buddhist tradition and since that is how I am so inclined, that is the direction I will head in.  Will keep you posted!

Drop a line if you are going to participate in this, too!

Antique Almost Crazy Quilt

Almost Crazy Quilt

The fact that I purchased this quilt in a dark little antique store in Burlington Square in Burlington, Vermont does not make this quilt an antique. Many things sold in antique stores are merely old. What does make this antique is the fact that every single piece of fabric on the front is from most likely the 1940s according to Allen Fannin (my former partner) who taught the business aspects of Fashion at Syracuse University until his tragic death in a head on car collision.

The back of one square showing the hand stitching

What makes this quilt interesting is that every single square is hand pieced. Quite a few of the blocks are put together by hand, but some are also machine stitched. I don’t think that detracts from its charm at all.

While the Four Pointed Star Motif seems central, in fact it is created at the corners of four attached blocks

There is a very definite pattern to each square. The quilter used a four pointed star for the basis of each block. Then the 12½ inch squares were filled in.  All 56 of them!  It has been suggested that the fabric came from either dresses, shirts, or robes.

Can you see the shine of the fabrics?

What makes this an “Almost Crazy Quilt” is the fact that there is not a single stitch of surface embroidery on it. That’s why I bought this little beauty. My plan was to do the embroidery and finish it.

The question is where do I start? What do you think? All suggestions are more than welcome!