Mary
Behr,
Hoboken, NJ , USA
Sin: Hiding Behind Excuses
It's always easier to say "No, I can't" instead of "Yes,
I will try
something new and scary and challenging today." These (de)merit
badges
represent the silly---and not-so-silly---excuses I've used myself
or heard
from my closest friends.
The next time you're overwhelmed by "I can't," think
the following instead:
"
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." (Ulysses by
Alfred Lord
Tennyson)
"
No, try not. Do or do not. There is no try." (Yoda)
|
|
Sharon Benton,
Woodinville, Washington USA
Sin: Intolerance
The title "Just Symbols" can
be read as the religious icons are merely symbols or that they
are righteous symbols. I chose symbols to represent many different
cultures and religions, and for their graphic quality. They were
arranged according to graphic appeal and block color, with no regard
to the meaning of a particular symbol, or what could be construed
by placement of one symbol beside another. I used colorful blocks
made from fabric scraps against a black background to resemble
a stained glass window. This quilt also speaks to the beauty and
unity that we could achieve by practicing religious tolerance.
|

" Just Symbols"
detail
|
Tristan Robin Blakeman,
New Haven, Connecticut USA
Sin: Intolerance
Machine Pieced, Computer
Generated Images, Fused Applique, Machine Quilting, Heat Set
Crystals
I am often shocked - and always bewildered - by those who are rabidly
anti-gay...especially when the reason for their mean-spiritedness is
explained as being religiously faithful.
Frankly, I hope I am never
able to understand it.
There are gods of many religions
depicted - Christian, Buddist, Shinto, Hindu, Greek and Roman gods,
pagan dieties - and a few good ole American gods and goddesses
(James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Glinda the Good Witch...)
Each of the gods and goddesses has a crystal 'tear' at their eye.
They are all looking towards
the red 'flaming' area -
where there are photographs of some of the anti-gay demonstrators that
were - in my opinion - beyond the pale. One man holds a sign that screams, "Gay?
God Abhors You" ... another one states emphatically, "Fags
Die - God Laughs." The hatred and anger in the eyes of these people
startle me - and make me realize just how divided our country is. Over
something as simple as
who people fall in love with.
|

"...and All the Gods Wept"
50"x62"
detail
|
Sherry Boram
Pendleton, Indiana USA
Sin: Exploitation
Exploitation, intended
or not, is the result of our country's hunger for products and
services above and beyond the necessary. I hope that these images
bring new thought to the mindless consumption of goods and services
that dearly cost human life, wildlife and the environment.
Hand painted, machine appliqued and quilted. Pieces of used T-shirts
made in Third World countries serve as batting for this piece. Embellished
with decorative threads, shredded U.S. currency and tear shaped pieces
cut from plastic water bottles.
|
|
Sharon Bowman,
Muncie, Indiana, USA
Sin: Stupidity
This quilt represents the sin of stupidity,
as reflected in the stupid things people say. I believe people
can choose to be stupid, and this quilt includes some spectacular
statements from politicians and others (it is just a coincidence
that they are all men, really!). Cotton, painted, hand stitched,
fabric beads.
|

" Did He Really Say That?"
10.5" x 50.5" (inches)
detail 1 -- detail
2
|
Sharon Bowman
Muncie, Indiana, USA
Sin: Conformity
Statement: In this era of wanting to fit in,
to look and act like everyone else to achieve acceptance, along
comes the Red Hat Society to feed that need. It is ironic that
a group so wedded to conformity (red hats, purple attire) could
be an outcrop of a poem boldly enbracing individuality! I decided
to include phrases and images that might reflect the hidden side
of the Red Hat ladies, and a woman who knows how to be unique.
|

" We Can’t All Wear Red Hats"
21" W x 18.75" L
detail
|
Frances Caple,
Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
Sin: Chocolate
Materials: vintage fabric and lace with
some hand dyed and shiny fabrics, cotton threads and batt.
Techniques: machine and hand appliqué with machine quilting.
Story and statement: I chose my own personal sin for the 8th deadly
sin challenge, chocolate, I have always been a chocolate lover and
that is when my will power is lowest, I was uncertain how to depict
chocolate sin as a quilt but fate showed me the way by bringing some
of my tehnique samples to my attention which were all based on a simple
tree shape - a chocolate tree, then I thought of that apple tree in
the first garden and realized if I was Eve it would have to have been
a chocolate tree to tempt me.
|

"Chocolate Temptation"
Size: 17.5 inches x 22.5 inches (or 45cm. x 58cm)
|
Lynn Chinnis
Warrenton, Virginia USA
Sin: Boredom
I believe that Boredom is the
8th Deadly Sin, because it is a state of mind we could easily overcome.
I have tried to show Boredom as a state of "gray" with
a door one can walk through, if one wishes, into a more interesting
world. In this world, I have shown some of the things which keep
me from being bored--activities, interests, travel, family, and friends.
Others would probably choose other things, but the important thing
is to "Just Do Something." It is too easy to not do,
think, or feel, anything, and then become bored. Note: the picture
of my
husband walking our daughter down the aisle was taken by Dee Dunn,
of Purcellville, Virginia, who has graciously given me permission
to use it in this quilt.
|

"
Just DO Something"
19.5" x 20"
detail 1 -- detail
2 -- detail 3 -- detail
4
|
Gerrie Congdon
Santa Rosa, California USA
Sin: Indifference
I
have chosen the sin of indifference for this challenge. Throughout
the history of mankind, the silence of humanity has often been
responsible for the perpetuation of crimes against mankind.
On the background, I have painted in red, graffiti style, some
of the names of places and the crimes and atrocities from my lifetime.
They are: Columbia, Sarajevo, The Congo, Iraq, Germany, Darfur
- Sudan, Kosovo, South Africa, USA, Auschwitz, HIV-AIDS, Abu Graib,
Hate Crimes, Genocide, Apartheid, Death Squads, Ethnic Cleansing,
Segregation.
I have chosen our current president
as the icon of indifference (not to say he is the only one, just
the most prominent in our
times). I have screen printed his image over the graffiti background,
in 3 poses. Hands have been appliquéd over the eyes, ears
and mouth to represent see no evil, hear no evil and speak of no
evil.
I found some significant quotes by
famous people that I have printed on
fabric using screen printing, the printer or by image transfer using a
solvent. I embellished the piece with some organza printed with linear
lines to represent being behind the bars of indifference, Then I over
stamped with various abstract designs to represent how we trample on
the rights of others.
|

" The Essence of Inhumanity"
17" x 20"
detail 1 -- detail
2 -- detail 3 -- detail
4
|
Gabriele Griffin
Puyallup, Washington USA
Sin: Sadness
Pieced fabric; - Meander
quilting; - Row edge appliqué.
Embellishments: organza, beads,
color, thread, crystals, buttons
This piece of fabric reflects
how I see the world once in a while – focused on the negative
site and missing the entire positive around us. It’s all
a matter of perception."
|

" Sadness”
Size: 27” x 30”
detail 1-- detail
2 -- detail 3 -- detail
4
|
Jayne
Hill,
Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, England
Sin : UFO's
As 2005 had already been designated
my "Year of Finishing Up What I Started", UFO's seemed
a natural sin for this Quilter.
I really believe the 8th Deadly Sins are Trashing our Environment,
Destroying the Planet and Lack of Concern for the Other Creatures with
whom we share the world, but I'm not confident in my artistic abilities
to portray them adequately in a quilt.>> However, UFO's are something
I am good at!
Here, all the left-over blocks, workshop samples, blocks I received
in "swaps", projects I started and thought "Whoa, never
going to make a whole quilt of this!" and some items purchased
in "Quilter's Rummage Sales" have redeemed their Sin by becoming
a quilt! For an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist who likes everything
finished, this is a wonderful result! In some cases, these items have
been sitting on a shelf for years gazing reproachfully at me whenever
I walked past. Now they are all used up, and the cleared shelf is empty!
|

"The UFO Quilt"
68 x 77 inches
|
Becky Kelly
Kingsburg, California USA
Watercolor paints on muslin
|

"Wasting Time"
9-1/2" l x 8-1/2" w
|
Sat
Sansar Khalsa-Best,
Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Sin: Procrastination
Fused commercial and hand dyed,
painted, shiva paint sticked fabric- angelina/tintzl/sheers clock,
painted cellophane teeth, puff paint trees, and numbers, small
clock parts (don't show in the picture) ribbon. Machine quilted
Artists Statement: I had started
on a piece 'indifference' inspired by a speech by Elie Weisel given
to then President Clinton at the Kennedy Center. It was a very
dark piece, also my job in the ICU was extremely difficult, and
the world seemed almost without hope. So, rather than turn on the
gas and stick my head in the oven I decided to do something that
made me smile. Procrastination. I think most of us do this at least
sometimes in our lives. I visioned the woman being eaten by a clock
monster and it just came together. I had just used some of the
techniques in a class in Quilt
University with Linda Schmidt, and enjoyed using them further.
|

"Procrastination"
24" x 30"
detail 1 -- detail
2
|
Klara Schafler Landsberg
Kiryat Chaim, Haifa, Israel
Sin: Political Hypocrisy
36/41 inch
Pc prints, hand dyed fabric, machine pieced and
free hand quilted on bernina 217
I believe the eighth deadly sin
is POLITICAL HYPOCRISY, the only moral sin in a relativistic world.
If one adheres to a belief in moral relativism then the only wrong
one can accuse another of is saying one thing but doing another.
Everything else is relative.
In the world of politics our leaders
often set and expect high standards from their colleagues, but not
of themselves. Their hypocrisy that allows them to say one thing
but do another, has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent
people. We
have many examples including:
ISRAEL – The
Oslo Peace Accord was signed on September 13, 1993, but violated
less than 24 hours later by a Palestinian bus bomber.
BOSNIA – The 1995 Srebrenica massacre of Muslims by Serbs took between
8,000 – 10,000 lives. U.N. soldiers stood meekly to the side and handed
over lists of names of men who were separated from the women and children,
and were never to be seen alive again.
CHECHNYA – An agreement
of non-violence was issued in August 1996. Its failure, and the
18 months of devastating war that followed, claimed 80,000 lives
and left 200,000 people homeless. The dispute continues to this
day.
LEBANON – In
1975 an insanely complicated civil war broke out between
Muslims and Christians. U.N. forces entered Lebanon
but withdrew after suffering heavy losses. In 1984
Syria intervened, sending in 16,000 troops. This triggered
cruel fighting and ethnic massacres. Lebanon still
suffers under the heavy hand of Syria.
RWANDA – More
than 1 million Hutus and Tutsis have been killed by
each other in the massacres and reprisal attacks that
gripped this country during the 1990s. About 94 % of
the dead are Tutsis and about 80% of the dead are men.
Hutus killed Tutsis and Tutsis killed Hutus while the
international community failed to intervene.
IRELAND – A
700 year old struggle has taken a new path in our time.
Terrorist bomb attacks leave masses of casualties among
innocent people on both sides.
There are many more examples of
political hypocrisy: our leaders promise one thing but do another.
Innocent lives are destroyed.
The politicians keep talking. WHEN WILL IT END
|
|
Kathy Lichtendahl
Clark, Wyoming USA
Sin: Tongue in cheek - Leaving the toilet
seat up.
Actual - Takingyourself too seriously
Materials/Techniques: My piece
is made primarily from 100% cotton with
small additions of silk organza (toilet paper) and hand-dyed silk
(kleenex). The toilet "seat" is formed from cotton over
Timtex to give it more body and make it somewhat 3-D. After hand
appliquing the various pieces and machine quilting overall,
the shadows were painted on the toilet to give it more
depth.
The floor tiles are created by quilting through the layers
with a double needle. The small quilt in the backgound is
made from a photo I took of a shell which I then manipulated
in Photoshop and printed out onto treated fabric. The inner
border of the small quilt is beaded.
No, I don't really believe the "sin" of leaving the
toilet seat up should be punishable by death (although
I have occasionally come close to murder at 2am!)The
real 8th Deadly Sin I am suggesting is that of taking
myself too seriously at times. I sometimes need to remind myself of
those things that are truly important in life and those that are
not and learn to laugh at the latter while taking time to enjoy the
former!
|

"The 8th Deadly
Sin as Viewed Through the
Eyes of a Woman at 2 a.m."
24" x 40"
detail
|
Kimberly Marcus,
Tarrytown, New York USA
Sin: Willful Ignorance
For this piece, I used conventional photo
fabric for the inkjet printer. I used cotton fabric along with a combination
of fusible and sewn appliqué. I also have a curtain as a 3D
embellishment.
My 8th Deadly Sin is Willful Ignorance. I chose this because after the
election of 2004 I felt that many of the voters willfully ignored the
true state of affairs in this country: a deceitful, hypocritical and
greedy cadre of neo-con men, spiraling the country into massive debt
and assaulting civil rights using fear and deception, which toomany people
were all to willing to ignore.
|

"Don't Believe Everything
You Think"
22” X 26”
detail
|
Ann Louise Mullard-Pugh
Las Vegas, Nevada
Sin: being an agnostic
The piece will offend many people....I
will not be showing it at my next guild meeting! But I feel assaulted
and offended by many, including some friends, that assume that
I welcome their sharing their devotion to their God. The U.S. is
moving to a Christian theocracy, a scary thought to those of us
that do not share their convictions.
I would hope the piece can be
shown but I also know that sometimes things get too controversial
for a general public form. It will be a sad commentary but I do
understand if it happens...it will prove my point. I made the piece
to express my frustration at the lack of tolerance that is growing
in the country.
|

"God Loves Me...If"
23.5” x 20.5”
|
Virginia
O'Donnell
Portland, Oregon USA
Sin: Self-centeredness
My piece focuses on the sin of
self-centeredness. I observe often that some people only follow
the rules if it is comfortable for them to do so, never thinking
how their actions will affect others around them. The most obvious
one is when drivers continue to turn left long after the light
has turned red and holding up all the other drivers who also have
an important place to go. I also see it in races for the biggest
houses, on the highest hills with the best views, filled with every
imaginable decoration and toy. I see it in pursuits to be first,
the best, the richest. It goes beyond using your talents well—it’s
how a person ignores every one else’s feelings to get to
the “front of the line.”
THE MAKING OF “IT’S
ALL ABOUT ME”
I used a digital camera
to take pictures of 2 friends posing to get an image of a person
pushing others back. I was able to print text from my computer
program to pieces of my own dyed fabric for the flags of color
and for the “me’s.” The fused images are all
surrounded by satin stitch and I used free motion quilting to
add texture to the background.
|

"It's All About
Me"
29L x 33W inches
|
Cathy Ortelle,
Cotati, (Sonoma County), California, USA
Sin: Ignorance
I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge in the
best sense. It not only challenged my process; it challenged my
ideals. Hand-dyed fabrics were stamped and overprinted. I painted
Tyvek in primary colors to draw the eye around the quilt. Fused
Angelina fiber embellishes. Machine applique and quilting.
|

"Ignorance is Not
Bliss"
29" W x 43" L
detail |
Louise
Perrin,
Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada
Sin - Tailgating
(to drive too closely
to the vehicle in front of you)
Materials/techniques - 100% cotton commercial
printed fabrics, bridal netting, bead and other embellishment and
embroidery to be added later, machine applique, machine quilting.
The challenge I had in creating this piece
was how to portray the
sin of tailgating visually. I decided to use the image of a very
large truck crowding a little car in a place where the car had
no
place to go, something I have experienced on more than one
occasion. This created considerable fear in a new driver, as
the
trucker had no apparent reason to do so, especially when I was
obeying the speed limit! This is especially irksome here in
Saskatchewan, where I usually drive on the vast expanse of a
four lane divided highway that doesn't have a lot of traffic
most of
the
time. Tailgating also happens when people pass you and pull in
so
close that you don't have enough room to safely stop should it
become necessary. This piece is meant to portray both actions
-
leaving the viewer wondering whether it is the 1st or 2nd vehicle
at
fault here.
|

"Stay Off My Tail!!!"
30" x 20"
detail
|
Mary Richling
Omaha, Nebraska USA
Sin: Credit/Charge card debt
Size: 24.25" x 25"
Technique: fused
fabric, cutwork applique, machine embroidery, machine quilted,
and airpen fabric painted.
Materials: cotton fabrics
and batting, fabric paints, silk thread quilting on surface
with 2ply embroidery thread in bobbin.
Artists
statement: I feel that credit debt has spun out of control
in our world. Institutions make it too easy to take their money,
at a considerable personal cost for persons with little or no
self control. The quilt block used is in this piece is “Robbing
Peter to Pay Paul” which speaks for itself. The lower edge
of the quilt is falling apart like so many lives deeply in debt.
The quilting is a concentric circle to a bottomless hole...if
you can’t get ou
|

"Cash is King-Clip
the Card"
detail
|
Shirley Jo Rimkus-Falconer,
Independence, Oregon USA
Sin: Ignoring the obvious
This shows two persons, heads
in the clouds, stepping over the obvious, walking right over them
as if they weren’t there, as if their problems didn’t
exist. They are fine people, they don’t dirty their hands
on “the problems of the poor” they are rich, they do
all they are required to do, as shown by the symbols they hide
under. If they would at least try to understand the person who
is less fortunate, less lucky, who are hungry, jobless, different …(
include this if you want too…) This is “Bushism” at
work.
|

"I'm Not Prejudiced"
22.25" x 18.5"
detail
|
Debra Roby,
Hercules, California USA
Sin: Constant external stimulation (Ipods,
cellphones, tv, etc.).
Fused and appliqued, using
commercial fabrics and polyester organza.
The Seven Deadly Sins are choices
one makes that takes them away from knowing their true self. In
our modern society, we are unwilling to give up the constant external
input that keeps us company, but prevents us thinking too hard
or living deeper than the surface. Television keeps us company
at home; Ipods fills our head with music on our walks; and we grab
the cellphone the instant we leave our garages so we don't have
to drive"alone". This constant NOISE is my nomination
for the Eighth Deadly Sin.
|

"Noise"
36" long x 35" wide
detail
|
Maria Rubingh,
Cincinnati, Ohio USA
Sin: Indifference
Created to fill the requirements of both the
Straight and Narrow Challenge and the Eighth Deadly Sin Challenge
sponsored by the Quiltart list.
The Eighth Deadly Sin I chose was indifference.
The old quote "The
opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference" applies
here. I have met people who coast through life without anything
but ironic watchfulness. In a sense, this choosing to disengage
enables all other sins, for if one truly loves one's world or one's
neighbor, how can one harm or allow harm to come to her? The averted
eyes, cool color scheme and blue veiling attempts to convey this.
In addition, the confined space of the piece suggests the self-imposed "narrow"-mindedness
of this state.
|

"Indifference"
10.5” x 59.5”
detail
|
Meena
Schaldenbrand
Plymouth, Michigan US
Sin: Crashing that Diet
This quilt has been reworked as many times
as my diet. A dream sewing machine patches up holes in a diet that
is always under construction...
Alternate
route advised: hamburgers
Barrels of excuses
Cones : vanilla/chocolate..caution
crash!
Diet Detour
Expect Delays : no
exercise
Frustration Ahead:
fat
Gridlock : guilty
pleasures
Humor, help with bandaid
Issue at work: eat...no
yes, no .. Incubating bright ideas: lightbulb
spool
Junk food
Kindness: "Kisses"
Longterm relief : low sodium,
Loser
Mouth: calories
No parking, standing,
stopping, no kidding!
One way Optimism,
out of lunch
Parking meter: Plan:
eat light
Questions..fat, calories;The
Queen of Diets: Spoon head, eating light, calories in mouth,
artist palette vegetable body; fork arms instead of paintbrush;
legs: bottles (metal cans )
Road rage: recycle
recipes
Stop: size..its your
choice
Think Thin
Ultimate Parking Lot:
hips, thighs
Vegetables: nutrition
;Vanity plate of Imagine car : visualize success
..become a
Winner; workout zone
X : No sugar
Yield
Zoom...skeleton : the End of construction
/ diet
Materials and methods:
Stitching with Metal pop cans, foil "Kisses",
paper cord sewing machine needle , wiremesh cones, aluminum window
screening shopping cart, charms,
trims
|

"Crashing that Diet
Again from A to Z"
27"w x 38"h
detail 1 -- detail
2 -- detail 3
|
Janice Simpson
Marquette, Michigan USA
Sin: Excessive tattoos and body piercing
The 8th Deadly Sin……Excessive
Tattoo’s and Body Piercing
Gilda Rose…a rose by another name is
still a rose……
This diva was shopping at Wal-Mart’s
and was described to me by a friend…excessive tattoo’s,
body piercing, bare belly, and when she opened her mouth ,it looked
like a drawer in a jewelry shop!! (If recognized.. this is truly
fictional).
The pink marbled fabric for the background
was hand dyed and given to me by a friend. When I saw the fabric,
it spoke to me as a part of the 8th deadly sin. Then I began to
gather fabric’s and embellishments. I found a Barbie watch
with a broken stem just right for Gilda Rose (it had belonged to
my daughter as a child). I’ve furnished Gilda Rose with lot’s
of tattoo’s, rings, ear-rings, jewelry and body piercing’s.
When making a pattern for Gilda Rose, I drew a sketch. Then cutting
from freezer paper till the shape was what I wanted. I then transferred
pattern to fusible-web and ironed on my design. My last detail
on the 8th deadly sin quilt is the lightening streaks couched with
yarn and seed beads.
|
 "Gilda
Rose"
26.” X 31.5”
detail 1 -- detail 2
|
Sandra Starley
Moab, Utah, USA
Sin: Procrastination
Challenge: starting and finishing,
meeting the deadline, not procrastinating, of course. Figuring out how to show the sin and
theflip side.
The process has really got me thinking about my "sin" and
my life.
I used textile markers to write
time related phrases over each section of the quilt. In the center
section featuring busy clock fabric and a watch photo transfer, I
wrote phrases about procrastination: cutting it too close, running
out of time, hurry up, fashionably late, time's up, down to the wire,
etc.
In the outer borders with the
calm celestial fabric, I wrote phrases about good time management:
in plenty of time, a stitch in time saves nine, slow down, etc.
Finally, over the millennium
hourglass blocks, I wrote clockwise: time flies whether or not you're
having fun. Yes, I finally got to use some of my year 2000 fabric
and it was
only 2005..
|

It's about time?
19.5" x 19.5"
detail 1 - detail 2
|
Julie Zaccone Stiller
Boulder Creek, California, USA
Sin: Inattention
My biggest challenge in creating this piece
was
narrowing down what I wanted to express. I had all
kinds of upsetting imagery and words swirling around in my brain, so
I did a visual journal over the last few months from the newspaper
and newsmagazines. I also did some writing, and what I boiled it all
down to was "Inattention". Sins allowed to happen by a people
(America) who though basically good are NOT Paying Attention!
|
 " Pay
Attention America!"
detail
|
Priscilla
Stultz,
Fairfax, Virginia USA
Sin: Listmaking
I chose this particular subject because
I find that I tie myself to lists. If it is not on my list, it
is not getting done. Sometimes my husband will come upon one
of the multitude of lists lying around the house and put his
name as #1. Lists for some people are an organization tool to
me they dictate my life. It is time for me to lighten-up a little
and enjoy the unexpected and spontaneous.
The quilt was made from a personal
photo using pen, hand dyed fabrics and thread.
|
" To do lists rule
my life"
22" W X 17" L
detail
|
Sin: Obedience
My sin is obedience and while obedience is in itself not a
sin, extreme obedience to political ideologies, family traditions
and religion that go against the very desires and intellect of
the individual is. At first my intentions were political and
my early designs reflected that but as I worked on the design
and it grew it became less about politics and much more about
the strong oppressive tradition of religion and culture that
exists in some family's and how in this day and age some people
will still submit themselves to the authority of the family and
live lives not of their choosing and against their deepest desires.
|
"From Cradle to Grave"
|
Michelle
Verbeeck
Sin: Racism
There are many prejudices
and discriminations deep rooted in our societytoday. We know
they exist, yet manage to turn a blind eye not only to the acts
themselves but also to the peoples whose lives are scarred by
these
misdeeds of humanity.
Racism is invisible to some people just as this quilt would appear to
someone who is physically colorblind. We choose what we want to see and only
when we are exposed to the realities of life does life itself take on new
meaning.
These injustices are perpetuated out of the
gnorance of fear and hate; the
distorted beliefs that feed intolerance, rear their ugly heads and remind us
all that we still have a long way to go in the battle against racism.
|

"Are You Colorblind?"
60" x 18" |
Sabrina Zarco,
Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
Sin: Apathy
I started out creating a quilt
about intolerance. My art work is inspired by my daily life
and work. Every
other year the legislature is in session
in AR and this year they meet. As a community activist and
artist I use art as a tool in my work with different communities.
One
of the political
and religious groups, they are not really separate here, were
running on the fear and hate ticket again. This time they decided
to discriminate
against several different groups of people. I worked on the
quilt by machine and by hand so that it could travel with me
as I work
all over
the state in some of the targeted communities. As I talked
with people it began to surface that even bigger than intolerance
was the discussion
of apathy. People know that change is needed and injustice
is
all around but they look for someone else to step up, do the
work and
speak out.
Reminds me of the quote about how eventually no one is left
to speak out. So the quilt began to grow and then I realized
it!
It was not one but two quilts. I asked people what they thought
was the tool that promoted fear and apathy and the winner was
the television.
So I combined computer
enhanced images and commercial fabric to make the quilt. The intolerance
quilt
will be complete later, since the apathy quilt was "screaming
the loudest."
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" Got Apathy? Why bother"
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Vivien Zepf,
Thornwood, New York, USA
Sin: Entitlement
-- Techniques used: Applique, beading,
calligraphy, embroidery, photo transfer, stamping
-- "Sin": A sense of entitlement
-- Artist statement: In our world of priviledge, it angers me that
so many people can be so self-absorbed, convinced that their time,
effort, and/or " position" are of greater value than anyone
else's. These people have a terrific sense of entitlement. I've decided
to make a tongue-in-cheek representation of some of the signs of a
sense of entitlement so they're easy to recognize.
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"The World Revolves
Around Me"
26.5" x 22"
detail
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