I have kept to keeping a slight home country link in my work. I have not used any particular piece of hers other than using her kitchen/food theme. Poverty is a huge problem still in this country and most families have only one meal a day and that does not always include a protein. One of the popular additives to their potatoes/ maize meal & veg dish is a can of Pilchards in tomato sauce. This is one of the few things you may see stored in their cupboards or in a corner of the room. Still not cheap as it sells for approx a pound a tin but it will feed quite a large family with the other foods I have mentioned .
So, here goes
The background is pieced and painted. The tins are printed & attached using the T-shirt process. For the quilting I divided the piece into 4 areas and stitched straight angular lines. I think the simplicity of it all was what caused the problems.
The simplicity of this design is delightful and the stitching lines enhance this . Very clever to have the bright sardine tins which stand out well against the stark background. I really must try this T-shirt technique sometime . You captured the essence of Mary's work - simple household objects made into an interesting picture in a totally different medium.
ReplyDeleteLove it! I don't know what the t-shirt process is but this piece is a knock-out. Definitely a success in the "less is more" department.
ReplyDeleteThe T-shirt method is where you print your subject matter on to a `glued` backing sheet that allows you to iron it onto your T-shirt or in my case the fabric. The old fashioned way they used to add motifs to t-shirts.
DeleteLove this quilt Phil, and the story behind it is really hard to get, thanks for the reminder. I love it when you have a brief and make it your own.
ReplyDeletePhil when we spoke last you asked for an honest comment - well here it is: I think you have captured the subject brilliantly and also made it so relevant to our country and also made it your own. Congratulations on capturing the essence of her work and bringing it into an African context. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteA great mix of Andy Warhol, Mary Pratt and your SA story. Lovely balance. It might have driven you to despair more than once but thank goodness you persevered! I think Mary would approve. Techniques were perfect for your design. Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks for the background to your piece, Phil, as sad as it is to think of so much poverty there. You've done a great job capturing something ordinary and making it quite striking.
ReplyDeletePhil, your quilt is superb and you are very clever to have thought of those Lucky Star pilchards for your interpretation. You have brought back a lot of memories for me. A wonderful piece.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece. As I wasn't involved in this challenge I only looked at Mary Platt's work briefly, but this has made me want to look again more closely.
ReplyDeleteWell done Phil. You kept the piece together very well - great composition. And thanks for the story too; I wonder if even that isn't a bit expensive for some folks nowadays! I liked the simple quilting lines too.
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