Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Andrea's Mystery Quilt-Jack The (seam) Ripper

Ahhhh...I love a good mystery, especially a British one!
My first thought was Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, then thought of, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.  After a few days of considering those two options, I thought of Jack The Ripper, as I have been fascinated with him for as long as I can remember .  At some point, after I decided that Jack would be my "victim", I realized that I have been associated with a "ripper" for the past 15+ years, so the concept of Jack The (seam) Ripper was born!
The background is silkscreened and rubber stamped on antique linen that I dipped in very watered-down black acrylic paint.  The background images are from a photo of Big Ben and the Parliament buildings; a Victorian street map of the area in London where Jack committed his crimes; and a bit of information regarding the Whitechapel murders and the victims names.  Even though I wanted this to be a whimsical piece, I felt a certain obligation to acknowledge the murdered women.  The last surface design element is a large rubber stamp question mark.  The houses are silkscreened on cotton, cut out and fused, "Jack" is fused black organza and the lettering is fused, free-hand cut out of black cotton.  Originally I intended to include the word (seam) on the quilt, but thought an actual seam ripper would add a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor!  I don't think they show up very well in the photo, but I made a number of slits into the background with the seam ripper also.

10 comments:

  1. Andrea, how wonderful! Jack the seam ripper, indeed. I could easily spot red seam ripper, even before I clicked to enlarge, so never worry--it does show up! I love all the silk-screened London references and landmarks, the wonderful lamp post, the real Jack so menacingly scary. So clever, so original--and funny too! What a bunch of fantastic artists all you Mavens are. These quilts just get better and better!

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  2. Oh so clever and so well executed. The detail you provided in your silk screening is
    impressive. Very nice work!

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  3. Andrea - you've done it again! This is such a clever quilt and I love all the details you put into it. You are SO creative and I always look forward to seeing your quilts. Way to go!

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  4. I would never have thought of a mystery book or story, you smart one! And the seam ripper takes the musings, connections to our world of quilting, over the top. I like the lamp post a lot and the sketches over the hand dyed and stamped and screened base. I went to check on the artist suspected by an American novelist and saw so many other people listed. There is a lot of material here for your figuring. Just finished the latest PDJames.I get too scared!

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  5. What an interesting and clever juxtaposition between the dark and light side of this subject. Your lettering intrigued me with a few areas remaining more solid black. The more I look at this quilt the more I'm drawn to it. You did a marvelous job creating background texture, highlighting and contrast. Really, what looks simple and understated initially is quite complex, balanced and smartly conceived. Very cool.

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  6. Andrea,
    This is a wonderful intriguing quilt. I love the composition and all the layers of meaning and info in this little 12x12. Using the seam ripper sure was a fun way to include something that we have to use, but would rather not.
    Well Done!

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  7. Andrea - I love the way you built up your quilt layer-by-layer. And reading your description was like unraveling the mystery of how you put everything together. I've done a fair amount of 'silk' screening, and really admire how you build up your layers by incorporating so many different techniques. Great quilt !

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  8. Andrea, love your quilt theme and execution (oops, was that a pun?). After taking Lonni Rossi's class on Surface Design I have a great appreciation for your techniques of silk screen and stamping. A really beautiful quilt!!

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  9. Oh, Andrea - you are too clever!! The whole concept, the techniques you used, the humor and the seam ripper all add up to a fabulous piece! I really enjoyed your explanation too!! Brilliant!

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