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.
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!
ReplyDeleteOh so clever and so well executed. The detail you provided in your silk screening is
ReplyDeleteimpressive. Very nice work!
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!
ReplyDeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteWhat 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.
ReplyDeleteAndrea,
ReplyDeleteThis 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!
Fun, fun, fun! I love it!
ReplyDeleteAndrea - 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 !
ReplyDeleteAndrea, 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!!
ReplyDeleteOh, 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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