Friday, March 15, 2013

Andrea's Communication


Homage To The Typewriter

screened, discharged, cotton, linen and organza fabric


Communication - my mind immediately started dancing with images of telephones ( NOT cell
 phones! ), letters, typefaces, advertisements, cave drawings, pens, typewriters. 
Ahhhh....typewriters!  My sister owns two antique ones so I thought it would be fun to photograph them, and I was "off and running" and very happy to have settled on a subject matter so quickly.
A few weeks into the project I was looking on Pinterest ( I am addicted ) when I saw some postage stamps that shifted the way that I was planning on making my piece, into something a bit more personal  
and fun/whimsical: design and create my own postage stamp!  
The name and address, which is mostly hidden on the envelope, was enlarged and screened from a letter that my grandfather mailed to his mother and sister from Switzerland in 1910.  As the postmark on that envelope was from Luzern, and I was creating a U.S. stamp I wanted an old U.S. postmark.  The one that I used is from another letter mailed to a relative in 1905 from Boston, MA.
A little information about the history of the typewriter is screened on to organza, and unfortunately a piece of thread ( that I did not see until just a few days ago! ) is also fused between the organza and "envelope".


Close-up of "postage stamp"




Close-up of brief history of the typewriter

12 comments:

  1. Andrea, super work! I'm so glad, too, that you included close-ups. My husband was in here while I was taking an early look at early "revealers," and he loved this, too. Isn't it funny to think that the current generation would perhaps not even recognize a typewriter?

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  2. I love it! it is so on the money and you :)
    I used to have an old typewriter too, hated the thing as it was so hard to push the keys. Loved the keys though, and watching the unit operate - great invention.
    I also miss good handwriting - most people don't even know how to hold a pen, never mind write well!

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  3. Looks fantastic, Andrea!! Your postage stamp idea is so original, and I just love the techniques you incorporated to create the layers on this piece! Beautiful work!

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  4. Wow. This blows my mind. Your use of the thermofax machine, so regularly, would justify the purchase. A very striking piece. Thanx!

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  5. Oh Andrea, I think this is your best piece ever! I didn't even think of the typewriter - but how clever is that? I love the way you created the postage stamp and the screen printing of the "History of the Typewriter" was the crowning glory. So WONDERFUL!

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  6. I agree with Carolyn - I think this is my favorite of yours to date. The composition is so striking - the handwriting, the round typewriter keys, the custom stamp. It's a delight to study.
    Fantastic!

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  7. I'm nearly speechless looking at your typewriter quilt. Your ingenuity and the perfect balance you achieved visually with all the layers... I'm in awe. I knew great communication quilts would result in this challenge, and yours is by far my favorite.

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    1. Thank you so much Judy for choosing such an intriguing theme!

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  8. I love the layers you put into this quilt and how you included the personal as well as the global - well done

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  9. Wow! You packed in a lot and it is wonderful! This is truly a work of art!

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  10. Oh my gosh ! I love this quilt ! Andrea....I'll say it again.... if only we lived closer to each other......I'd be in your studio every day; I'd take classes from you; I'd volunteer to be your apprentice; I'd clean your screens for you; I'd polish your Thermofax machine and other equipment for you..... I'd be your studio slave :-D You WOW me with every one of your quilts, and this one is awesome ! So looking forward to meeting you at IQF/Houston in November - We'll have a blast ! Congrats on another super successful quilt !

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  11. WOW, what an offer! You are used to snow, so the elements here won't be a problem: when can you move??????? :)

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