Friday, March 15, 2013

Judy W's Communication: SOS

"SOS" by Judy Wedemeyer (12"x12")

Nonverbal communication appeals to my perceptual brain.  I enjoy the mystique of relaying coded messages and the silent gestures of sign language.  Most mind boggling but simplest of all is prayer.  It’s invisible, may be silent, and only requires thought to transmit and receive. What an awesome concept in this high tech world!  My quilt portrays two of my favorite methods of communication to relay a message... morse code and prayer.  My challenge was in designing visual elements and learning how to use Pages on my Mac to overlay my images and then properly mirror and print them onto fabric.  Unfortunately I failed to make note of the ink jet fabric sheet brand I used.  The machine embroidery detail was meant to suggest dots and dashes and helped to add interest to the quilt border.

My Dad’s hobby as an Alaskan ham operator (50’s-90’s) was my first introduction to morse code and short wave radio transmission.  During Alaska’s 1964 earthquake, he relayed messages in and out of state while telephone lines were down.  [Ironically, my husband was a morse code intercept operator during his Air Force service in the 70’s before we ever met so I guess ‘ditty boppers’ were destined to be in my life!]  Around age 9 Dad set me up with a morse code chart and simple keyer.  I first learned SOS, the Maritime distress signal which meant ‘Save Our Ship’, ‘Save Our Soul’ or 'Send Out Succour".  My quilt’s encoded message supports the Save Our Soul interpretation:  “If ever in distress send God an SOS, without a spoken word your ‘voice’ will still be heard.”

As one of the earliest forms of reliable voiceless message transmission, morse code is capable of covering great distances, initially via telegraph and nowadays satellite.  (God doesn’t need either!)  Voiceless communication intrigues me for its versatility and universal appeal.  Regardless of language or cultural barriers, both morse code and sign language can be used globally.  Morse code excels in long distance whereas sign language requires a visual exchange typically up close and personal, but I suppose with internet and web cams similar distance is now achievable.  I Googled free morse encoder/decoders on the internet just to play with.  In addition to the electronic blips keyers make, Dots and Dashes are verbalized as Dihs or Dits and Dahs or visually sent as blinking light or replicated as hand gestures. 

Although morse code may be considered antiquated in comparison to computers and wireless - it will never be outdated in terms of survival when simplicity is all that’s available.  Imagine prisoners or hostages who have used morse code to tap or blink messages when speaking was not an option.  My first response when in distress... Prayer!  I rest my case. 

10 comments:

  1. A stunning quilt visually, and a quilt that "says" a lot, which is so appropriate for our Communication theme. Since this was "your" theme, Judy, I am wondering if all along knew you were going to focus on the two ways to communicate--via Morse Code and via prayer? I really enjoyed the history lesson present in your narrative. And your quilt is beautiful to look at as well. I didn't at first see the prayer hands, but once I clicked to enlarge, there they were, and now when I look at the smaller picture, they are perfectly clear to me.

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    1. Alice, I wish I could say I'd embraced a concept early on and jumped right into the quilt with time to spare... but alas, I agonized more than I thought I would because there were too many ideas flying in my head. Once I focused on voiceless communication I narrowed my options quickly. Given my personal history, Morse code and prayer just made sense and I couldn't pick between them so I merged them. I outline quilted the hands with smoke colored monofilament which provided enough relief without being distractive. Look on my WedeWorks blog to see the slightly larger quilt I did first as a practice run.

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  2. What a stunning quilt! How well you have "married" two concepts that have great meaning to you. The hands are so sculptural, looks like they are stitched on a batik fabric? Your morse code overlay is fascinating, is it printed on silk or organza?
    Thank you for the information about morse code, you have peeked my interest and will read more.

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    1. The ink jet fabric sheet I printed the images on (first the hands, then re-fed through the printer to add the Morse Code layer), had sort of a light plastic feel. I'm sorry I can't recall the brand. :/ I ironed the printed image face down on the gold colored batik until the plastic melted onto the fabric as per instructions, let cool and peeled off the backing. The blue batik was only used as border fabric. I threw out the packaging but I got the ink jet fabric sheets from JoAnn's and it not silk or organza. I've learned my lesson with this project to write things down. My memory is weak!

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  3. First saw this on my phone and did not see the hands. When I went to the computer for a larger and better view, they jumped off the screen. Beautifully done, Judy. Amazing that both your father and husband were involved with morse code - no wonder you chose this along with prayer for your excellent examples of communication. The dimensional quality given to the hands is incredible!!

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  4. Wonderful interpretation of the theme, and a great visual representation of the auditory and silent.

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  5. What a lovely personal interpretation of Communications. So special, and such a nice gesture to give it to a friend. You certainly know how to communicate! Love your quilt and your gift to a friend is amazing.

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  6. Wonderful quilt! It is beautiful, unique and wow the story behind it. Great interpretation of communication

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  7. Hi Sistah ! I LOVE THIS QUILT ! When I opened my beautiful B'day package from you and unwrapped the quilt, the first thing I saw was the hands, and I took them to be Jesus' hands as He might be praying to our heavenly Father for us here on earth. When I read your letter to me about the dots and dashes of the Morse Code I was even more overwhelmed at how much thought and effort you put into this beautiful quilt. Then you explained the dots and dashes you machine embroidered in the border and talked about how you had to do them twice so you could mirror-image the design.... all the time keeping your fingers crossed that the images stayed lined up with each other ! Absolutely Amazing, and I'll love you forever for this most incredible gift ! For the CenTex MMs, I'll bring this quilt to the Waco Quilt Guild meeting on Monday so you can see it in person. Its more gorgeous than you can imagine. Love ya, Sis ! Kath

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  8. Very nice interpretation of communication. Loved the story and history of morse code and the way you depicted it on your little quilt.

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