Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Rita's Time: A Sort of River


Before our grand trip to Nantucket, I had planned a very different quilt. My quilt was even sketched and titled.  And then in Nantucket I visited the Whaling Museum.  There on display were 17 embroidered scenes and narratives based on the book “Moby-Dick” masterfully rendered by Susie Boardman.  After seeing those gorgeous works of needle art, I’m thinking you-all will think it a bit “fishy” to say my original idea was “harpooned” and I immediately knew my “Time” quilt would be going in a different direction. This quilt is my attempt to reproduce Susie Boardman’s style.

Susie used only three different embroidery stitches: the split stitch, the French knot and needle-lace.   She explained, “I never wanted it to be about the embroidery, but about the stories.  I didn’t want people to be looking at the pieces and wondering what stitch I used here or there.” Originally I had planned to do the same stitches on my piece.  However, I was not able to find a reference anywhere that described how to do needle lace and given the fact that I had a deadline looming, I used my old tried and true stitches: stem stitch, French knots and straight stitch.

Susie dye-painted certain areas of the fabric.  After learning about Prismacolor water-soluble colored pencils at our workshop, I used those to pre-color the fabric before the embroidery was added.

Susie used gold leaf on each of the 17 embroidered narratives.  I used gold ribbon.  And so I owe a huge Thank You to Jane for the introduction to the water-soluble pencils and to Tricia for hosting such a wonderful experience and also for letting me borrow the magazine, “Nantucket Today” with the photos and story of Susie Boardman.


The quote used and illustrated is credited to Marcus Aurelius.  One source says he was the last of the Five Good Roman Emperors and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers.



16 comments:

  1. I love the way you tied it all in to our trip! I too stared long and hard at the beautiful embroidery. It seems several of us used techniques learned on our wonderful retreat. I am so happy to be a part of this group. I feel as tho I have known my mavens forever. Rita, you have definitely hit all the high points with your piece and woven it all together in a stunner! You should be very proud of this quilt. Your talents are endless.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my goodness Rita, this takes my breath away! Your piece is exceptional and I absolutely love that you tried Susie Boardman's technique. I, too, went back to view her exhibit several times while in the Whaling Museum. You are truly an artist! Love, love, love this quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  3. As I was examining your quilt after I "clicked to enlarge", the word that came into my head was "breath taking"! And above my comment I see that Carolyn had the same reaction! I was at the Whaling Museum with Rita, and we could hardly tear ourselves away from those exquisite embroideries. And now Rita has done one of her own so spectacularly! I love the Marcus Aurelius quotation! I could rave on but I must stop! Wonderful, Rita!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is beautiful and exquisitely done - no surprise there!!
    What a meaningful quote whose message we should all heed!! I too was awed by the work of Susie Boardman at the Whaling Museum. She would be so pleased to see this!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I really like the picture. The simplicity of it... however we all know it was not a simple undertaking. That sure if a lot of hand stitching!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I really like the picture. The simplicity of it... however we all know it was not a simple undertaking. That sure if a lot of hand stitching!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Rita ..... Simply stunning ! And how wonderful that you and others who gathered in Nantucket incorporated techniques you learned and / or observed while all together. Bravo ! !

    ReplyDelete
  11. Absolutely superb work! I love how simple yet full of detail it is and that your inspiration was from your trip. All the embroidery and beadwork are wonderful! I am so happy that these quilts are like diary pages for us.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my. How very special this little quilt is. I really loved seeing those embroideries at the Whaling Museum. You did a marvelous job of emulating her technique while creating an original work of art. Wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love your interpretation of the theme - perfect quote and spectacular work. I appreciate how you used those amazing embroideries as a spring board. (Wish I could click like on many of the comments above!) You always do such tidy and beautiful work that I often think of trying to emulate Rita!

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow! This is masterful Rita! So impressive on so many levels! One of my favorites of all of your quilts!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Amazing! I am now even more sorry that my knees would not "carry me" to The Whaling Museum to see the embroideries. Wonderful, thought provoking quote, and I am in complete awe of your embroidery work.

    ReplyDelete