Material Mavens: Judy's Balancing Rocks

Monday, January 15, 2018

Judy's Balancing Rocks

I have always been fascinated by the way people can balance rocks. It doesn’t seem possible, but they have the patience to make it happen and I love seeing them. One day I was hiking on a trail at Ghost Ranch which is near Abiquiu, New Mexico (Georgia O’Keefe’s territory) and came upon some rocks that were balanced on each other. I took pictures of them and thought I would use that for my “Rock” quilt. As I was paging through the other photos I found this one of the most spectacular balanced rocks that no man can make. If you ever get to go to Ghost Ranch, hike the trail to Chimney Rock, this is what you will see.

Here is the "In Process" photo. The photo is 8.5" x 11" paper. I traced the lines and enlarged it to 11" x 14". I did a little bit of painting on it, but you really can't see it. It did help me decide how I should quilt it.

Here is a closeup that gives the truer color of the piece and the thread work that I did on it. The sky fabric is a piece that I hand dyed.

6 comments:

AliceJanuary 15, 2018 at 12:53 PM
Judy, I have seen the balanced rocks in New Mexico, and I, too, have many photos of them! They are spectacular and amazing. I LOVE your quilt. I also love that you showed us the process photos!
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Carolyn HensonJanuary 15, 2018 at 4:10 PM
Iv'e been to Chimney Rock Judy, and you have captured it perfectly in this beautiful quilt. Thanks for reminding me of that spiritual country. Love it!
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AnonymousJanuary 15, 2018 at 8:18 PM
Wow! This is absolutely awesome and I am so impressed. You did a fantastic job.
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Jane HartfieldJanuary 15, 2018 at 8:30 PM
How impressive! You did a fabulous job of depicting an awesome natural wonder.
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Kathy HarteJanuary 16, 2018 at 4:13 AM
Judy, this is Amazing ! I think the only "Balanced Rocks" I've seen are those on beaches (like in Maui !) that have been made on location by people who must be extremely talented and a lot more patient than I'll ever be.
Thanks for sharing your photos, and details of how you created this beautiful quilt !
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Gail BradneyJanuary 16, 2018 at 11:17 PM
I’ve seen photos of Chimney Rock and you have most impressively depicted it in your quilt. The color is so accurate. I’m in awe of your pattern drawing. Thanks for sharing your technique.
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Themes for the Quilts

Below are the themes on which our quilts have been based:

Round One Quilts

9/15/11 Harmony

11/15/15 Surprise

1/15/12 South
3/15/12 Element
5/15/12 Mystery
7/15/12 Daydream
9/15/12 Spiral
11/15/12 Travel
1/15/13 Interwoven
3/15/13 Communication
5/15/13 Canyon

7/15/13 Cell

9/15/13 Green

11/15/13 Comfort

1/15/14 Strong

3/15/14 Translate

5/15/14 Spring

7/15/14 Friendship

Round Two Quilts

10/15/14 Contrast

1/15/15 Modern
4/15/15 Neighbor
7/15/15 Time
10/15/15 Circle(s)
1/15/16 Pun

4/15/16 Doodle

7/15/16 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

10/15/16 Reflection

1/15/17 Boundaries

4/15/17 Quote

7/15/17 Space

10/15/17 Reach

1/15/18 Rock

4/15/18 Blues

THE MATERIAL MAVENS

We are a group of art quilters who come from various parts of the United States, from the East coast and then south to Arkansas and Texas. We were inspired by the original Twelve by Twelve international art quilting group.

Beginning in September, 2011, we started posting our 12"x 12" art quilts, which were based on themes chosen in turn by our members. For Round One, we posted quilts every two months, always on the 15th of the designated months.

Round Two of The Material Mavens began in October, 2014. Some changes were made: quilts were posted every three months, and the quilts could be be either 12"x 12" or rectangular ones measuring 11" x 14", either horizontal or vertical in orientation.

Round Three of The Material Mavens began in July, 2018. Again, changes have been made. Now those members who wish to stay affiliated with the group are free to post quilts every time or every now and then. Two, our blog administrator collected suggested themes from the members who wanted to remain affiliated. These themes were then pulled at random from a "hat," and they were then assigned in order for the posting dates. Since we had 13 members who wanted to remain, we will be posting quilts every 3 months until 2021! This date is significant and appropriate, because 2021 will be the 10th year that our group has been in existence.

MEMBERS REMAINING

1. Alice Baird (Waco, TX) (abaird125@gmail.com)

2. Andrea Willey (MA)
3. Carolyn Henson (TX) (cjhenson214@gmail.com)

5. Gail Bradney (AR)
6. Jane Hartfield (AR) (arkjjhart@mynewroads.com)
7. Judy Steward (TX)
8. Kathy Harte (TX)

9. Karen Pulaski
10. Sara Norris (TX)
11. Tricia Deck (Lincoln, (MA)

12. Teresa Schlabach (AR)

13. Nedra Weaver