I chose the theme Cell since I started my life fascinated with life and was captivated by microorganisms. In junior high we had "slam" books where people responded to questions that probed into their likes and dislikes. I was probably the only 7th grader who claimed Louis Pasteur as an idol. My graduate research revolved around election micrography of cells on culture. My textbooks have gorgeous images and I have often thought of developing a series of cell related quilts. I was also hoping that the word had usage in enough other areas that we could have a good diversity of interpretations.
I had planned on a quilt that highlighted a mitochondrion. This summer I started an online design course with Katie Pasquini Masopust. One of our assignments was on edges and I decided I needed an amoeba crossing over the field of the quilt. I looked at many images of amoeba before I got started and saw that the amoeba has two areas of cytoplasm thus the 2 shades of gray. This cell is also drinking - you can see pinocytosis starting at the top where projections from the cell are creating a fluid filled vesicle. The green dots are vesicles filled with alga, the large yellow one is the contractile vacuole that maintains the fluid balance in the cell. The nucleus was constructed using scraps of thread covered with dyed cheese cloth and then held down with quilting. I intended to add seed beads for more texture but my husband talked me out of it.
