Innovative Quilts at Pacific International Quilt Festival XX

As promised, here are a few of my favorite innovative quilts that competed at the Pacific International Quilt Festival XX last month. With over eight hundred works of textile art showing, it was difficult to choose.

The quilters drew inspiration from boundless sources. Roberta Deluz did not have to go far to let her imagination go wild. She designed It Came from Beneath the Sea as a tribute to her father who instilled a love for classic monster movies in her.

I will never be able to look at the clock of the San Francisco Ferry Building without wondering what might ooze up the tower from the bay below.

I can related to Janet Fogg's Magic in Times Square, her interpretation of her first cab ride in New York City .

Other quilters were inspired from faraway continents. Pat Rollie's thirty years of quilting experience is evidenced in her original design depicting a tender scene from the Serengeti. As I saw this quilt, I longed to go back to Africa and encounter a mother giraffe and her calf once again.

My 85-year-old mother made a small wall quilt for an Indian friend featuring the Taj Mahal...

...and exotic creatures.

Nancy S. Brown deservedly won the best hand workmanship ribbon for her wonderfully composed penguins of South Georgia in Antarctica.

It wasn't until I took a closer look that I noticed that the penguins were navigating between mounds of  elephant seals.

In contrast to the cold of the South Pole, Hilda Koning-Bastiaan chose to depict the warm hues of a blooming desert.



Sherry Reynolds honored her beloved Wyoming with this cowboy quilt. She made five variations of the traditional Wyoming Valley block pattern in the upper right.

In another warm desert scene, Kathleen Malvern of Colorado celebrated the majestic saguaro cactus...

... while Kimberly Buzolich celebrated the Sierra Tiger Lily. I like how she produced the soft-focus feeling of the background with the pools of greens and the swirled quilting.




Pat Durbin used every scrap of  her twenty years of quilting experience to render the larger-than-life interpretation of Begonia Picotee Lace...

,,,  in exquisite detail.

While Pat Durbin zoomed in on her subject, Jo Bauer took a panoramic view in Reflections of  Mt. Shuksan.

Other quilters turned to fine art for inspiration. Megan Farkas mimicked a Japanese woodblock print...

...and Kim Butterworth's Cherry Blossoms reminded me of Van Gogh's almond blossoms.

Ellen Wong embraced abstract art by piecing together strips of commercial fabrics...

...and quilting a grid pattern that gives the work a pleasing uniformity.

Kathleen Collins's fascination with 18th century European court paintings of women in headdresses inspired her to create original paintings on cotton cloth...

... which she then incorporated into a pair of elegant quilts.

Nancy S. Brown had productive year. In addition to the penguin and seal quilt above, she finished this poignant quilt of a grandmother at the San Francisco Zoo.

Sue Anthony found a wonderful way to preserve her grandmother's dress...

... and Giny Dixon showcased her father's silk ties...

... set in wool flannel pinstripe resulting in a true work of art.

Congratulations to all the quilters here. I am inspired by your creativity and sewing artistry.

South African Giraffe and their Calves

South African Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa)

Some of our fondest memories of our trip to Botswana in the summer of 2009 were the times we encountered the gentle South African Giraffe. I forget who in our Landcruiser spotted the chestnut-brown and buff fur through the trees of the African savanna on first morning at Stanley’s Camp.

Our guide, Poniso, immediately stopped the car and we quietly waited to see if this giraffe will reveal herself. Within a minute of motionless silence, this giraffe cow stepped out of the camouflage of the acacia tree into the open as if to admit defeat in a game of hide and seek.  We were taken by her beauty and couldn’t believe our good fortune as we viewed her through our camera lenses. When our shutters stopped snapping, Poniso whispered to us that she was hiding a calf.  

We all quickly scanned the landscape until we finally saw the rump of a small giraffe hidden behind the large tree trunk on the left, below the light spot where an elephant has stripped the bark bare. Click on the photo to see a hint To see this photo in original size click here.

We now understood why this mother stepped out of hiding so quickly; she placed herself in a vulnerable position to protect a calf. 

*** 

Three days later, at Chief’s Camp, we stumbled upon another giraffe cow and calf. 

We can’t assume that this is the calf’s mother because chances are good that this cow is watching several calves in a nursery herd while other giraffe cows browse for acacia leaves. The giraffe male does not assist in parental care because would be impossible to defend the vast terrain required to supply the large quantity of food he needs to stay healthy. Without a defined territory, he does not know which calves are his. Thus the female giraffes pool together their resources and form what amounts to a babysitting co-op.

The calf’s tawny brown spots are lighter than an adult’s, giving it an even more endearing appearance. I’m sure you can imagine our muffled squeals of delight when we got a close view of this curious calf.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers who bond together and form a village to raise their young.

South African (or Southern) Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) and Red-billed Oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorhynchus)

________

Resource:

"Introduction to the Social System of Giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis)." Biology @ Davidson. Web. 08 May 2011. <http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/Behavior/Spring2004/breedlove/parentalcare.html> .

Peaceable Kingdom in Botswana

The Peaceable Kingdom, circa 1846, Edward Hicks (1780-1849),
oil on canvas, 25 x 28 1/2 (63.5 x 72.4 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco


Quaker folk artist, Edwards Hicks (1780-1849), created a series of over 60 paintings called “The Peaceable Kingdom” in which he depicts an animal kingdom where predators and prey lie next to each other in peace.

I always found this to be a compelling image but I never thought I would ever be witness to anything close to this ideal. When I researched our big trip to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, I would run across countless magnificent close-up images of African wildlife, but it was less common to see images of multiple species in the same photo. Once in a while I would run into illustrations that would feature giraffes, wildebeests, and zebras all artfully posed on the same plain and I would judge it to be contrived. The brochures didn't give me a sense of the density and diversity of animals I could expect to see.

Though predators did not exactly lie next to prey, I was surprised to see how many species shared the same space in a peaceful coexistence. I was amazed to see these Burchell's Zebras sloshing in the same waters as the Red Lechwe antelopes...

Burchell's Zebra (Equus quagga burchellii ) and Red Lechwe (Kobus leche leche )


...and grazing alongside a giraffe in front of a staff cabin at Chief's Camp...

Burchell's Zebra (Equus quagga burchellii) and Southern Giraffe(Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa)


I was astonished when I saw these giraffes quietly nibbling acacia leaves in the same field as this wildebeest...

Southern Giraffe(Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) and Common Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)


...and delighted when a herd of impalas joined the gathering:

Impala(Aepyceros melampus) and Common Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)


I was perfectly content as I lulled myself into thinking that this real-life peaceable kingdom was the status quo. I oohed and aahed when I saw these impressive trees laden with large nests...

...and was captivated as we approached and saw two species of vultures in side-by-side trees:

Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus))

Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus))

White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus))


We cooed when someone in our group noticed that one of the nests was occupied:

White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus))


We felt fortunate to stumble upon a lion, even though he was sound asleep...

Lion (Panthera leo))

...and another, in an equal state of stupor:

Lion (Panthera leo))


But then I smelled the putrid odor. Why did I not put two and two together? How did I think these carnivores sustained themselves?

So much for the peaceable kingdom; lions do not lay next to lamb. Yet, this is the perfect balance of nature. We are in the wild; there are no fences here in the Moremi Game Reserve. Maybe the peaceable kingdom is one that sustains an enduring, stable equilibrium within an ecosystem. I think that is the true wonder we witnessed.

UPDATE: Ruth of Synch-ro-ni-zing shared this perfect poem for this post:

The Heaven of Animals
By James L. Dickey

Here they are. The soft eyes open.
If they have lived in a wood
It is a wood.
If they have lived on plains
It is grass rolling
Under their feet forever.

Having no souls, they have come,
Anyway, beyond their knowing.
Their instincts wholly bloom
And they rise.
The soft eyes open.

To match them, the landscape flowers,
Outdoing, desperately
Outdoing what is required:
The richest wood,
The deepest field.

For some of these,
It could not be the place
It is, without blood.
These hunt, as they have done,
But with claws and teeth grown perfect,

More deadly than they can believe.
They stalk more silently,
And crouch on the limbs of trees,
And their descent
Upon the bright backs of their prey

May take years
In a sovereign floating of joy.
And those that are hunted
Know this as their life,
Their reward: to walk

Under such trees in full knowledge
Of what is in glory above them,
And to feel no fear,
But acceptance, compliance.
Fulfilling themselves without pain

At the cycle’s center,
They tremble, they walk
Under the tree,
They fall, they are torn,
They rise, they walk again.

Thank you, Ruth, you are the best!

I will leave you with the original version of the African song "Mbube", written by Solomon Linda...

... and the version by The Tokens, named "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", that brought the song to fame in America is here.

Macro Monday - Water Lilies at the Okavango Delta

Ten minutes after we first encountered Tripod, we arrived at Chief’s Camp, situated at the lip of a rich flood plain of the Okavango Delta. We sipped a cup of warm rooibos tea on the back deck of the lodge.

Across the flood plain, we observed a giraffe...

...quietly nibble the tender leaves of an acacia bush.

Later we were invited explore our exotic "back yard" in a faux-dugout canoe called a mokoro. I sat flat on the floor of the boat with my feet pointed towards the bow while my gentle guide propelled the
boat forward like a Venetian gondolier. It was comforting to silently glide through the water after our usual roaring through the wilderness in the open Landcruiser.

My guide, whose name I've regretfully forgotten, was boundlessly patient and stopped the boat each time I greedily snapped photo after photo with the water surface only inches from my lens.

 I saw my son shake his head at me with a smile of great relief as he and his dad faded into the distance. What a luxury to creep through the reeds without feeling guilt for slowing down the expedition and without having to explain to my travel partners that I took these photos simply because I loved the colors...

...and that I needed yet another photo just because this was a different aquatic plant:

My guide pulled out one of the water hyacinths and expressed the clear liquid out of the bulb that floats just below the blossom. He told me, in very good English, that the local people use this liquid as medicine to treat river blindness, also known as Robles' Disease (Oncocerciasis), caused by a nematode worm.

He went on to say: "I see you like the water lilies. I will make you a necklace." I was eager to learn what he meant by this. He began by pulling out a water lily with a stalk that seemed to go on forever:

Then I heard a "snap... snap... snap ..." at an even tempo.

I turned around again and saw that he snapped the stalk at one inch intervals without severing it completely and slid off the outermost fibers down about another inch. He repeated this from the opposite sides of the stalk...

...until he finished snapping the entire stalk. He tied the ends to finish this beautiful fresh necklace from nature and ceremoniously handed it to me:

I proudly wore my new jewelry as we continued our ride. By this time my husband and son were completely out of sight.  We stopped to view the Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus)

Some of you already met the Painted Reed Frog during a Macro Monday last November; here's another one:

We caught up with the other boat and my son pointed out a hippo in the distance. We clambered out of the boat onto a termite hill and zoomed our cameras for a photo .

At the end the ride, my guide stopped the boat one more time, patiently waiting for me to notice more wildlife. I felt completely dense. I did not see a thing, only grass:

I turned around and gave my best quizzical look.

"Look closely," he said, "it's green."

And then I saw it. Eegads! I suddenly had the urge to take inventory of the boat and check to see if I was carrying any hitchhikers.

Spiders and tarantulas don't bother me one bit, but I get the willies when an animal has no legs. If you have any desire to see a larger version of the Olive Whip Snake, click here.

Slightly relieved that we weren't going to be brushing up against any more reeds, we docked back at the camp and I looked forward to showing off my new necklace at dinner.

Please visit Lisa's Chaos to view more Macro Monday posts.