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"Tall Trees" Bonnie Jean Thornton - Yachats, OR 1995 21"W x 72"L
In the summer of 1996 I drove down Hwy 1 from Seaside, OR, to Mendocino, CA. Before this drive my uncle and aunt had driven me down I-5 at night to see the "Electric Horses". These temporary neon sculptures were located on private land (in the style of Christos fabric works) and lit only at night. It was enchanting and now one of my favorite memories of these loving relatives. A few days later as I drove south I had just a glance of a horse by the same artist outside the (now defunct) Triad Gallery in Seal Rock, OR., and I quickly found a place to turn around so I could more closely see the horse. It happened that the gallery was having their annual textile show - did they know I would be coming? This depiction of tall trees along the Oregon Coast is described by its maker,
"A found piece of fabric printed with forest giants, coupled with cottons and cyanotype prints compose this piece. It is hand and machine quilted and has an embellishment of hand couched yarn. Being a child of the [Pacific] Northwest, I have always been awe struck by the majesty of the huge old trees. This quilt honors them."
I also am an Oregonian and I could not resist this interesting quilt. The first thing is that she used one of what I always thought of as the ugliest prints ever made that came out sometime in the 60s. There were a number of different images and I suppose the trees were the least offensive. Several friends had these fabrics on stretcher bars over their sofas - I always sat on the sofa!
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4 comments:
Del, this is a lovely piece. I have not heard of Bonnie Jean Thornton before this--not that I know *every* quilt artist in Oregon! But I would love to see more of her work. Thanks for sharing this one.
It's a beautiful quilt, Del. I like how you spent the time to point out various details - that brings it to life.
A very interesting quilt, with some wonderful innovative ideas.
Really fascinating -- informed by commercial fabrics and by painting -- a nice integration of media! I wish I could see the original. Of course, I'm into trees these days....
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