In celebration of Father's Day, we turn to Dutch quilt artist Anneke de Jong whose work commemorates her father in stitch and fabric. Anneke was kind enough to talk about her work process, inspiration, and how her father influenced her as an artist. Read on to learn more about Anneke's quilt, "Rescue House on Terschelling," which celebrates not only her father, but fond memories of her childhood.
"My father was a self-taught photographer and quite talented. This photo was taken in 1962 at Terschelling's rescue house on the beach (in the Netherlands). The house is still standing!
To create the quilt, the original picture was printed on cotton sheets in sepia color effect. The waves were quilted by machine and the thread suggests the texture of the clouds as well as the beach. I hand dyed the linen background and using Shiva Paintstiks®, Procion®MX Dyes, and crayons created the landscape.
I used only two colors to keep the nostalgic effect. As you can see on the original photo, the house is not complete and I drew that on the fabric.
This photo means a lot to me. Terschelling was our vacation home for many years when I was a child (I am now 57.) and my father died in 1966 at the age of 48. This photo brings it all together for me-a happy childhood, a love of photography, and a tribute to my father.
This quilt has just won a prize and will be at the exhibition in Birmingham (UK), of which I'm very proud!"
To learn more about Anneke and her work, visit doekenklei.nl
Have you celebrated your father (or another family member) by stitching an art quilt? I'd love to hear your story!
Please leave a comment below.