The title kind of says it all. “Memories of Bygone Lovers”, 18.5”W x 22”T x 1”D,
was created as a cathartic piece after suddenly being dumped by a lover. The event was a big surprise and pretty devastating, but when I finally crawled out of bed, I decided to make something beautiful out of the experience. The phoenix/ crane in the middle symbolizes the memories of bygone lovers, each of whom has taught me something. I’d like to think that I keep building on my experiences and move on more knowledgeable about myself and what I want. There is that old saying something to the effect that what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.
I’m the bird down in the lower right, tangled in the debris, but still flying. I’m busy trying to make my nest as beautiful as possible. The tail feathers are made from a gold piece of jewelry from the 60s that someone had given me when they were cleaning out their mother’s house. While the original necklace had five rows of intertwined links, when the rows were cut apart, they made great tail feathers. The background fabric has an overprint of gold paint that was painted on iron-on interfacing. As it dried, it wrinkled, and then was ironed, face down, onto the background fabric. It gave a look of a peeling patina that wouldn’t have been possible by painting directly onto the fabric.
There is a lot of symbolism regarding lost loves in this piece. I cut up some striped men’s ties and beaded over them. There are also a number of watch faces, to symbolize time gone by. Lengths of ribbons are printed with alternating dandelion flowers and seed heads. For me, these are some of the most ephemeral of flowers, as they last only one day. Even the use of glass buttons, which break easily, suggest the fleeting quality of some relationships. I had a really good time wallowing in the creation of this art work as I purged a “man who done me wrong” from my soul…J In reality, I actually learned a lot and will thank him, should I see him again.
You can see more of my art quilts at my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com