Building Bridges seemed like such a gift as a prompt. Settling on the quilt design was easy as I picked the first option (of many) that occurred to me. Writing the commentary to describe the meaning was far more difficult. I have been watching what everyone else has posted and I can see that my fellow artists have explored so well the many paths that this topic provided.

Four bridges developed as I looked at images and thought about the topic. Images of the multiple bridges in Manhattan, Pittsburgh, Venice and Amsterdam. Structural drawings of different types of bridges – arch, span, cantilever, truss, suspension and cable-stayed. These were the historical and physical manifestations of bridges over the years. Then I looked at modern, architectural bridges that seemed not to conform to the standard forms. There were curves and huge protrusions, repetitions of unusual shapes, structure that only seemed meaningful when viewed in reflection, bridges for walking and driving, for transporting trains and cars and trams and boats and people. Beautiful and functional.

But, as many of us have discussed, bridges are also intangible and metaphorical, and we create them to span the chasms between people, cultures, countries, religions, societies and individual opinions. Without bridges, our world would be a very lonely and insular place for people.

My bridges were made from an Ikea pattern fabric that seemed to convey the strength and permanence of a physical bridge, as well as the concept and fantasy of a metaphorical bridge.

Pieced background of commercial cottons; bonded raw edge appliqued Ikea pattern fabric; 3M reflective tape fish.

Height: 1000 mm 39 1/4″

Width: 675 mm 26 1/2″