On Her Way

On a two week fiber artist tour of Japan, I took over 6000 photos.  I was snapping away everywhere we went!  I wanted to absorb everything and bring it all back home with me.  I knew that some of the images I collected would evolve into art quilts eventually.  Such was the case with this image.  I happened to be on a sidewalk, and a bus stopped and when the door opened, I saw this beautiful young woman all dressed in black.  A quick snap recorded my view.  I wonder where she was going? 

I was happy to also capture the bus driver in the photo.  Taxi and bus drivers in Japan dress elegantly in suits and hats and white gloves.  They often have fresh flowers in their vehicles, and the cars and buses are clean, polished and shiny. 

Normally, I use numerous prints and patterns in my collage work.  This time it was nearly all solid fabrics.  I worked without a pattern, dividing the space and keeping most areas simple.  I began with straight line machine piecing, then hand appliqued details for the seats, figures, and background.  I have a roll of sheer fabric that was given to me, which seemed perfect to make windows on the bus.  This was hand hemmed and appliqued as well.

On Her Way is my submission for the prompt that was given by Eunhee, but I had a quite different idea first.  I was driving early one morning and thinking about roads.  I was noticing details on and beside the roads I drove on.  Going up a hill, I saw a scene that looked something like this: 

It reminded me of a kimono shape!  So this is my first response to the road prompt.  Titled Kimono Road, it is machine pieced, hand appliqued, and hand quilted. 

Because it is simple and I had time to tackle another quilt, I made On Her Way.  Both are around 20 by 15”. 

One of the things I have always loved about art is the way it makes us more aware of our surroundings.  We notice things we wouldn’t normally bother to see.

On Her Way

Machine pieced

Hand appliqued, hand quilted

20 x 15”