Untethered to Truth

Hand Applique and embroidered images, with machine quilted text in background.  Completed May 9, 2018.  Size 9" x 13" 

I'm a founding member of a new quilt group at Gotham Quilts in Manhattan, called Quilt Lab.  We will meet monthly and respond to challenges (experiments!)  to try a new technique or art concept.  This first challenge was "Make Gray Stand Out".  The problem with the color gray is that it is a neutral that recedes in most art.  

While considering this theme, James Comey, the fired FBI director, just published his book, and was speaking on every talk show and political pod cast, and I heard this phrase which intrigued me:  "Untethered to truth."  The phrase and the challenge collided in that I wanted GRAY to stand out,  and I also want TRUTH to stand out. 

I wanted to use the gray fabric to create stone-like, weighty letters and found an image online of the word LOVE, in this arrangement.  

This is when its handy to have an artistic family member, so THANKS to Anna for this great starting drawing: 







Next I selected fabric,  and purposely wanted to use red to prove that I could make gray stand out, even with red  (because I saw some quilts which were mostly gray and white, with the smallest addition of red, and that red hogged all the attention!)   I have a collection of amazing hand dyed fabric from my pal Sam Hunter at Hunters Design Studioso I selected this gray and this deep red. 

I checked the VALUE contrast by using the black and white feature of my camera, to make sure that the gray really was a lighter value than the red (because that's the only way this would work) 

And in typical "Paula" fashion, I only had this small piece of fabric on hand. So I was going to have to use those lighter spots strategically. 







I traced the letters, and assigned value to each piece (light, medium, dark) to retain the 3-dimensional quality of the drawing.  Then I traced off the pattern pieces onto fusible web,  which has to happen backwards for the whole thing to work out.   Here are some in progress photos:

 I wasn't happy with the value difference of each piece of this T,  so I replaced a few of the pieces as I moved forward.  Again, it was tricky because I knew I had such a small piece of gray fabric to work with. 













I traced the whole image again onto tracing paper to use as a guide,  so I could make sure the letters were placed properly. 

The tracing paper is pinned to the fabric, so I could lift it up, place letters and lay back down to check. 

 Once at the letters were created, I didn't like the lack of contrast between letters, so I decided to embroider a black outline around each piece: 

Then I asked Neil to draw one of his 'famous' balloon heads, to which I added the caricature yellow hair, which identifies the #45.  I embroidered that, with a trailing balloon string above TRUTH




Finally,  the piece is background quilted with this phrase from Comey's book: 
"our country is paying a high price for the election.  This president is unethical, and untethered to the truth and institutional values."

When presented at our meeting, I think I was successful in making GRAY stand out,  because I do think one sees the word TRUTH when looking at the piece.  

Here is a picture of all the pieces we discussed at the Quilt Lab meeting: 

Philosophically,  I'm not sure I actually believe in Capital-T Truth, as so much of our personal perspective drives what we see and believe we are looking at.  But the distance this administration has traveled from any sort of truth based in any sort of legitimate policy (even if I don't agree) is beyond troubling.

Peace, 
Paula