Right On. Right On.

Earlier this week, I picked up three quilts from my photographer Chris Arend’s studio.

The three quilts he photographed were all part of the BAM High Fiber Biennial, but I was just now getting around to having them photographed.

The first quilt I would like to share is called Get On Up. It was the very last piece I made for the Bellevue show. I finished stitching it and zoomed to the post office to mail it off. So, while it is no longer a new quilt, I have spent very little time with it, and that just feels weird to me. To rectify that situation I’ll be hanging Get On Up in my studio for a while.

Get On Up is a reference to one of my favorite songs by James Brown. I love funk. And if any of you have seen me at Open Mic night at the Golden you also know that I love to dance. And funk is some of the best music to dance to.

As with all of my quilts, as I stitch them, I name them. Sometimes, Walt or the kids will have a brilliant idea that captures the essence of the quilt. And sometimes Walt and I banter about it until we agree on a name that feels right for the quilt–that evokes part of the meaning that went into making the piece.

This quilt reminds me of a New Year’s Eve house party some where in mid-town Kansas City circa 1991. I remember Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine coming on the stereo and dancing to that music on the arm rest of a couch. There was no room on the floor–it was that crowded.

Now days, I’m always asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve. And most of the time, I think that is a good thing.

This entry was published on May 2, 2013 at 10:57 AM. It’s filed under Quilt Stories and tagged . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.

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