THE
MAGIC
OF FABRIC
Art quilts by Leela Cherian
My grandson Rahul's quilt request was "a galaxy, or a vintage car!" I was in a fix, not really knowing much about either. Then I started looking up galaxies and was blown away by the images, the facts, the figures. Also, the challenge of representing this whirlpool of swirling energy in a soft fabric quilt. I chose a cotton commercial fabric for the background and arranged spirals of organza onto it. I heat gunned the organza to create the effect of swirling, bubbling gas. Many materials formed the arms of the galaxy – yarn, metallic laces, strokes of metallic paint. I finished the piece with a fistful of sequins and crystals.
The Whirlpool Galaxy was first discovered by Charles Messier in 1773. It is 23.16 million light years from earth and has a diameter of 60,000 light years. "It is made of long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. The arms of the galaxy are star formation factories compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars." Fascinating. Thank you, Rahul.
For her 60th birthday, my daughter Nina's special request was a piece which would use a multitude of the techniques available to the textile artist. Nina loves texture and colour, skill and craftsmanship. She also loves the sea with its glorious life forms and mysterious depths. So, I decided on "Lagoon”. Hand dyeing, scrunching, burning, layering, crochet, embroidery, beading, have all been used in this piece. From my stash of laces came the seaweed curtain – dyed and layered, with glimmers of crystal and a suggestion of mystery in its depths. Because of all the layers and bulk, much of the piece was hand sewn with holding stitches. The piece now hangs in their home in California.