Pure Joy, Imagine That
HUSQVARNA VIKING INTERNATIONAL QUILT COMPETITION FINALIST MasterPieces: Imagine That!
Annually, the Husqvarna Viking company sponsors an international competition in which 50 quilts are selected to be in their Gallery of Quilt Art International Touring Exhibition.
My entry was one of 50 chosen!
The theme was: “Imagine That.” I was inspired to enter and had a 6 week window to create my piece. There were many anxious moments as I created. The piece had to be exactly 51” x 51,” challenging me to do my best workmanship and design I could at that moment in time and then capture the piece in a well executed photograph for entry and judging.
Luck was with me and I am delighted to be one of the finalists. There is always a bitter-sweet time with contests such as this. If your piece is chosen, you are ecstatic about the honor, but then you have only a short few months to enjoy your piece at home because once it is shipped off, you will not see it for two years as it travels to different international venues.
Creating a piece that is motivated by an external theme is quite a challenge. Of course as you are inspired with ideas and images, the theme takes on it’s own life and definition in your mind. You see how you want to execute the piece and hope that others will see what you see when you are done. It is a challenging journey all along as you determine how you will technically translate your ideas into your quilt.
Here’s what happened with my piece Pure Joy, Imagine That
My piece clicked in my mind almost immediately as I tied the theme “Imagine That” along with a digital image taken of my daughter, Emily playing and leaping.
Emily Playing
Emily Leaping
As I planned the design, I imagined having fun with bubbles, swirls, arcs, and lots of movement.
Then, I used my picture image appliqué process to execute the quilt.
line drawing above, followed by the full quilt and a detail photo
Pure Joy, Imagine That
51" x 51"
Ahhh , to frolic with jubilant mirth and delight
for no other reason than
just for the pure pleasure of it.
Imagine that!!
Growing older often stifles our playful spirit.
Our wisdom makes us cautious.
We wonder what others will think of our actions.
We surround ourselves with little black clouds of doubt.
Can we find that passion and exuberant feeling again?
Let’s try.
Just imagine…pure joy!
Inspired by a photograph of my daughter Emily,
age 15 leaping and playing -- just for the fun of it.