HOPE IN THE MAHALLEH

I'm thinking this part of the story will take a couple of posts! Lot's to tell. Mahalleh is 'neighborhood' in this part of the world. First picture is the mahalleh we lived in for a couple of days. Note the low, mostly white buildings, unpaved street & trees. There is probably a grapevine arbor in the front of someone's house

further down the street. You see them everywhere.

Next is the quilt,

Hope In The Mahalleh,

which I made a bunch of years ago for my first trip to this region of Asia. At that time my friend, who I team taught with on this trip, was living in another country of this region. We collaborated on this quilt using elements she saw in other art quilts in my studio. Photos of her mahalleh (similar to the 1st photo) inspired the street scene. Turquoise is the color of power and protection in their world view, so adding that was important.

Now what about the cats!?! (Click on the quilt to see them.) When I was finishing up this quilt, my friend said it would be OK to add some whimsey, like the stray cats in her mahalleh. In my enthusiasm I added 12! But for this trip back to the region we decided the cats were distracting & I removed 9. The 3 on the roof stayed as that is where they like to hangout anyway.

One of my greatest pleasures as an artist is seeing people engaged with my artwork. The scene in the 3rd photo was repeated many times, over 2 weeks. They loved seeing the quilts up close and personal. Tomorrow...more of the mahalleh story.