HOUSE ON THE WALL

The Bible story of Rahab is told through 4 houses on top of the wall. They are the same house but represent 4 scenes in the story. We jump into the story with Joshua sending 2 spies to enter the walled city of Jericho which he plans to take.

Scene 1: Rahab is a prostitute who lives in a house on the wall. She invites the spies to lodge the night. Joshua 2:1

Scene 2: Men in the city come looking for the spies, having heard they are at Rahab's house. But she hides the spies on the roof under the hay & tells the men, they (the spies) were there earlier but left the city. Joshua 2:2-7

Scene 3: The spies escape down a rope from her window and promise Rahab that she and her whole family will be saved if she identifies her house with a red cord hanging from her window.

Joshua 2:8-18

Scene 4: When Joshua attacks Jericho, the red cord is hanging from her window. She and her family are saved and the city is burned. Joshua 6:24

Why did I make this quilt? I know there's a reason. To be continued, I'm sure.

Click on quilt to enlarge.

TOP STITCHING & ADD ONS

In the morning I worked on Rahab, top stitching around the first 2 houses. Took a fabric piece off the wall. Shape was buckling. Seam ripper has been a close companion.

I was playing at the end of the day with stars, sequins & bugle beads in the sky areas. Will paint a piece of string for the 'rope' in the story. There's the red thread by the last section.

All these add-ons are part of the story telling of the piece. And yes, in one of these posts, I need to tell the story.

NO BUNCHING

Moved forward on Rahab quilt. Started machine quilting. Stitched layers together with purple Sulky.

Sure like my walking foot. The layers never bunch up.

click here to look at the Rahab quilt process

PINS & THREADS

A quilt is a 3 layer sandwich.

I learned that from my years in the quilt world. I hardly think of these small ones as quilts but they fit the description.

Pinned the 3 layers together - using a low loft batting. It's so small I may not baste it - but maybe I will.

Sulky thread is on the table. Wondering what colors to use. Machine quilting ahead.

Click here for earlier posts about Rahab's story quilt.

IT'S SCRAPpY !

wall is sewn down.

I like it.

mulling over...

batting or flannel?

zig-zag stitch?

thread colors?

star sequins?

rope & red thread?

1st reorg. studio

STUDIO & SCANNING

I worked in the studio on Rahab this morning, stitching down the wall. Continuing on that tomorrow.

Received email from Art House Co-op in Brooklyn NY, that RAIN, my Sketchbook Project 2011, has been scanned & is on their website. Click to see.

Besides a great look at the sketchbook pages, the webpage also features some of my work in an online portfolio. Art House did a good job on the scanning.

click on photos to enlarge

BUILDING THE WALL

I continued with the Rahab quilt today, reworking the fabric choices making up the wall composition.

I'm 'building' this small piece on washed artist's canvas using the iron to fuse the scraps to the backing with Wonder- Under® a paper backed fusible web.

Here's today's progress building the wall.

click on photos to enlarge

SCRAPpY WALL

I started building the wall today. This is the wall that Rahab's* house sits upon.

Pulled out darks from the scrap pile.

Over painted fabrics that I thought would work but needed a purple night-time cast.

Using the fabrics, mostly uncut, this design is just happening.

Top of the wall so far.

Ironed down with 'wonder-under'.

* Who is Rahab? Story in future post.

click photos to enlarge

click here & scroll down for earlier posts on creating Rahab's story quilt.

LOOKING BACK FOR AN ANSWER

I am back to the Rahab quilt & still stumped. How do I design the wall in the story?

The wall needs to go across the span of the piece. Do I make the wall in 4 different sections created with different fabrics? The story IS in 4 scenes - shown with 4 similar houses against different skies.

I had a break through when I thought back to the rowboat series I did years back.

I was determined to loosen up. So I limited myself to working with my pile of scraps for the first couple of very small quilts.

Here are 2 of those scrappy boats.

OK! That's it. Make a haphazard scrappy wall just using scraps. This will be fun!

Click photos to enlarge.

DAY-NIGHT-NIGHT-FIRE

I returned from Boston. Gave seminar to a really great group. Mixture of cultures, backgrounds & interests in taking the visual arts to other cultures.

Loved presenting in Boston!

...back to Rahab

yesterday:

4 houses on wall

today:

change houses & sky

day, night, night, fire

story coming

and yes, my studio does get messed up!

PONDERING THE HOUSES

This was at end of the day. Yesterday.

So OK. Now what? Do I like what I see? Not sure. I think it needs to go up on the work wall. Seeing the piece at more of a distance usually helps.

Not a good time to continue and be objective. My mind is on getting ready for the Boston seminar.

Challenge of today is moving clips of my friend, Jens doing art in Niger, from VCR tapes into my Mac and then on to a disc.

You can do this yourself now!! Nelson bought Video Capture@ Apple store.

MULTI-TASKING

• Worked on sky area - Rahab piece - 3 nights & 1 firefilled day. Figuring out fabric for wall area. Painted some.

• Choosing photos - organizing power-point - taking art cross-culture seminar.

• Steamed out creases in the Mahalla quilt. Took out for scanning. Postcard designing ahead.

SLOW WEEK IN STUDIO

I have not had too much time in the studio this week.

I did think more about the Rahab piece. Looks like it will be a small quilt.

I'll initially design it on washed artist's canvas & later stitch that to a layer of fleece backed with fabric. Kind of like collaging on paper then stitching through the layers.

Here's the studio: fabrics on table tops, sewing machine ready, ironing board set up & Rahab collages on workwall. It's a mess!

Hoping to create next week.

HOUSE ON THE WALL

In '03 I forced myself to loosen up design-wise with a challenge to:

• create quick collages

• use limited materials

• withhold judgement

• all in one sitting

I made about 20 collages in a morning. One was a design I thought about doing for a while - the story of Rahab.

What a perfect design exercise for this narrative. I worked out a simple composition of a house on a wall - repeated 5 times. Each section 'told' part of the story through color & design.

No scarlet thread in Vermont where I created them - for those who know the story!

Here they are - quick & dirty. click on images to enlarge

Who was Rahab & what's her story? Coming.