“El’s Cells,” an Organically-shaped Art Quilt

A New Idea

One morning I was sitting in my sewing room thinking. I thought about how layering fabrics creates a subtle 3D effect that I really like, such as the one in pieces like my Experimental Wall Hanging, or the two Void pieces. I thought about how challenging it can be to machine stitch through many layers, how it tends to breaks machine needles and snap threads. That reminded me of the first time I tried to create a topography with fabrics: my Tree Bark series. And THAT made me want to try doing it again, but better.

The layered quilts I created most recently were composed of squares and rectangles. Now I wanted to go back to more organic shapes. I wasn’t sure where this will go, if at all. Mostly, I just wanted to test different ways of stitching layers, to see if I can find one that is kinder to machines, needles and threads. I also wanted to see if playing with applique vs. reverse applique would make any visual difference.

The blue swatches I auditioned for Cool Void were still lying around my studio, so I picked up a few and started experimenting. I tried to never stitch through more than two layers of fabric at a time, which forced me to progress from the inside out (or, if you want, from the topmost layer to the bottom layer). The process was mostly improvisational, with each layer influencing the shape of the one added below. I soon realized that reverse applique made the construction process more complicated, without producing noticeable visual differences. After a few tries I gave that up.

I started with a few pieces in different shades of blue, adding red accents with either fabric or thread. As usual, I used lots of different thread hues.

Getting Stuck

Slowly, I added more and more pieces, leaving the bottom-most layers rectangular. As the pieces accumulated, I started thinking of how to eventually combine them into a bigger whole.

No matter how much I tried, however, I just couldn’t get it to work. Something was wrong. I was unable to come up with a composition that looked right.  After much contemplation, I decided that each individual shape had to be entirely organic: no rectangles, no straight edges. I decided to turn each shape into a little quilt on it’s own, and go from there.

Once decided, I added batting and a backing to each piece, stitched around the edges, and then took a deep breath and cut around the rounded outlines. I wasn’t sure where it’ll take me, but I did it anyway.

In the end, I was left with a pile of what looked like fabric pancakes. I liked them, and they were fun to hold, too.

I still wasn’t sure what to do with them, though. Into my fabric stash I dived, selecting a few possible backgrounds. Then I tried to play around with different options, changing backgrounds and ordering the shapes in different ways. Nothing worked.

An Unexpected Breakthrough

Out of frustration, I pulled the background fabrics and shook them. The organic shapes dropped onto the carpet. They landed in disarray, some facing up, some upside down. But there was something there… I turned them all to face up, and started arranging and rearranging them again. This time, I didn’t try to put anything below. The shapes were already finished little quilts, after all, and there was something very alluring about the open spaces that formed between them. Suddenly, everything came together. THIS felt right!

It didn’t take me long to realize WHY it felt right: the new, organic composition reminded me very much of the random pictures I keep seeing over my scientist daughter’s shoulder. My daughter studies biology, and works with cells. As a part of her research, she often takes pictures of those cells as they appear under a microscope. My little quiltlies were similar to some of those cells. 

Once I knew where this was going, I went on to add hand stitching to each individual cell — the final touch.

The finished piece, which I called (how not!) El’s Cells, is open and organic. The negative spaces here are as important as the positive. This quilt measures 33.5″ x 39.”

El’s Cells will be a part of my upcoming autumn exhibition at the Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) in Ukiah, CA.