Monday, February 17, 2014

Q116 – BW 2010 – Quilt and Wall Hanging

Good Day,

BW 2010 is our abstract mosaic work and a companion piece to our BW 1950.


BW 2010 is NOT a portrait. It will, all-things-being-equal, is our representation of Betty White. All-things-being-equal there may be some semblance of connection between the original and our production.

We chose Betty White because she is Betty White. She is the actress, that over many years has always been able to make both of us laugh. Her extreme characters are each individually unique. Each is to be treasured as her skills open a distinctive persona which ultimately finds a place in our hearts. In 2013 Betty White was awarded by the Guinness World Records with having the longest television career for a female entertainer. From Wikipedia, “Betty White is regarded as a television pioneer for being one of the first women in television to have creative control in front of and behind the camera.” Betty White is the president emerita of the Morris Animal Foundation where she has served as a trustee since 1971. Our BW 1950 along with our BW 2010 is our attempt to capture the sensitivity of 60 years of Betty White.


BW 2010 was inspired by a 2010 photograph of Betty White when she was 88 years old. The original photograph was taken by David Shankbone. Our technique is to create an abstract mosaic using 18 fabrics to represent the color picture. The construction of BW 2010 is of 900 squares created by 0.8-inch squares and isosceles triangles which each have two sides that are 0.8 inches and a diagonal of 1.13 inch.


The piecing of BW 2010 is sort of complicated. Care was taken when joining the little pieces, especially the triangles. After two small pieces are sewn together they have to be finger-pressed open at the seam and then pressed with an iron. It is not as difficult as it sounds. Finger-pressing is sort of like setting up a fold prior to using a heated source like an iron. The iron is then used to then “fix” the fold.


Our quilting technique is to stitch as close to each ditch to create an almost “hand-done” mosaic art piece. Our BW 2010 is the companion art quilt to our BW 1950.

We have decided that the best way to quilt and showcase our BW 2010 is to quilt it as if were the mosaic that we intended it to be. I kept thinking and dreaming of Frank McRae when he is lovingly putting the mosaic tiles back in place in the 1987 film *batteries not included. And we are trying to create that similar type of presentation with our quilt and wall hanging.

Follow the progression of our BW 2010 via the following links.





























If you have any comment, thought, ideas feel free to contact us at Quilts SB.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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