Engulfed - February 7 2009 Black Saturday

A very very belated update with a quilt that was accepted into Art Quilt Australia 09 - was surprised but thrilled to be accepted. Went to the opening in Canberra and felt a little embarrassed as mine was one of only 2 quilts that had any traditional piecing at all - rest were surface design based. Anyway - was pleased to complete something and produce a quilt that I managed to turn a sketch into a quilt that (for me) was a powerful reminder of a shocking time. All thanks to Katrina Te Punga who was visiting at the time who took Kathryn out for 2 days so I could finish it in time.

Artist's statement that accompanied this quilt....
"The Victorian bushfires were the worst bushfires in Australia's history - 173 people reported dead but the correct number is unknown. This work uses the colour imagery of that day and the symbol of the cross to commemorate the victims, the blackened land, the bravery of the fire fighters."

Pictures are some of the sketchbook pages used to develop the quilt plus the quilt.