January 2, 2011 "Self Portrait in Last Ornament"
I got some more work done on the wallhanging....
I think the picture's a bit blurry, but it will have to do for now. Oscar and I were going toe to toe on whether he should be allowed to test this one out or not;)
I'm really liking how it's coming together. I don't know if you can see, but I used zippers for the stems;) Alot of the greenery our here is spikey and stickery, even with the pretty flowers on the ends pulling you in close to look at them. It's a dangerous dance to stop and smell the roses;) LOL;) I used rick rack for the pollen stems, and will find some buttons for the tops of those. I think I am going to do some bead work up the stems and in the Day of the Dead fabric part.
I know there have been some eyebrows raised as to using skulls with such a "pretty" piece, but the Day of the Dead stuff and sugar skull things are a part of the Hispanic culture here in New Mexico. I've embraced this colorful side of Southwest decor more than the more familiar icons that you see in tourist shops around the area. The desert is already brown, I don't need to bring that into my home as well. Here are a couple of links to some history on Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Mortas as it is in translation....
I pulled this excerpt from the second link:
"The pre-Hispanic people honored duality as being dynamic," said Christina Gonzalez, senior lecturer on Hispanic issues at Arizona State University. "They didn't separate death from pain, wealth from poverty like they did in Western cultures." I like that. It goes along with some of the other ideas I have about the process of life.
I think it also goes along with the duality of being a woman in today's society....strong, but feminine; able, but submissive; independent, but married. You see alot of that sort of societal expectation here in New Mexico. It comes from the strong Hispanic cultural expectations of sexual roles and has seeped into everyday life even if you aren't Hispanic in this area.
But we will go into how I feel about American Femininity in a later post:)
I'm going to get back to the sewing table for a bit. I will probably be up late even though I have to go to work;)
Happy Quilting!!
3 comments:
Well, I must admit, after reading those websites, I do understand a little more about the fascination some might have with Day of the Dead fabrics. I had never heard the term, nor any information about it. It was an interesting read anyway. Thanks for enlightening me about it.
Your wall hanging is looking really nice, and will have a special meaning to you no doubt. ---"Love"
Love how your piece is turning out. I learned about the Day of the Dead from Ray Bradbury's book "The Halloween Tree". The zipper stems are inspired.
Liri
The wall-hanging is coming together nicely. I'm liking the skulls more now that fabrics and stems and whatnot are in place. I'd learned of the Day of the Dead in high school Spanish class, but checked out your websites anyways...seems my teachers did a pretty good job of telling us about it because most of what I read was what I remembered! (I never expected that...I at least expected I'd forgotten something from so long ago!) I always thought it was an interesting celebration and would be quite an experience to see in person.
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