Survivor, Northern Ontario

This is what our shed looks like, and this is what my husband found hiding on the wall inside - Lady Beetles! They certainly are survivors. It is -31 C this morning.

Fibonacci Sequence

I often use the Fibonacci sequence when designing quilts and landscapes (I retired my landscape design business in 2007). The formula was devised by a 13th century mathematician called Leonardo of Pisa. Also called Fibonacci, he first introduced the sequence in his Liber Abaci in 1202. Begin with 0, add 1, and the sum is the previous 2 numbers. It goes like so:

0+1=1
1+1=2
1+2=3
2+3=5
3+5=8
5+8=13
8+13=21
13+21=34 and so on.

The top image is one of my landscape designs. I used upright evergreens (cedars and Blue Arrow Junipers) and ornamental grasses in groups of 3, 5 and 8 to visually tie together different areas of the garden, and to create a rhythm around the property. I used specimen plants in the lower sequences of 1, 2 and 3 to provide focal points.

I took the photo at right at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas Islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The bays are equidistant, and this is a great illustration of perspective. In landscape design, the Fibonacci sequence can be used to force perspective. For example, if you have a long narrow property and want to create the illusion that it is shorter and more intimate, you can plant something on the long axis, spaced apart from your viewpoint in the sequence: 13', 8', 5', 3'. This will visually compress the property. Conversely, if you have a shallow property and want to make it seem longer, space your plants apart from your viewpoint like so: 3', 5', 8', 13' etc.

For designing quilts, I use this sequence in it's simplest form. For example, on the Healing/Protection Quilt, I sewed buttons on in Fibonacci sequence groups e.g. 3, 5, 8 buttons in a row. Or I may design a quilt that will measure 21" x 34"; a pleasing proportion.

The Fibonacci sequence is commonly used by designers and architects, and is one of my favorite devices for pleasing design.

Protection/Healing Symbols

I've had quite a bit of interest in healing and protection symbols used in this quilt, so I thought I'd explain them. The image at the top is a protection heart, embroidered in gold chain stitch, with a yoni and blue crystal in the center. The heart has life spirals spinning outwards. The word yoni is Sanskrit for "divine passage", "place of birth", or "sacred space".

The image in the centre is a healing hand with a life spiral in the centre. I traced my hand then embroidered it with a chain stitch. The crocheted doily was passed down to me from my family. I wove a blue ribbon through the inner edge and sewed gold beads in the outer edge.

The image at the bottom is a life spiral with a gold star at the centre. I stamped it on the hankerchief using blue acrylic paint and a spiral foam stamp, then embroidered the edges with blue chain stitch. The handkerchief has buttons on the corners from my French grandmother's button box. I also sewed a pink quartz crystal heart to the top of this handkerchief;
quartz crystal is believed to have powerful healing properties.

These symbols are ancient and found in many cultures. I've used them on this quilt, which hangs beside my sister's bed, to watch over and protect her.

Dia de Muertos

The wind is so cold today that it hurts to breathe when I go outside. To amuse myself, I've been thinking about the last time I wore sandals, which would be in Monterrey, Mexico last November. Monterrey is a city of 4 million people located at the north end of the Sierra Madre mountains. I flew there after International Quilt Market in Houston to visit 2 Mexican friends who invited me to visit for the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations. The photo above is an installation in a little park, and the living person is me!

An altar (altar de muertos) set up in an art gallery lobby. The altars are everywhere: churches, parks, hotel lobbys, and street-side. They display the foods, drinks (lots of tequila and Carta Blanca beer!), and objects that were loved by the deceased person being honoured. My favorite food has to be "Dead Bread", which is a delicious sweet bun that looks like a skull with finger bones on top.

A gorgeous area south of Monterrey.

The view from my friend Marycela's house.

The Day of the Dead celebration on November 2nd combines a party atmosphere with a bittersweet remembrance of family members and friends who have passed on. I think that the Mexicans have a much healthier attitude to death. I found it a very moving experience.

Monterrey is a spectacular city with amazing architecture, outdoor fountains and sculpture, world-class museums, art galleries and natural beauty. But best of all, the people were most welcoming and generous to me. I'd go back in a heart beat. And not just because I could wear sandals.

Blogs and Isolation

My friend Judy Martin's latest post discusses her need for more cultural isolation. I attended a quilt seminar by Jean Ray Laury in 1984, where Jean asked each of us to share where we lived and what our goals were. I lived in a very remote northern community at the time, and Jean advised me to value my isolation. Her point was that cultural noise prevented us as artists from developing our own style.

Committing to a blog has brought me unexpected benefits. I value my work more, because I have to think about how I will share it every day. And the world has gotten much larger for me. I am able to see what regions people are from who read these words. For those who live in Hong Kong, Barcelona, Knoxville, Makati, Hyderabad, Kortrijk and Amsterdam, what do you see when you look out the window? What to-do list does the person in Paris have today? What temperature is it in San Jose? I also value your day and I hope it goes well for you .

The Quilting Barn

I visited The Quilting Barn near New Liskeard, Ontario (Tel: 1-705-647-0081) on Saturday morning. The owners, Ron and Sue Smith, have converted what was a working horse barn less than 2 years ago into an amazing quilt and gift shop.

Ron and Sue Smith

The crackling, cozy fireplace

The loft area with Janet's Botanical Art Quilts patterns (used to hold 500 bales of hay)

Cutting table area in the loft

The Sea Lion, Lake Superior

This landscape quilt is of a beautiful wild spot on the north shore of Lake Superior in Ontario, near Silver Islet. I took the photograph by hanging onto the tree with one arm and leaning out over the cliff. The Sea Lion is a rock outcrop battered by the tremendous waves of the lake, and it takes a bit of a hike along a narrow path to get to it.

I used upholstery samples sewn to a foundation for the strips. The spruce tree branches are fused, and there are dry brush acrylic paint waves at the base of the Sea Lion.

I gave the quilt to a friend who loved to cross-country ski nearby.