After a lengthy summer away from the studio, I jumped right back in and finished Cleveland over the holiday weekend. This is my largest piece yet at 60" high.
This was a challenging quilt to make for some reason. Perhaps it was the broad scale of the neighborhood that I chose to include or simply just a larger size than my others. And yes, there was a lot of cutting and sewing to be done here.
What is interesting about Cleveland's foreclosure development is they are ahead of other cities in dealing with this crisis. They say this is ground zero, it started here in 1997. What this provides us is a look of how other communities might evolve over time.
And there is a glimmer of hope here. At least 200 for-profit community gardens have popped up all over the city, planted on top of abandoned lots in neighborhoods struggling to rebuild.
The Forest Hill neighborhood has at least four of these gardens, some are quite large as seen above. Some are simply residential lots that have been turned into smaller gardens.
Having these has certainly created a sense of community for those residents who thought there was no hope for their neighborhoods. These are my interpretations of community gardens in embroidery and applique.
Does it look like a thriving garden to you? And can you tell I had fun making these? Learn more about Cleveland's gardens here and here. Data for the quilt was provided by Google Earth, NEO CANDO and Summer Sprout Community Garden program in Cleveland.
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| Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt, 2011. 25" x 60" Voile, cotton, linen, denim and embroidery thread. |
This was a challenging quilt to make for some reason. Perhaps it was the broad scale of the neighborhood that I chose to include or simply just a larger size than my others. And yes, there was a lot of cutting and sewing to be done here.
What is interesting about Cleveland's foreclosure development is they are ahead of other cities in dealing with this crisis. They say this is ground zero, it started here in 1997. What this provides us is a look of how other communities might evolve over time.
And there is a glimmer of hope here. At least 200 for-profit community gardens have popped up all over the city, planted on top of abandoned lots in neighborhoods struggling to rebuild.
The Forest Hill neighborhood has at least four of these gardens, some are quite large as seen above. Some are simply residential lots that have been turned into smaller gardens.
Having these has certainly created a sense of community for those residents who thought there was no hope for their neighborhoods. These are my interpretations of community gardens in embroidery and applique.
Does it look like a thriving garden to you? And can you tell I had fun making these? Learn more about Cleveland's gardens here and here. Data for the quilt was provided by Google Earth, NEO CANDO and Summer Sprout Community Garden program in Cleveland.
16 comments:
I love the green garden plots popping out on the "maps". A hopeful sign indeed. Beautiful work!
Thank you, Kathryn, for telling one (we hope!) of our 'happy endings.'
Besides the community gardens, we have urban farms, at least one vineyard (in Hough!) and a few orchards that have been put in within the last few years.
I'm sure we're not the only city doing this by any means; but for anyone interested, check out:
www.gardenwalkcleveland.org
The link 'Special Interests,' at the bottom of the page, has some particularly interesting collaborations.
Thanks again! Treena
Very cool, and thanks for the close-up of the garden plots -- you gave them a perfect treatment. And the mix of materials works so well. Lovely!
hope gardens. the close up makes me feel like it is a well tended garden. amazing detail.
I really like the scale of this piece and the layers. Green is the perfect colour for hope and renewal, and your stitches express regrowth beautifully. Marvellous work.
Yes!! Lookin' good! Love the green garden patch.
I like this work very much and tahnk you for explainig what was your thinking while you made it.
It's visually stunning. I love how the depictions of the community gardens look, especially with the peek of yellow. And that it works on a aesthetic and as an effective piece of social commentary - you have all the bases covered.
Wow, wow, wow!!! Congrats on completing the piece. It is stunning! I love the fabric choices and the layering of course! The little gardens are a great addition; can we see the back?!
Hey Katherine, love this piece of work, it's beautiful -congratulations! And I love the story about the gardens - you've just gotta love the human spirit.
tracerapotts, from flickr xx
Boy I love this one. The layers of history can really been seen, and the hopeful green makes me happy. You jumped right back in!
Voile! I love the fabric mix. It's a beautiful piece of work
This is incredible - and so powerful because of the meaning behind it. I really like the stitching on the gardens. Great work.
What a fabulous and meaningful piece of work, Kathryn.
Really impressive. I love the bits of green garden, and the affirmation of hope and renewal that they give. Also the bits of yellow edging is wonderful. I could look at this for hours. Bravo!
Kathryn, this is marvellous.. I love it! Had too little time for blogging and looking but in the week-end I have to read this calmley!
this turned out really amazing! i like the water edge and green spaces, it helps it be a little less abstract. these will look amazing in a gallery space, you must post photos when they are on show.
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