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Artist CommentaryLabel
"Since the time I was a young child in grade school science class, I have been fascinated by the dramatic storms on the surface of the sun, which can flare out into the sky for hundreds of miles. The few minutes during a solar eclipse are the time when astronomers are actually able to observe the solar storms in the Corona of the sun. This quilt is more a portrayal of my feelings about the power of the sun, than it is an exact representation of what a scientist might see through a telescope."Label
From American Quilter Magazine Fall 1989 Vol. V, No. 3
A lifelong fascination with the sky, the phenomenon of solar eclipse, and the aurora borealis have provided Caryl with a theme for a series of quilts. Describing this quilt, Caryl says "This is my second quilt portraying the solar eclipse when the moon comes between the earth and the sun, 8 that the disk of the sun is covered. The corona is the envelope of ionized gasses surrounding the chromosphere of the sun which becomes visible during a solar eclipse. This design grew from a paper sketch. It was then drawn full size on paper which had been taped to the floor of her studio. Next, the whole drawing was moved to her work wall, the basic color placement was selected and pieced together as string-piecing. The paper pattern was cut into sections and fabric sewn to the paper pattern. The paper was removed and the separate fabric sections sewn together. Arranging the bright colors in the center and then fading them out to the edges makes the middle of the quilt look as if it is on fire. Her exceptional use of color comes from an art background where she learned to place colors next to each other in such a way that the eye of the beholder mixes them to make a successful color statement, The quilt uses 100% cotton fabrics, dyed and over-dyed. The gradations of color create the illusion of movement and light on the surface of the quilt. The quilting designs were planned and drawn on the quilt top with a fine silver marking pencil which brushed off as she machine quilted. The quilting design spirals out from the center of the disk from the moon to the edge of the sky and into the successive borders. Leftovers of strip piecing from the front were incorporated into the 32" traditional block on the back of the quilt. "My use of a traditional quilt block on the backs of all of my contemporary art quilts is my tribute to the creativity of the many anonymous quilters of the past. I Chose Robbing Peter to Pay Paul' as my traditional block in this case because it is based on a circle, and carries out the circular theme of the sun and the moon on the front of the quilt."
Caryl still enjoys hand quilting, but believes a a real breakthrough for quilters came when Harriet Hargrave's book was published with complete and concise directions for machine quilting. Using the machine for piecing and quilting gives me an opportunity to personally design, sew and create many more of the images I see into quilts. I believe quilts today are not made out of necessity, but now can be enjoyed solely for their beauty.