Mapping The Imagination Alicia Merrett
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© Alicia Merrett 2014 All Rights Reserved. Images may not be reproduced by any means, or used in any way, without written permission of the artist. Photograph of Habitats : Species by Paul Westlake www.paulwestlake.smugmug.com All other photography by Alicia Merrett, www.aliciamerrett.co.uk Permission to use an image of Yorke 1611 was given by The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles, www.quiltersguild.org.uk
Published by Alicia Merrett, July, 2014. Revised reprint September 2014 www.aliciamerrett.co.uk Design and Layout by Tim Wood Print Production by St Andrew’s Press Wells, Somerset UK www.standrewspress.co.uk
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Mapping The Imagination
M
aps have an irresistible appeal. We use them daily and most people couldn’t conceive being without them. Maps show us where places are; they lead us to destinations; they describe features of our planet. Humankind gathers, orders and records knowledge about our planet through map making. The earliest maps were drawn by our ancestors to help them locate sources of food, water and shelter. Maps have been crucial for discovery, conquest and commerce, as shown by Columbus and many other explorers. From the clay tablets of Babylonia, or the carved bones of North American tribes, through the map-making progress made by Ptolemy, Mercator and many others, to aerial and satellite photography, and the development of GIS (Geographical Information Systems), maps have helped us to get to know our planet. We must keep in mind that in the past, no maps have ever been just objective descriptions of places; they’ve been also products of the imagination, shaped by the views and events of the time, and by the subjectivity of the maker. They also have been aids to wielding power. But our horizons have expanded enormously since maps were first invented and used. The printing press first made them widely available. And nowadays aerial photography can capture geographical data for many other purposes: GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret and visualise data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns and trends. These can, and should, be used to protect our planet and its resources. 3
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Maps are defined by the symbols of cartography: as not all details can be included, choices have to be made, and agreed symbols use, which are necessary for the understanding of map meanings. In creating my own interpretation of cartographic symbols, I can choose which features to include and which not. Maps made by artists can be either re-interpreted or imaginary. My complex pieced and collaged textile maps use colour, line and texture to convey cartographic elements, meanings, and concepts. They can also become abstract pieces of the imagination. This book is divided into three sections: Part I shows most of the pieces exhibited at the Mapping the Imagination gallery at the Festival of Quilts, Birmingham NEC, UK, in August 2014. Part II contains the main map quilts I made since the very first one, in 2008. Part III is a miniworkshop on the basics of quilted map-making.
Alicia Merrett July 2014
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Mapping The Imagination Exhibition at the Festival of Quilts, Birmingham NEC, August 2014
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COMING INTO LAND
128 x 105 cm - 2013 This is an imaginary view from an airplane, coming into land. The bright lights of the villages and roads are seen against the dark background of the fields. The airport and runway are visible on the right hand side of the piece. Lines are very important in my work, as well as colour.
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BLUE HARBOUR
128 x 103 cm - 2014 This piece was made for the sheer pleasure of working with a large number of colours surrounding a large area of blue water. Technically complex but very enjoyable to make. The little boat shapes complete the aerial view of a harbour with a marina and beaches, colourful houses, green fields and earth-coloured hills. An imaginary map, but based on my research on harbour and marina maps.
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CLIMATE CHANGE: WATER
100 x 100 cm - 2012 I made this piece as a response to the European Patchwork Meeting international contest, on the theme of ‘Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’; it was inspired by the floods in Britain and other parts of the world, very likely caused by climate change. It is in three vertical sections, showing a small beach with a few houses surrounded by woods; as the place grows in popularity, some fields become built up, and others cultivated. When sea levels rise, due to climate change, the place is flooded and destroyed.
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CLIMATE CHANGE: FIRE
100 x 100 cm – 2014 Making the previous piece got me thinking about climate change, and I decided to continue with the theme, and the format. This piece, in three horizontal sections, was inspired by the unseasonal bush fires in Australia. From top to bottom, it shows green woods, with houses and roads; then the fires take hold; and once the fires die out, the landscape remains burnt up and grey.
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CLIMATE CHANGE: EARTH
100 x 100 cm - 2014 The third Climate Change piece, in two vertical sections, refers to the receding ice sheet in places like Greenland, repeated in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, among others. Large areas of earth under the ice sheet become much more visible, especially in the summer. Large melt lakes form inland on the remaining ice sheet, from where water pours out into the sea.
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CLIMATE CHANGE: AIR
100 x 100 cm - 2014 The fourth piece in the series refers to air pollution, illustrated in two horizontal sections by what happened in Mexico City within three centuries. Mexico City was built on floating islands on a lake, on top of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. When the city was first created, a lot of the lake was still visible, and the air was clear, showing the colours of the town. Nowadays Mexico City is a huge conurbation, and the lake has all but disappeared from view. The city as seen from a plane is shrouded in a grey mist of pollution.
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HYPOTHETICAL FUTURE: COLONIES IN MARS?
95 x 107 cm – 2014 Will we ever colonise other planets? The Moon? Mars? Jupiter’s moon Europa? There are many difficulties in the way of space travel, but technology constantly improves in enormous leaps, so who knows what will happen in a hundred years’ time? In the meantime, we can dream of a city in the red planet…
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A MYSTERY CITY ON THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON Following my interest in cosmology, astronomy, particle physics and science fiction, this is one of a series of new quilts where I am moving onto interpreting aspects of those subjects. This mysterious city is still portrayed as a map, though an imaginary one. 76 x 131 cm, 2014
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ROAD TO UTOPIA 12” x 36” - 2013 Inspired by the movie of the same name, this piece was made for Midsomer Quilting’s ‘Movie’ exhibition of 12” by 12” pieces. This 36” map can be concertina-folded into the 12” required size. The film location represented the gold rush in snow-covered Alaska. My road to Utopia is doted with small nuggets of gold which encourage the explorers to continue their search.
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LOST RAILWAYS
12� x 36� - 2014 A companion piece to Road to Utopia, in terms of size, and use of line and colour (or non-colour), this one was inspired by the disappearing railways of the city where I live (Wells) and many others. Railway lines taken out of service are soon abandoned masses of metal and wood and overgrown with vegetation. Travellers are forced onto the roads. Eventually the railway lines are converted into more roads.
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RED EARTH
52 x 80 cm - 2014 I enjoy making imaginary maps, playing with ideas, concepts, line and colour. This is one of them – I like to think of this kind of map as being ‘semi-abstract’.
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PURPLE HILLS
61 x 90 cm - 2014 Again an imaginary map, playing with line and colour. The idea of the purple hills comes from a magical view at dusk from the top of a Spanish hill village.
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WOODLAND RIVER
80 x 103 cm - 2014 Another imaginary map, this time using colour and stitch to represent a woodland area, traversed by a river.
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SOMERSET VILLAGE
48 x 57 cm - 2014 I now live in Somerset, in the smallest city in England. Villages are dotted all around the countryside, and become a constant inspiration for quilted maps. This is an imaginary Somerset village, with dwellings clustered along roads.
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PARTICLE PATHS
69 x 69 cm – 2014 As a consequence of a chance invitation to participate in an exhibition on the theme of ‘Radiation’, in Geneva, home of CERN, my interest in particle physics has been revived. This piece maps the paths of almost invisible particles – electrons and positrons – created by the colliding beams that travel at almost the speed of light inside the Large Hadron Collider. As they have opposite electromagnetic charges – negative and positive – their paths curl in opposite directions. The visual lines derive from arrays of computer numbers.
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Map QUILTS from 2008 to 2013
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Open page opposite to reveal Alicia’s first map quilt ==>
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…yet the river flows on…
120 x 30 cm – 2008 My first map quilt was made for The Quilters’ Guild Contemporary Quilt group’s ‘The Thin Blue Line’ challenge, which had a set size. My daughter had recently moved to Somerset, to a long village with a small river undulating behind the houses, and that became the inspiration for my quilt.
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Mapping Earth
60 x 60 cm – 2009 Representing a common feature of the English landscape – the village at the crossroads – this, my second map quilt, was also made in response to The Quilters’ Guild Contemporary Quilt group ‘Breakthrough’ challenge in 2009. By then, I had myself moved from London to Somerset, so countryside features started to become important in my work. I used colour to define the different boundaries, with clear colour contrasts between the fields, the buildings, and the roads.
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Seaside Town
79 x 100 cm - 2010 My third map quilt was made for “Colour and Light�, a two person exhibition with glass artist Nina Gronw-Lewis, at the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury in 2010. It proved to be a very popular piece (and exhibition); the map is completely imaginary, but at the same time it was inspired by aerial photographs of coastlines.
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CATHEDRAL TOWN – HARVEST TIME
109 x 118 cm - 2010 This piece is my interpretation of a 100-year old map of the city where I live, Wells, in the county of Somerset, England. I chose to represent an original black and white map as an aerial view, with ‘hedge’ lines that define the fields and serve to give the map its structure and rhythm. The green and golden yellow of the fields contrast with a red and purple town, and an aerial outline of the stone-built 1100 years-old cathedral. The long grey strip represents the railway line which was there a century ago – but alas, no more!
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THE NIGHT ROAD This is an imaginary aerial view of the earth below seen from an airplane at night. The fields are dark but the lights of the towns and villages are bright, and the long lines of the roads are clearly illuminated. Line is as important an element of design as colour is. The main roads are pieced fine lines, the minor roads are stitched with a double-needle, and the quilting is done with single lines. My lines are seldom straight; I find the organic feel of the gently curving line is wonderfully expressive. 57 x 134 cm – 2011
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CANAL COUNTRY
109 x 137 cm - 2011 Based on a map of an area near Stroud, which is crossed by canals. Transport of goods and people via barges along canals were of enormous economic importance in Britain 100 years ago. Nowadays those canals have become recreational facilities for the community. The section of map was selected because the shapes of the roads and the position of the built-up areas form an appealing pattern. Here, instead of using pieced lines to define the boundaries of the fields, I used colour contrasts.
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CITY LIGHTS
137 x 120 cm - 2011 Another interpretation of the lights of a city and its surrounding roads as viewed at night from above – probably from an airplane. The view can be quite exhilarating.
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ELIZABETHAN CITY
161 x 122 cm - 2011 This map is loosely based on a section of an engraved map of London from 1572 which hangs on one of my walls. It interprets the city in its Elizabethan period; maps were drawn differently then – the River Thames turns at a sharper angle than in modern maps.
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THE ISLAND
103 x 97 cm - 2012 Starting life as a response to a challenge issued by Christine Porter on ‘Something Borrowed, Something Blue’, in 2012, this island is collaged and appliquéd onto a wholecloth blue ocean background piece. Completely imaginary, but inspired by various maps of islands, it contains mountains in slight relief, a lake, rivers, beaches, roads, cultivated fields, and dwellings.
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MAYFAIR 1761
130 x 160 cm - 2012 This piece represents fairly closely the Mayfair area of London as it was in 1761, and it is based on a map of the time. The layout is generally the same as it is now, although there are no reservoirs any longer in the parks – Hyde Park and Green Park. The squares, like Grosvenor and Berkeley, are still there today. There have been changes to the south of the area – no more Shepherd’s Market, more buildings instead. On the north side, the green fields have also been built on; the northern boundary road is Oxford Street, a main London shopping street.
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FINDING THE WAY (with my Talisman) 65 x 93 cm - 2010 This map is based on the overall layout of a small village near where I live, where I have incorporated an image of my ‘talisman’ – a SatNav – which I carry with me to help me find my way. But I still look at the map first…
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RIVER FLOW Yet again, a response to another challenge by The Quilters’ Guild Contemporary Quilt group – ‘Horizons’ - this is the first piece where I attempted to introduce perspective. Inspired by the rivers of Somerset – Avon, Axe, Brue, Parrett – the undulating current flows through a patchwork of fields towards the horizon, and on to the Bristol Channel. 50 x 150 cm - 2013
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BY THE SEASIDE
NIGHT VILLAGE
An interpretation of a view of a village by the sea.
An imaginary aerial view of a village and surrounding roads, as seen from an airplane at night.
40 x 50 cm - 2011
30 x 40 cm - 2011
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RIVER CROSSING
THE DUSK ROAD
40 x 50 cm - 2011
47 x 69 cm – 2011
An imaginary map showing a river, a village, and roads, with a bridge crossing it.
The colours of fields at dusk, when the lights of roads and villages start to shine.
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THE QUILTERS’ GUILD COMMISSION: YORKE 1611 In 2012 the City of York celebrated 800 years of the granting of its charter by King John. The city set up innumerable celebratory events throughout the year. The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles, which has its headquarters in York, set up its own event – Quilt City – a quilt competition and trail throughout the city, with quilts on display in a variety of places such as shops, art galleries, theatres, hotels, the library, etc. Two quilts were commissioned especially, via an open submission competition. This project was funded by The Quilters’ Guild with the support of grants from Arts Council England and City of York Council. I was fortunate to be one of the two quilt artists selected for the commission. The piece I made for the commission ‘York – Celebration of a City’ is a quilted map which represents the City of York, not as it is now, but as it was in the early 1600s, when the walled city was surrounded by green fields, and John Speed mapped it (see note below). I used his map as my main reference, but referred to other maps of York as well. My quilt is an interpretation of the 1611 map, not an exact copy. It describes the main features of the city that survive today, and show the beginnings of what is now a great and flourishing city. It celebrates the permanence of the main features of York. John Speed was the first mapmaker to produce and publish an atlas of the British Isles: The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, in 1611, during the reign of James I, the first king to rule over England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Each county map included a plan of the most important town in the county – such as York. (From the commission proposal): Maps are a form of image communication, which is quite universal. But maps are interpretations of our surroundings, not exact reproductions; the information they show is selective, and symbols are used to describe it, expressed through the language of cartography. Map-making can be influenced by social, political and economic events. Yorke 1611 is in The Quilters’ Guild Collection. 137 x 154 cm – 2012
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EARTH STORIES: HABITATS : SPECIES In 2013, SAQA (Studio Art Quilts Associates), put out a Call for Entries for a project on Earth Stories. The call indicated that selection of artists would be made on the basis of a portfolio of past work, and a project proposal to make an artwork reflecting a positive earth story. The work, to be produced within a year of acceptance, should fill a space of 72� by 72� square, either in one piece or with several pieces. I was fortunate to be one of the 25 international quilt artists selected. As I live almost next door to the Somerset Levels, within which the Avalon Marshes are a wetland home to a wide variety of habitats and plant and animal species, many of which are in danger of extinction, I chose to do my project within Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve, to which I had links and contacts. The Reserve Manager very kindly provided me with suitable maps, and other people working there supplied a lot of information about the local species and habitats. There are in fact several nature reserves in the Avalon Marshes, which have been set up to provide suitable habitats that encourage biological diversity, and to protect the endangered species. National Nature Reserves also do very important work in the education of the general public, and particularly of young people, about the need to protect our environment. The Reserves rely on a large number of committed and hard-working volunteers to carry out this very important work. The exhibition premiered at the University of Michigan Museum and Art Gallery, USA, May to November 2014. A catalogue is available from www.saqa.com 183 x 183 cm - 2013
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ANCIENT SCRIPTS We can map civilizations and their living areas via other means, not only maps. Here I have played with the designs of ancient scripts and languages, to map out the dawn of civilization. Created in 12 sections as part of Contemporary Quilt group’s Journal Quilts project. 61 x 122 cm – 2013
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MAPPING THE IMAGINATION by Alicia Merrett
PART III - THE BASICS OF MAP-MAKING
Introduction Maps are defined by cartography – the symbols that represent the different features of Earth that are conveyed by maps. I define my own cartographic symbols by using colour and line – a variety of colours for houses, and contrasting colours for fields, rivers, seas; and different colours again for the fine lines that signify the roads. My technique is mainly free-hand cutting and stitching – I do not use rulers, except to square the quilt edges, and to cut edge strips and sleeves. There is no space in this book to explain what I prefer to call ‘off the straight’ piecing, so readers are referred to my video workshops in YouTube, which show this technique step by step, in a much more efficient way. Go to www.youtube.com and enter ‘Alicia Merrett’ in the Search box, which will lead to “Alicia Merrett: Contemporary Quilt Demonstration”, a three-part workshop. I prefer to work with hand-dyed cottons, but all sorts of patterned and plain fabrics are suitable for map-making. Fused appliqué is used when appropriate. Steam ironing is very important at all stages of the work. I refer to real maps but a lot of my maps are imaginary. It is easiest to make an imaginary map first, before attempting to interpret a real one.
Making a small imaginary map of a village on green fields The example here is for making a small English-style village surrounded by green fields. The map is built in sections – say in four or five sections - which are later joined together by the roads. First, roughly define the main lines and areas of the map to be made, via a simple sketch. For example:
Second, select the fabric colours : a variety of greens for the fields; contrasting colours for the village houses , such as a range of reds, yellows, oranges, pinks, turquoise, blues, purples, etc. The roads may be brown for the bigger ones, orange for the minor ones.
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Third, cut a piece of calico or cotton wadding a little bigger than the size of the map you want to make – say 18” by 24” (45 by 60 cm), or square - to lay the map pieces on as you work.
The houses are made next. Cut strips of the different ‘house’ fabrics, some narrower (about an inch or a little less – 2 to 2.5 cm), some wider (about an inch and a half or inch and three quarters – 4 to 5 cm).
Arrange them in pairs of one narrower and one wider, and stitch them together along one long edge. Iron the seam allowances towards the wider fabric.
Cut the strips in sections of one and a half to two inches (4 to 6 cm), approximately, in different widths – they shouldn’t all be the same size.
Then arrange the pieces into small house groupings. They can be assembled in rows (like terraced houses), or in all sorts of other arrangements. It is nice to see secondary patterns emerge.
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Now stitch a few of those house sections together.
Take your stitched houses groupings and place them on your piece of calico or wadding, keeping in mind the rough sketch you made before (although of course you can change your mind!). Or you can simply play with the pieces until a pleasant pattern emerges.
Start completing the picture with sections of green fabrics for fields, alternating different greens to obtain some contrast between adjacent fields. Add more house sections if you feel they are needed. Keep in mind where the roads will be – major and minor ones - and either leave spaces for them, or place fabric strips where they will go.
[TIP: always work towards making rectangles and squares when you stitch pieces and sections together, so they can be joined to each other very easily. Avoid having to make 90-degree seams!] 43
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Once the fields are in place, start stitching pieces together, and put in the minor roads (in orange here). Work towards making quarter sections, which will later be joined by the major roads. The method for putting roads in place is explained below.
TO MAKE THE ROADS: A. Select the two sections of your map you are going to join together with a road – whether one of the minor roads, or one of the major roads that join the final quarters – leaving the central road for last. Overlapping their edges slightly, trim the two sections to approximately the same shape. B. Cut a strip of fabric a bit wider and longer than the road you will be making, and using one side of your map as an imaginary ruler, freehand-cut one side of the strip to match, and then stitch the strip to that side of your map section in the same way as done before – as explained in my YouTube video workshop. C. Iron the seam allowance (temporarily) towards the line fabric. (This first seam allowance covers the equivalent amount of fabric that will be needed for the second seam allowance, and the rest of the visible fabric will be the actual thickness of the road). D. Working on the wrong side of the fabric, trim the strip to the actual road thickness, as narrow or as wide as you like. E. Now re-iron the seam allowance towards the larger piece of fabric. F. Re-cut slightly the other side of the map fabric section following the new road line edge, as it will be a little different. G. Stitch the second side of the road to the other section of the map. H. Iron the ‘line’ seams either to opposite sides away from the ‘road’, or both to one side, depending on the thickness of fabrics you are working with.
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A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Now you should have a nice thin line for your road!
[TIP: Long roads are best stitched from the middle outwards, going in opposite directions, rather than from one end to another.]
Stitch one of the more important roads (here in dark brown), between the two left hand side sections; then do the same between the two right hand side sections. Finally, you can stitch the longest main road between the two resulting halves, again using the method explained above. Bigger maps, or those of different design, may have more sections, but the method is always the same – work towards rectangles and squares, building onto two halves to join at the end.
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When the ‘top’ is finished, trim all four edges neatly, with a ruler, steam iron it as flat as it will go, fix any minor problems, and stretch it (or ‘block’ it) on a design wall or a carpeted floor, by pinning all around while stretching in all directions. Leave it for a few hours, or overnight. That will help the top to keep flat.
Layer the ‘top’ with cotton wadding and backing fabric, and quilt it. Variegated thread is good for the houses. Fields can be stitched in a range of shades of green: with straight lines for cultivated ones, curvy lines, spirals, etc. for other vegetation, rounded shapes for woods. Once quilted, trim the edges square, with a ruler and rotary cutter, and stretch the piece again as indicated above.
For the edges, cut strips two and a half inches wide (6 to 6.5 cm), and a little longer than each side. Fold them in half lengthwise and iron the fold. Raw edges together, stitch to two opposite sides first, iron out, turn towards the back, and handstitch in place. Then do the same with the other two opposite sides, folding in the corners. The strips can either be left to show about ¼” (1 cm) at the front, or turned completely to the back. Add a sleeve and a label, photograph the quilt, and your map is ready!
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ALICIA MERRETT ALICIA MERRETT was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but has lived and worked in the UK since the 1960’s, first in London and now in Wells, Somerset. Her background is in sociology, anthropology and photography, and in the 1980’s she was a professional toymaker, and author of several books. She has worked with crafts and textiles in one way or another since early childhood. A trip to the USA in 1993 and an exhibition at the Crafts Council in London on Contemporary American Quilts converted her to art quiltmaking and she made her first quilt in 1994. She studied with Nancy Crow, Michael James, Sue Benner, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Melody Johnson, and other established American and European art quilters. She has a passion for colour, which is reflected in her quilts, and her work has evolved from abstract design towards ideas and concepts. She has worked in series about music, Shakespeare, towns and cities, before concentrating on maps and aerial views. She is now starting to explore the contrasting but complementary fields of astronomy and particle physics. More of her work, and details of her teaching, can be seen on her website: www.aliciamerrett.co.uk
FURTHER READING The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography. Katherine Harmon, with essays by Gayle Clemans. Princeton Architectural Press, New York, USA, 2009. You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination. Katherine Harmon, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, USA, 2004. Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art. Peter Barber and Tom Harper, The British Library, UK, 2010. Mapping the World: Stories of Geography. Caroline and Martine Laffon, Firefly Books, USA and Canada, 2009. Art Quilt Maps: Capture a Sense of Place with Fiber Collage – A Visual Guide. Valerie Goodwin, C&T Publishing, USA, 2013. Personal Geographies: Explorations in Mixed-Media Mapmaking. Jill K. Berry, North Light Books, USA, 2011. 47
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THANK YOU There is always somebody or something that helps you achieve things in life, whether you or them are aware of it or not. You are seldom on your own. The first quilt group I joined was London Quilters, which provided a wealth of information and many friendships, and led to the formation of the exhibiting group ColourFX, whose members have been of crucial support over the years. The Contemporary Quilt group of The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles has provided a context, encouragement, and challenges over the years, especially the exhibition themes which were the starting point for my making map quilts. SAQA (Studio Art Quilts Associates), an American-based organisation which has expanded world-wide, has always been an inspiration and a source of information for all aspects of art quilting. The majority of the hand-dyed fabrics I use in my work are by master dyer and art quilter Heide Stoll-Weber, and the fabrics’ wonderful colours have been another important source of inspiration. My family has always been very supportive of my work and their encouragement and comments have helped me on my way. The students attending my various classes on map-making have also provided encouragement to continue on this path. Students are sources of learning for the teachers, as well as the other way round, and I very much appreciate their support. Since moving to Somerset in 2008, my local quilt shop, Midsomer Quilting, www.midsomerq.com has provided support, friendship, entertaining conversation, cups of tea, fabrics and tools, and many teaching opportunities, for which I am exceedingly grateful. I teach there regularly, so do come to a class to hone your map-making skills! .... and thank you to anyone else I may have missed out!
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A18757 Contemporary Art Quilts - TEXT CATALOGUE Edition 2 .indd 50
06/10/2014 15:05