Radical Elements (SAQA Global Exhibition)

m

um

m

m

Radical Elements vanadium

23

V

50.942 niobium

41

chromium

24

manganese

25

iron

26

cobalt

27

nickel

28

copper

29

boron

5

B

C

nitrogen

7

N

12.011

14.007

aluminium

silicon

phosphorus

Al 30

6

10.811

13

zinc

carbon

14

Si

o

1

15

P

26.982

28.086

30.974

3

gallium

germanium

arsenic

se

31

32

33

Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As S 51.996

54.938

55.845

58.933

58.693

63.546

65.38

69.723

72.64

74.922

molybdenum

technetium

ruthenium

rhodium

palladium

silver

cadmium

indium

tin

antimony

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

te

Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb T 92.906

95.96

[98]

101.07

102.91

106.42

107.87

112.41

114.82

118.71

121.76

tantalum

tungsten

rhenium

osmium

iridium

platinum

gold

mercury

thallium

lead

bismuth

73

Ta 180.95

dubnium

105

74

75

76

W Re Os

77

Ir

183.84

186.21

190.23

192.22

seaborgium

bohrium

hassium

meitnerium

106

107

108

109

78

79

80

81

82

83

1

po

Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi P 195.08

196.97

darmstadtium roentgenium

110

111

200.59

204.38

207.2

208.98

dysprosium

holmium

erbium

ununoctium

118

Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Uuo [262]

cerium

58

[266]

[264]

praseodymium neodymium

59

60

[277]

[268]

[271]

[272]

[294]

promethium

samarium

europium

gadolinium

terbium

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

t

Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er T 140.12

140.91

144.24

[145]

150.36

151.96

157.25

158.93

162.50

164.93

167.26

thorium

protactinium

uranium

neptunium

plutonium

americium

curium

berkelium

californium

einsteinium

fermium

90

91

c Th Pa 232.04

231.04

92

U

238.03

93

94

95

96

97

98

Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf [237]

[244]

[243]

[247]

[247]

[251]

99

100

1

men

Es Fm M [252]

[257]

ISBN: 978-0-9896896-0-1 Cover artwork (clockwise from top left): Dianne Firth, Diane Melms, Brooke Atherton Catalog design by Deidre Adams Contents copyright Š2013 Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. Images copyright the individual artists.

Images may not be reproduced or used in any way without written permission. All rights reserved.

PO Box 572 Storrs, CT 06268-0572 860.487.4199

www.saqa.com

Radical Elements | 1

Curator’s essay In 2001, I worked on a project in which I attempted to answer the question, “What is an art quilt?” Ten years later, I realized that the definition I had so carefully crafted was no longer accurate. In a relatively short period of time, the field of art quilting had undergone a fundamental change. The primary focus had shifted from decorating the surface of a quilted wall hanging to a much broader acceptance of ideas, styles and materials.

As an organization, Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) saw this shift occurring and recently changed their definition of art quilt to more accurately reflect the work that is being produced by its members today. The definition of art quilt is now “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.” Radical Elements happens to be the first SAQA exhibit to follow this new definition, but it actually does more than that. This exhibit pushes the definition’s limits.

The artists in Radical Elements were selected from an international pool of SAQA members who submitted their portfolios for consideration. Several additional artists were invited in order to include a broad range of styles and artist backgrounds. All forty artists were chosen because their work showed a high level of quality and creativity.

As the first part of the Radical Elements theme, each artist was asked to interpret a chemical element from the periodic table. However, there was an additional twist.

The artists were asked not to use the traditional quilt-making materials of fabric and thread (or at least to use them as little as possible). In order to adhere to the new art quilt definition, they needed to find and use alternative materials that would act as the quilt’s layers, then they had to fasten the layers together by some innovative method.

Conceptually, the artists were allowed to interpret their element any way they wanted.

My hope is that this exhibition will challenge and expand perceptions and possibilities for both the viewing public and for future artists. Considering how far art quilting has already come, it will be interesting to see where it goes in the next ten years and beyond.

— Jill Rumoshosky Werner Jill Rumoshosky Werner has exhibited her artwork in museums, art centers and galleries around the U.S. and abroad and has won national and international awards. An experienced curator and writer, Werner has been awarded two fellowships from the Kansas Arts Commission.

2 | Radical Elements

Elin Noble New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA Hydrogen is a gas and the simplest and lightest element in the periodic table. It is the most common element in the universe.

Hydrogen is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. On earth it is most abundant in the form of water. In the nearest star to us, our sun, hydrogen is part of a continuous nuclear explosion.

I knew from the beginning I wanted to work with a material that is transparent. I chose polyester film, a fascinating material that was developed in the 1950s. It is present to the degree that it reflects light and imagery. It is not visible, yet it is a barrier, and like water it is continuously activated by its surroundings.

The first hydrogen bomb was tested in 1952. In 1955-56 Alan Ginsberg published the seminal beat poem, “Howl,” introducing the metaphor of the “hydrogen jukebox.” Layering polyester film made it possible for me to reference water, but also light and movement.

Burning holes introduced an element of aggressiveness and vulnerability.

Polyester film, plastic, felt, cotton, cotton thread.

Melted, burned, stitched.

hydrogen

1

H

1.0079

Radical Elements | 3

Hydrogen Jukebox 36 x 22 inches

4 | Radical Elements

Wen Redmond Strafford, New Hampshire, USA Helium is lighter than air so I wanted to create a work that was very light in appearance and feel. The most common connection with helium is the buoyant balloons found at fairs and parties.

I wanted the finished work to have a plastic-like appearance reminiscent of these airborne ovals. To achieve this, I printed a manipulated photograph of fish tank marbles onto sections of prepared, lightweight molding paste. I choose to de-saturate and elongate the photo creating the oval shapes. To me, that made it feel like the shapes were expanding and beginning to float, emphasizing the element’s nature.

Once printed, each section was mounted onto used painter’s plastic that once served as a table protector. I wanted to allow some of the painterly patterns on the dropcloth to appear through the photograph, creating a physically merged image, so the top sections of the work were printed on transparent sheet labels, adhered, painted, and sewn.

The effect helps to create that lighter-than-air feeling.

Plastic, lightweight-molding paste, paint, creatively manipulated digital images, transparent sheet labels, thread.

Manipulated digital photograph printed on molding paste using a digital-ready pre-treatment, painted, printed, stitched.

helium

2

He 4.0026

Radical Elements | 5

Lighter than Air 36 x 22 inches

6 | Radical Elements

Michele C. Leavitt Saunderstown, Rhode Island, USA The challenge ticked my imagination: to create a quilt from elements differing radically from those traditionally employed—even in art quilts. The second requirement, to incorporate information and/or inspiration derived from a periodic table element, provided opportunity for lots of creative thinking. My element?

Carbon.

Research confirms that carbon is everywhere, a building block element linked to everything. Its purest forms are opposites; black and clear, unsubstantial and the hardest material known — diamonds. After numerous sketches, a simple white diamond, a traditional quilt design element, with black for graphite seemed best. I thought I might use plastic and grommets, clear plastic cubes. They didn’t work well, so I went with duct tape and found objects: aluminum foil, fancy papers, metallic fibers, contact papers, and more, laminated onto the duct tape.

A large drawing of the diamond provided the plan upon which two-inch squares were organized to describe the forms. A third lamination provided a body on which to set the eyelets firmly. The mathematical challenge was fun! The completed squares, set with eyelets, were attached with jewelry wire. Thanks to studio assistants Jennifer Vallierie, who provided wiring, and Alex Hassel, who provided general studio support.

Differing duct tapes, contact and special papers, aluminum foil and foil tape, black, white, and silver tape, ribbon, candy wrappers, metallic fibers.

Cut to shape and laminated to duct tape, wired.

carbon

6

C

12.011

Radical Elements | 7

Carbon 36 x 22 inches

8 | Radical Elements

Elizabeth A. Baum Winter Park, Colorado, USA Nitrogen (N) comprises about 78% of our planet’s atmosphere and is essential to life as we know it. A delicate balance must be maintained: when there is too little nitrogen, life struggles; when there is too much nitrogen, life struggles. Keeping track of this important element can be difficult. Colorless, odorless, tasteless—by itself, it evades our senses.

I chose to represent this colorless element through color and texture, using empty space to represent nitrogen. I sought out colorful materials with textures that either suggested, or actually were, full of holes, as well as clear, shiny, and iridescent materials. I altered some materials with paints, fabric medium, or glitter, and used wire, cording, pipe cleaners, raffia, glues and adhesives to alter others. To represent an abundance of nitrogen, resulting in overgrowth, some pieces were stitched heavily, while others were left with many holes open. Knitting the plastic lace made wonderful bubbly looking holes. I cut N-shaped pieces in various sizes and layered them on the tablecloth top, securing them with adhesives. Hand stitching through all the layers with colored wire and raffia completed the “fabric,” which was then used to form a 3D piece.

Mesh vegetable bags, honeycomb brown paper wrap, bubble wrap, plastic mesh craft ribbon, plastic craft lacing, vinyl and foam placemats, construction cord, jute twine, colored wire, armature wire, synthetic raffia, raffia, nylon tubing, hemp paper, pearlized spray glaze, spray paint, acrylic paints, gel medium, glitter, packing foam, sequin waste, disposable tablecloth, pipe cleaners, shelf liner, adhesives and glues.

Layered, painted, hand-stitched, glued, embroidered, knitted.

nitrogen

7

N

14.007

Radical Elements | 9

Sine Qua Non 21 x 19 x 23 inches

10 | Radical Elements

Suzanne Mouton Riggio Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA I struggled with my vision of oxygen, trying and discarding several ideas. Depicting a substance that cannot be seen or touched was quite a challenge. I finally decided on bellows needing oxygen produced by a tree to feed a forge fire in a blacksmith shop. The oxygen would also be used by the blacksmith and a nearby rooster. O for oxygen was provided by small jump rings. Research, drawing, creating, journaling, and gathering outlandish materials (we were asked to radically eschew fabric and thread) filled my days. Some 40 different materials were used, including a small amount of fabric. In spite of several setbacks and the need to do extraordinary problem-solving, I finished before the deadline!

Acrylic matte medium, artist’s canvas, beading wire, beads, brass foil, ceramic tiles, charcoal, colored pencils, computer paper, computer printed fabric, contact paper, copper foil, Day-glo, embossing metal, embroidery thread, eyelash yarn, fabric, feathers, ink, jewelry chain, jump rings, leather, Liquid Thread, Lutradur, mat board, Misty Fuse, Mod Podge, oil sticks, paint, paper fasteners, prismatic foil, quick ties, red oak veneer, Save-a-puzzle, Silamide, silk ravelings, sliver, Steam-aSeam 2, Timtex, Ultrasuede.

Fused, sewn, painted, woodworking.

oxygen

8

O

15.999

Radical Elements | 11

Oxygen 36 x 22 inches

12 | Radical Elements

Marialuisa Sponga Archi Colico, Lecco, Italy Fluorine is number 9 in the periodic table. I set out on a very complex and demanding study of materials which contain a fluorine component. I eventually discovered that nylon contains fluorine.

I therefore thought that nylon tights would do. I learned that transparent film is also nylon, as well as transparent sewing thread and even fluorescent spray.

Now what? My first thought was “a nice pair of legs,� but how?

I began drafting running legs or crossed legs in all kinds of positions, and then finally I ended up with legs pointing upwards.

Cotton cloth, nylon tights, nylon transparent film, nylon thread, fluorescent spray.

Assembled, free-motion stitched.

9

F

18.998

Radical Elements | 13

On a Fluorescent Night 36 x 22 inches

14 | Radical Elements

Marian Zielinski Macon, Georgia, USA As a theater set and lighting designer, my first thought of neon was to recall the lyric from the popular song: “The neon lights are bright on Broadway.” I wanted to contrast the exterior “call of the night” and the big business of Broadway against the truths I seek in more intimate theater spaces.

Neon evokes images of very large cities. A neon light is hot, alluring, exciting, fast, simple, and exotic in its contrast to the night sky. In the shroud of darkness, though, there is also alienation and coldness. This light aches of superficiality. Neon lights are the arteries and veins of the world vibrating around them, running hot and cold, its blood both rich and depleted. The illusory, reflective qualities of unconventional plastics help to convey my perspective of neon light as a beacon, an open invitation to a compelling world that draws us in from our own vacancy.

Dura-Lar Matte Film, cold press laminating sheets, clear packing tape, fiberglas screen, polyester film, archival print canvas, acrylic paint, gel medium, pastels, metallic powdered pigment, lighting gel samples, scenic Mylar and plastic samples.

Mono-printed, digital photography and text manipulation, collaged, painted.

neon

10

Ne 20.180

Radical Elements | 15

Beckoning of Night 36 x 22 inches

16 | Radical Elements

Jeannie Palmer Moore Escondido, California, USA Sodium is present as salt in huge quantities in underground deposits such as salt mines, sea water, and other natural waters. 2.6% of the earth’s crust is made up of sodium. The origin of the symbol Na comes from the latin word natrium. The overall color of the quilt is based on the classification of sodium’s color which is silvery white and metallic.

Salt flats have always intriged me for their reflections, colors, and textures.

The world’s largest salt flats are located in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. Even though salt is the 4th most abundant element, conservation is important to the salt flats. The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah are comprised of approximately 90% salt. Fertilizer companies are pumping brine water back onto the Bonneville Salt Flats to replace the salts being extracted for making potash.

I wanted to produce a feeling of reflection, as well as the texture and depth of the salt flats. l created different textures using donated items from friends, and I shopped bargain basements for fabrics. Plastic bags ironed together, yogurt lids, newspaper transferred onto organza, and ironing board covers are a few of the items included.

Cotton, metallic, white-on-white textured fabrics, sheers, ironing board fabric, plastic bags, yogurt lids, colored newspaper, organza, felt, wool batting, metallic thread.

Plastic bags, newsprint transferred to organza with gel medium, fabrics layered and appliquéd with fusible, free-motion top-stitched with metallic thread.

sodium

11

Na 22.990

Radical Elements | 17

The Salt Flats 36 x 22 inches

18 | Radical Elements

Gay E. Lasher Denver, Colorado, USA I chose aluminum for my element because of the many forms in which it can be found in our environment: aluminum foil, TV dinner trays, baseball bats, structural components of aircraft, and cans. I was also interested in some potential surface applications for aluminum: transfer of images through a digital inkjet process, creation of inkjet printed acrylic skins, and painting on aluminum with alcohol inks. This project went through several iterations as I tried ideas and saw them either fail or become too involved to explore and complete within the time allowed.

Ultimately I wanted my work to be made completely from aluminum and also relate to a quilt, thus I based my work on reverse appliquĂŠ.

In my two-layered piece, the top layer is laser cut. Shapes have been removed to reveal the layer underneath. In the bottom layer, I included a photographic grid element to reference stitch patterns of conventional quilting. Although I tried the surface processes mentioned above, in the end the aluminum surfaces were inkjet printed directly with images from my own photographs. To provide stability and rigidity, a third layer of Dibond was added in the back.

Computer-altered photographic elements inkjet printed on aluminum sheet in two layers; top layer laser cut, and bottom layer solid. Rigidity and stability provided by a third layer of aluminum Dibond. All three layers bolted together with aluminum and plastic hardware. Hardware visible on surface painted to match colors in laser cut layer.

aluminium

13

Al 26.982

Radical Elements | 19

Last Rays 36 x 22 inches

20 | Radical Elements

Dianne Firth Canberra, ACT, Australia Silicon, with the symbol Si and atomic number 14, is a tetravalent metalloid, so the play with the number four fit with the prescribed final rectangular shape. In its pure metalloid form, Si is crystalline and reflective with bluish-tinged faces. This provided the opportunity to use shiny silver foil wallpaper to represent the element in its pure form, with an added shadow of black bonded-fiber to provide the optical illusion of three dimensions.

Si in its pure form is rare. It is much more commonly found as Silicon dioxide such as in quartz, particularly sand. Therefore, to reflect its rareness in the pure form, I have suspended the pieces of foil in space between layers of polyester net using machine stitching to secure them in place, thereby reflecting its unstable nature. The atomic number 14 is referenced in the 14 discrete pieces. Although the artwork is flat, when viewed with a secondary shadow cast behind it, the illusion of three dimensions becomes apparent.

Polyester net, bonded weed mat and foil wallpaper assemblage.

Machine stitched.

silicon

14

Si

28.086

photo by Marty McGillivray

Radical Elements | 21

Silicon 36 x 22 inches

22 | Radical Elements

Kathie Kerler Portland, Oregon, USA A green glow emanating from white phosphorus moved its German discoverer, Hennig Brand, to christen it “cold fire.” People later referred to it as “the Devil’s element” for its use in explosives, poison, and nerve agents. Phosphorus gives matches the ability to ignite when struck against any surface. These properties of glowing, explosiveness, and combustibility inspired both my composition and materials.

A search for a material that glowed led me to holographic vinyl. While there are other materials that glow in the dark, they aren’t feasible in a well-lit gallery setting. The vinyl is applied in a manner similar to appliqué. I chose red and black as the primary colors, both because they are colors of phosphorus, and red for its obvious connection to fire.

Although this non-traditional piece could incorporate some fabric and thread, I challenged myself to complete the piece without either.

I selected Mylar and carbon fiber for their fabric-like drapeability.

Carbon fiber’s surface also looks like fabric in texture and pattern. The reference to thread is in the edge finish. The metallic tape “binding” is embossed with rows of stitches.

Self-adhesive holographic sign vinyl, 5mm mylar, self-adhesive carbon fiber, electric metal repair tape, metal embossing wheel, black acrylic paint, metal brads.

Appliquéd, edge finish created with metal tape “binding,” embossed metal tape, painted metal tape, and “tied” quilt layers with metal brads.

phosphorus

15

P

30.974

photo by Mark Frey

Radical Elements | 23

Cold Fire 36 x 22 inches

24 | Radical Elements

Geneviève Attinger Pontivy, France My radical element is sulfur (S). Flower of sulfur is connected to vulcanology: H2S, hydrogen sulfide, rising from the depths of volcanoes is oxidized at the surface to sulfur dioxide, or to pure yellow sulfur, that often forms masses of beautiful, delicate yellow crystals around the mouth of solfataras.

Flower of sulfur and sulphurous seem connected to personality. I wanted to include the mouths of solfataras, mineral colors, something rising out of the work, flowers, yellowness, a female face, to create a work rather thin, delicate and light! My work meets the new expanded definition of an art quilt: there are two layers, but these layers are nested one within the other and stitched together by threads and weaving.

Plastic deck-chair fabric, latex gloves, polyester/ polypropylene cord, polyester string, polyester braid fishing line, metallic lamp shade structures, jersey cotton.

sulfur

16

S

32.065

Radical Elements | 25

Fleur de Soufre 36 x 22 inches

26 | Radical Elements

Martha C. Hall Vernon, New Jersey, USA Chlorine is a yellow-green gas. The name chlorine is derived from the Greek word khlôros, meaning “pale green.”

Chlorine is able to bond with almost all other elements, making it widely used in manufacturing. Just one of its myriad uses is as part of the compound polyvinylchloride (PVC) which is composed of hydrogen, carbon, and chlorine.

In its pure form chlorine is a toxic gas. Chlorine was used as a chemical weapon in World War I. It was first used in 1915 by the Germans in the Second Battle of Ypres. England and France soon followed in using chlorine as a weapon of war. More recently, in 2007 chlorine gas was used as a weapon in multiple attacks by insurgents in Taji during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The production and transportation of chlorine in the United States results in hundreds of accidents annually. One of the worst chlorine accidents took place in Graniteville, SC in 2005 when a train derailment resulted in the venting of 120 tons of chlorine gas over the area, killing 9 people and injuring over 550 more. Chloros uses PVC money cards as the primary alternative material. The yellow-green organza layer represents a cloud of gas overtaking cities affected by the toxicity of chlorine gas.

PVC money cards, plated copper wire, silk organza, Procion MX dyes, cotton fabric, DuraBrite ink, gel medium, fusible web, rayon thread, polyester monofilament thread, coated foil, brass chain, aluminum, wood.

Cut PVC money cards; printed, laminated maps; hand stitched with wire; hand-dyed silk organza, attached to hanging assembly with wire.

chlorine

17

Cl 35.453

Radical Elements | 27

Chloros 36 x 22 inches

28 | Radical Elements

Sandra Sider Bronx, New York, USA Potassium—without it our hearts would not beat and our food would not grow. Known as “potash,” potassium can be produced by burning wood and similar vegetable materials. It is used chiefly in fertilizers. The farms of the northeastern United States were made possible by settlers who cut down the forests, then produced potash for fertilizer by burning the timber. Potash can be found in nature combined with other minerals, with most of the deposits in Canada and Russia.

Fruits and vegetables high in potassium include apricots, avocadoes, bananas, and oranges. Potassium Powerhouse features my phototransferred images of three of these. Plastic net bags stitched around the surface previously held oranges. Other non-fabric materials in the quilt are amp terminals in red and yellow, metaphorically “amping” the power of potassium.

The yellow symbol in the lower center consists of the letter “K” both forward and backward, with the same symbol repeated in hand embroidery. This symbol also has nineteen French knots because potassium has 19 electrons. Potassium’s scientific name is kalium, a Latin word. The chemical has been known since antiquity, when it was used for—you guessed it—fertilizer.

Photo transfers on cotton twill, netting from bags containing oranges, embroidery floss, amp terminals, cotton fabrics, thread, wool batting and stuffing.

Heat-transferred artist’s digital photos, appliquéd with machine satin stitching, trapunto, hand embroidered and stitched, machine quilted.

potassium

19

K

39.098

photo by Deidre Adams

Radical Elements | 29

Potassium Powerhouse 36 x 22 inches

30 | Radical Elements

Valya Oceanside, California, USA For almost 13 years I have had a special relationship with titanium. In 2000 I had surgery and acquired three tooth implants. All of them are made of titanium. It appears the body does not reject titanium but embraces it as its own.

The idea of a symbiosis between live, warm, bloody flesh, and cool, slick metal is the inspiration for this work.

Landscape fabric, merino wool fleece, metal.

titanium

22

Ti

47.867

Radical Elements | 31

Titanium 36 x 22 inches

32 | Radical Elements

Diane Melms Anchorage, Alaska, USA When investigating the properties of various elements, I was interested in working with something that could be interpreted in an abstract way using color, shape, line, and pattern. I was immediately drawn to chromium because its name is derived from the Greek word for color. Further research revealed that many chromium compounds are intensely colored and are used to create red, yellow, and green color pigments in paint, dye, and glaze. I also discovered chromium is used in chrome-plating metals and making stainless steel. Combining the visual properties of intense color and shiny metal surfaces inspired me, and using the abstracted Cr symbol as a graphic element offered many possibilities for creating an interesting composition.

The challenge of creating a quilt-like structure using alternative materials took me to the paint and hardware store. Mini-stretched canvases provided the perfect shaped surface for creating the painted grid pattern I wanted, and the chrome-plated nuts used as spacers between squares added a secondary pattern with a bit of shine. Layering the painted grid on another painted canvas created an interesting feeling of depth and added complexity to the composition.

100 miniature stretched canvas panels, chrome-plated nuts, painted canvas panel.

Painted, drilled, wired, glued.

chromium

24

Cr 51.996

photo by Chris Arend

Radical Elements | 33

Chromium 36 x 22 inches

34 | Radical Elements

Sandra E. Lauterbach Los Angeles, California, USA What is manganese? It is a silvery grey metal resembling iron.

Manganese was used as a color pigment in Paleolithic cave paintings.

It also helps prevent rust, colors glass an amethyst color, and is the coloring agent in natural amethyst. This piece focuses on amethyst and the color purple. After researching amethyst and looking at photos of it from the geode stage to the finished jewelry product, I decided to emphasize its geode form, but included velveteen to emphasize and appreciate manganese’s role in elegant jewelry.

Once that decision was made, I searched for materials to use. Instead of going to the fabric store, I headed to Home Depot, hardware stores, and lumberyards with my camera. I took photos of possible materials I could incorporate to represent a geode, including metal forms, wire grids, aluminum filters, copper wire, plastic fencing, and even metallic baking cups. I wanted to provide some of the roughness and grittiness of a geode, while highlighting its rich color potential.

After experimenting with different materials, I used crumpled and painted mylar and manipulated paper to give depth. Gold electrical wiring takes the form of a gold chain. I then used pet door screen mesh, fiberglass, stereo wiring, tyvek, foiled paper, duct tape, and photos to create the sense of an amethyst geode.

Painted mylar, painted and heat distressed tyvek, fiberglass screen, electrical wiring, duct tape, photographs, foiled paper, manipulated velveteen, metallic tulle, foil.

manganese

25

Mn 54.938

Radical Elements | 35

Amethyst Geode 36 x 22 inches

36 | Radical Elements

Trisha Hassler Portland, Oregon, USA Since childhood, I have stitched, cut, and reassembled everything that would hold still: clothing, baby quilts, costumes, pillows—even a sofa.

The evolution of my art has continued through experimentation, and now many of the materials I incorporate are handmade, recycled, or reclaimed, adding history and texture to the work. Having used steel in the past, the idea of the element of iron was exciting. How could I interpret and represent the mass of such a universal element? Allowing the definition to slip and slide, I landed upon the thought of irony. How ironic to construct a “quilt” with no fabric, one that’s solid because of the iron present in steel.

I became intrigued with how using alternative materials could communicate the choices and selection we each must make every day.

The materials I chose represent different phases in my life, and they layer one upon the other to build an experience as unique and individual as each of us. The exploration of our human experience at the cellular level, and relating that experience to our place in society, is the focus of my work. My personal fascination with missing information, hidden knowledge, and shared experience supplies the history and brings texture to the surface of my art.

Torch-cut steel, reclaimed carpet pad, leather, palm fronds, window screen, hand-cut steel discs, snakeskin, nuts and bolts, embroidery thread.

Traditional construction techniques, plasma torch, tin snips, hand-stitched.

iron

26

Fe 55.845

Radical Elements | 37

The Irony Of It All Was Not Lost On Her 36 x 22 inches

38 | Radical Elements

Laura Wasilowski Elgin, Illinois, USA My radical element is cobalt. Blue Wing Chair is about memory. It is the memory of learning to read and how this magical event led to the discovery of stories and adventures and vivid accounts by extraordinary characters. It is the memory of sitting in a favorite cobalt-blue chair with an enthralling book and visiting other worlds.

Blue Wing Chair is about the simple tool that taught me to read: the flashcard. Flashcards have shapes on paper called letters. The letters make words. The words make sentences. The sentences make stories.

The stories teach me how to live, how to make art, how to be human.

That simple tool, the flashcard, brought me to this blue chair where I sit and read and travel through life.

Painted and stamped Timtex, paper, flashcards.

Fused, machine stitched.

cobalt

27

Co 58.933

Radical Elements | 39

Blue Wing Chair 36 x 22 inches

40 | Radical Elements

Karen Jurek Cochrane, Alberta, Canada Is it a quilt? No cloth fabric was used, but look closely and you will see that some of the blocks are really three layers and are tied or quilted with copper wire or copper metallic thread. And certainly if you stand back and look at the entire art piece, it resembles a quilt.

When assigned the element copper for this exhibition, I took it very literally and used real copper or copper-colored materials, as representational and realistic to the element as possible.

I enjoyed working with the metal and learning all the techniques involved. At times my husband was worried as he observed me using the propane torch and very sharp cutting tools in its creation. My imagination soared with inspiration from Fran Solar, a metal artist.

Thanks also to my friend Alitia, who provided a copper treatment kit and samples for my use. Metals will not be my life’s work, and I will return to the traditional and art quilting world using both fabric and mixed media. But my enjoyment in creating this art piece has been very rewarding. My mind is still working, and I will find a way to use all of my metal leftovers.

Copper screening, rods, wires and pipes, copper metallic thread, colored papers, beads and chains, copper Ver-Day Patina paint, Ver-Day Patina solution, copper-colored craft embellishments, steel screws, painted copper.

copper

29

Cu 63.546

Radical Elements | 41

CU Around 36 x 24 inches

42 | Radical Elements

Cynthia St. Charles Billings, Montana, USA Zinc is an essential element in the nutrition of human beings, animals, and plants. Zinc is required in the genetic make-up of every cell and is an absolute requirement for all biologic reproduction. Zinc is needed in all DNA and RNA syntheses and is required at every step of the cell cycle.

While learning about the importance of zinc in the life of plants and animals, I was inspired to work with cellular imagery. I have used screenprinting to create a pattern of cellular imagery on sheer woven fabric. Fusible web and machine stitchery are used to create the quilt surface with the zinc sheeting as the quilt “batting.� Heat was used to remove the fabric between the zinc squares, representing the delicacy of the living cell and the importance of zinc as an essential element.

Pure zinc sheeting (99.9%), nylon chiffon, cotton thread.

Handpainted, screenprinted, fused, machine stitched, heated with a wood-burning tool.

zinc

30

Zn 65.38

Radical Elements | 43

Zinc 36 x 22 inches

44 | Radical Elements

Tiziana Tateo Vigevano, Pavia, Italy Arsenic is a poisonous element. Nevertheless, the word “arsenic” makes me think of the famous dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace, directed by Frank Capra and based on Joseph Kesselring’s play. The inspiration for my work comes from the intriguing title that suggested to me a textile reinterpretation of “arsenic” and “lace,” always keeping the plot of the comedy in mind.

The combination and manipulation of unconventional materials and techniques were just the right tools to convey visual and emotional content to the viewer.

Like the thin weave of a precious lace, the arsenic twines around the mind and the body of a victim, becoming a kind of fabric itself. Like the thin weave of a precious lace, the arsenic also becomes the physical link between the poisoner and the poisoned: it represents the fabric around which an intricate story can develop and a set of characters can play their role.

Black sizoflor painted with puff paint, aluminum foil, yellow and black plastic bags, transparent plastic, black plastic net.

Free machine embroidered, quilted, manipulated with heat.

arsenic

33

As 74.922

Radical Elements | 45

Arsenic and Old Lace 36 x 22 inches

46 | Radical Elements

Brooke A. Atherton Billings, Montana, USA Nothing is made exclusively from molybdenum (Mo, MolyB) but Mo makes many things better. One of its uses is as an orange/red colorant in plastics, printing inks, and cosmetics. Also, when combined with other chemicals, it produces molybdenum blue, a color that is referred to as fugitive because it is too unstable to be used commercially.

Orange/red is not an easy color to find until you are in the toy department.

That is where I found most of the artifacts. Gathering tiny building blocks and small figures of cowboys, Indians, and ninjas, I wondered where girl versions were. Then I turned the corner into the princess aisle.

Toys and games are finding their ways into serious teaching programs (kids learn faster and better, retaining the knowledge longer when they’re having fun). How do we teach our children and ourselves to be fighters, to have courage, strength, and the desire to fix things? Or is my belief that our future does not have to be a post-industrial dystopia naïve and the stuff of childish dreams?

Plastic, Lutradur, Tyvek, polyester fabric, toys, utensils, vintage Italian sunglasses, vintage acrylic yarn, printed food labels and wrapping, Mattel’s creepiest doll ever, matte medium, Gem-tac, polyester thread, cotton tent canvas, cotton thread, linen thread, copper wire, watercolor pencils and Neocolor II, lipstick, fingernail polish.

Lutradur and Tyvek hand colored and sealed with matte medium, machine stitched to canvas backing, artifacts glued and hand stitched in place.

molybdenum

42

Mo 95.96

Radical Elements | 47

Orange/Red and Fugitive Blue VI 36 x 22 inches

48 | Radical Elements

Kathy York Austin, Texas, USA My work was influenced by the element technetium, specifically the isotope Te-99m. It has a very short half-life (6 hours) and has stable decay products.

It is uniquely well suited for its role as a medical tracer. Mammograms do not detect cancer in patients with high density breast tissue. This is because both the tumor and the high density breast tissue appear white on a mammogram. It is compared to finding a “white mitten in a blizzard.” Molecular Breast Imaging uses Te-99m to definitively image breast cancer.

Before flipping the light switch, try guessing which nipples have cancer (LED bulbs behind them). Then flip the switch! The electricity goes straight to the bulbs in the same way that the Te-99m goes straight to the tumors and makes them visible with the MBI. The lights will go off after 30 seconds.

I love the symbolism of the materials as they relate literally and metaphorically to breasts: nipples, white plastic milk cartons, and LED bulbs. The circuitry to make this piece light up was yet another layer, all held together on a black screen with embroidery thread. The bra hooks were donated by people affected by breast cancer, either personally or someone they loved. They represent the “catch” in the new technology, that each image provides the equivalent energy of 500 chest X-rays. Not ideal!

Black felt, black screen, black cotton, ribbon, re-used plastic milk bottles, silicon baby bottle nipples, re-used bra straps, embroidery floss, fabric paint, LEDs, light switch and cover plate, insulated copper wires, resistors, capacitors, 555 timer circuit, shrink wrap, solder, Altoid box, Eileen’s glue, craft foam sheets, ethafoam, wooden slat, screws, metal hangers, AC adapter, thread.

Soldered electrical joints, shrink wrap, hand cut plastic circles, hand-sewn, drilled, stitched.

technetium

43

Tc [98]

Radical Elements | 49

Seeking: A White Mitten in a Blizzard 36 x 22 inches

50 | Radical Elements

Arturo Alonzo Sandoval Lexington, Kentucky, USA From the Cosmos come all the elements that we know on planet earth.

Choosing to use only images of the silver dollar coinage made in the United States was decided upon with the help of Jeff Garrett, one of the most knowledgeable numismatists in the country. Jeff loaned me digital images of his rare 100% silver coin collection and was even willing to loan me actual silver dollars. The dates of these pure and rare silver dollar coins range from the first one minted in 1799 to the last one minted in 1974.

In determining the materials for the finished art quilt Cosmic Coins, I played around with various Hubbell images of our universe. My thoughts were that I would align the rare silver coins to the arms of a spiral galaxy. Then I searched for more interesting asymmetrical cosmic images from Hubbell and found the one I used in the final piece.

My final studies allowed me to combine various transparent materials to achieve the required three layers for this exhibition. They are: the top layer of transparent Mylar with sprayed glitter elements, the middle layer of the digital Hubbell image with the rare coin composition on metallic paper, and the back layer using a mirrored paper. The stitching of the layers began with the joining of the top and center layers, then the addition of the bottom layer. Zigzag stitches cover the entire art quilt and provide a subtle texture and reflective property on each sewn row of monofilament thread. Machine embroidery finishes off all four sides of the art quilt.

Top layer: Mylar and spray glitter. Middle layer: digital image printed on metallic paper. Bottom layer: mirror paper and cotton sleeve, monofilament thread and cotton.

silver

47

Ag 107.87

Radical Elements | 51

Cosmic Coins 36 x 22 inches

52 | Radical Elements

B.J. Adams Washington D.C., USA All I knew about cadmium before starting to research was that the name appeared in so many of my warmer paint colors: Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Deep, Cadmium Red Light, etc. After researching cadmium I learned other things that it is used for and what the actual element looked like if it was crystallized.

The final artwork now represents a page from my sketchbook. Of course I had to include the cadmium paint colors being squeezed from their tubes, and I painted those colors to create an abstract sunset.

I wanted to represent the crystallized form of the element in some way and also add the fact that it is poisonous. The 48 protons and 64 neutrons are embroidered into a circle.

Black denim, tulle, plastic canvas, window screening, cotton canvas, acrylic paint, Lutradur, paper, metallic foils and papers, mylar, yarn, cardboard, thread.

cadmium

48

Cd 112.41

Radical Elements | 53

Cadmium 36 x 22 inches

54 | Radical Elements

Pat Pauly Pittsford, New York, USA I never gave much thought to the element iodine until I learned that the radioactive form of it would be used to treat my thyroid cancer.

This image represents the thyroid gland and the layers peeled away during surgery.

Artist-made fabric, commercial fabric, bark, plastic, metal, polyester, cotton, wool, paper.

Machine pieced, hand appliquĂŠd, machine quilted.

iodine

53

I

126.90

Radical Elements | 55

Iodine 36 x 22 inches

56 | Radical Elements

Susan Lenz Columbia, South Carolina, USA Promethium is a chemical element. Its symbol is Pm and its atomic number is 61. All of its isotopes are radioactive. It is a lanthanide, which forms salts when combined with other elements, and it has yet to be found in nature. In order to translate this exceedingly rare element into a unique art quilt without fabric and thread, I chose to use transparent and translucent films with copper wire.

The abstracted design is based on the fire that Prometheus, a titan from Greek mythology and namesake of the element, stole from Mt. Olympus. The theft of fire enabled civilization to progress, and thus Prometheus was regarded as mankind’s hero, a champion of intelligence, wit, and scientific knowledge. I’d like to think that this superhero from a bygone century would approve of this radical depiction of his precious gift to man.

Rowlux Illusion Lenticular film, copper wire.

Cut, drilled, stitched with wire.

promethium

61

Pm [145]

Radical Elements | 57

Promethium 36 x 22 inches

58 | Radical Elements

Mary Vaneecke Tucson, Arizona, USA Got samarium? You actually do. Samarium 62 is a white metallic rare earth metal that even some chemists have never heard of. lt is magnetic and is used in cancer treatments, nuclear fuel rods, and some Fender electric guitars. We all have a small amount of the element in our bodies, where it is neither harmful nor helpful.

Unfortunately, samarium bears no relation whatsoever to samaras, winged tree fruits like maple seeds. I use maple seed imagery often in my work to evoke the whirling, chaotic beauty of nature. For Samarium 62: No Relation, I used some materials that relate to the element (medical exam gloves, samarium cobalt magnets, and guitar strings) with the imagery and techniques (layering, printing, and cutwork) from my Samaras series. Other materials, like archival Tyvek and window screen, allowed me to play with transparency effects while maintaining the durability and flexibility of fabric.

Synthetic window screen, archival tyvek (collaged with decorative papers, guitar strings, medical exam gloves), metal leaf, paint, cobalt samarium and neodymium magnets.

Hand painted and printed.

samarium

62

Sm 150.36

photo by Ron McCoy

Radical Elements | 59

Samarium 62: No Relation 36 x 24 inches

60 | Radical Elements

Regina V. Benson Golden, Colorado, USA One of the most abundant rare earth elements, gadolinium (Gd; atomic number 64), was first discovered late in the eighteenth century in Sweden. It took hundreds of years to discover what uses gadolinium could be put to. Because of its special properties, this silvery white element is used in control rods in nuclear power plants and as a specific contrast agent in modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. It is this medical use of gadolinium that caught my attention for visualizing its application, procedures and results for this art quilt.

When injected intravenously into the body, a contrast medium with a gadolinium compound makes certain tissues, abnormalities, and disease processes more clearly visible. This increased visibility has given medical practitioners a valuable diagnostic tool. That is why within my art quilt itself, I have spelled out, within a re-created computer keyboard: “We can see it now with gadolinium.”

While my piece has aspects of quilt-like layering, raw-edge appliqué, and stitching, I have attempted to reference gadolinium and its valuable contemporary uses through the use of modified digital keyboard keys, intravenous line metaphors, and a stylized view of the subsequent digital image and measurement tools.

Recycled digital keyboard keys, acetate, paint, wire, tubing, cording, thread, polyester and cotton fabrics, felt as batting, partial interior metal frame.

Stitched, appliquéd, layered, burned, painted.

gadolinium

64

Gd 157.25

Radical Elements | 61

We Can See It Now 36 x 22 inches

62 | Radical Elements

Grace Harbin Wever, Ph.D. Union Grove, Alabama, USA I wished to select an element for this exhibition whose atomic number included 7, the most perfect of numbers. With joy, I found iridium with its atomic number 77, thus twice blessed with seven! Iridium was named for the mythological goddess Iris, because of the rainbow-like array of its strikingly colored salts.

The metal is one of the rarest elements in the earth’s crust, but far more abundant in meteorites. It is second only to poisonous osmium in density, and the most corrosion-resistant of metals even at highly elevated temperatures.

But more interesting to me was the ability of iridium to react and form compounds that fluoresce and phosphoresce. Because of its marvelous properties, its earthly applications are broad, including rocketry, fiber manufacture, tumor cell imaging, and other medical applications.

I was most intrigued as a former cell and molecular biologist when I learned that iridium microelectrodes had been successfully implanted into the visual cortex of the human brain. In some of these ongoing studies, the human subject dons camera equipment that captures images of objects placed in the visual field, and that then transmits those signals wirelessly to the implanted array of microelectrodes in the brain. Ongoing research at academic and other research facilities worldwide continues to improve the extent and quality of the visual images that are perceived. My Darkness to Light II was created for this exhibition to celebrate the growing success of these medical studies.

Marbleized papers, fiber net, holographic fabric, metal foil, copper wire, brass upholstery tacks.

Fused, appliquĂŠd.

iridium

77

Ir

192.22

photo by Jeff White

Radical Elements | 63

Iridium — My Darkness to Light II 36 x 22 inches

64 | Radical Elements

Bernie Rowell Candler, North Carolina, USA Platinum is required in the manufacturing processes of computer components. It is the platinum in the disk drive that gives it “memory.�

The fast pace of technology has created mounds of obsolete components from the computer industry. These have always attracted me as beautiful objects and possible art parts.

My mother wore a platinum ring. I have fond memories of her and the quiet talks we had through the years over a cup of coffee. Platinumcolored foil from coffee bean bags combines with recycled bits to celebrate that morning ritual and enshrine these techno relics from the computer age.

Pierced, pleated, and embossed foil coffee bags, collaged painted canvas, gold leaf, fabric, thread, computer hard drive, resistors and conductors, found metals.

platinum

78

Pt 195.08

Radical Elements | 65

Rituals and Relics 36 x 22 inches

66 | Radical Elements

Annie Helmericks-Louder Warrensburg, Missouri, USA I am a maker of things—all kinds of things, including art textiles, paintings, and drawings. Love of the land and its creatures forms my inner personal landscape, and art-making is my act of inquiry. When I see something ‘true,’ I may not know why it feels this way, but I must reach out and try to capture it.

Metallic embroidery thread, metal foiling tape, waxed linen thread, assorted quilting threads, paper key tags, gilders, paste, glassine paper, computer printed currency, images on acid free cotton rag papers, pen and ink drawing, drawing/painting with metallic ink, metallic and glass beading, cotton batting and heavy commercial felt, polyester window screening, custom stretch canvas on wooden frame.

Hand and machine collaged and stitched, reverse appliquéd, beaded, free-hand drawn and painted, hand-quilted, tied.

gold

79

Au 196.97

Radical Elements | 67

Golden Goose 36 x 22 inches

68 | Radical Elements

Susan Else Santa Cruz, California, USA I chose the element mercury because it is paradoxical and problematic.

A metal which is liquid at room temperature, mercury embodies an everpresent dichotomy between liquid and solid. One of my early memories is of the quixotic shapes it made when a thermometer broke. Mercury seemed a perfect vehicle for my current experimentation with sewing metal wire to the surface of a quilted collage, giving a solid exoskeleton to an otherwise fluid medium.

For thousands of years, people looked on mercury as a magical substance.

Though often commercially useful, it is in fact poisonous. As with so many things, we got mercury wrong. It is what it is, and no amount of wishful association will enable it to turn base metals into gold. Its use drove generations of hatters mad, and we all know about its toxic levels in fish.

Mercury was also the messenger god of the Roman pantheon: the deity of speed, mobility, and transmutation, as well as communication, commerce, boundaries, travelers, luck, and trickery. Shown here in this guise, Mercury reminds us that we should always be open to changing our understanding of the physical and metaphysical worlds on the basis of new information.

Surface: wire, polyester spandex, Mylar, imitation leather, monofilament, metal beads, aluminum sheet. Interior: wool felt, cotton thread, plastic board, plastic foam, fiberfill, metal rod.

Machine collaged with reverse appliqué, machine couched with wire and monofilament, hand- and machine-sewn assembly, needle-sculpted, embossed.

mercury

80

Hg 200.59

photo by Marty McGillivray

Radical Elements | 69

Cold Message 24 x 13 x 13 inches

70 | Radical Elements

Barbara Schulman Kutztown, Pennsylvania, USA My bismuth research depicted a beautiful crystalline structure, with iridescent pinks, yellows, and silvers, sparking my initial interest in the element. Ultimately, having read about bismuth possibly providing the pink color in Pepto Bismol, I became intrigued with using my mother’s old embroidered hankies and lace, and orienting the piece toward the remedy she took so much of in her aging years because of a bad stomach. I did want the piece to be upbeat, as depicted by the colors and Pop Art bottle. The acupuncture needles, flowing into or out of the bottle, may suggest a bit of pain or just be viewed as expressive objects.

Painted vintage hankies and lace, acupuncture needles.

Machine stitched.

bismuth

83

Bi 208.98

Radical Elements | 71

A Pepto Bismuth Story 36 x 22 inches

72 | Radical Elements

Daren Pitts Redman Nashville, Indiana, USA During the winter of December 2012 through April 2013, I read the History of the Atomic Energy Commission and Atomic City and downloaded declassified documents about uranium mining. I had worked at Oak Ridge National Lab in 1992 as a student intern in the public affairs office. While there I saw photos of the work that was done to make the bombs “Fat Man” and “Little Boy.” The photo I used to represent uranium is an explosion of a nuclear test by the US near the Bikini Atoll Islands. I was able to visit the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton in July 2013. The museum had enlarged to 30 feet high the same photo I was threadpainting. I also got to see the actual plane that dropped one of the bombs on Japan.

From Wikipedia: “Early in the morning on March 1, 1954, the hydrogen bomb, code named Bravo, was detonated on the surface of the reef in the northwestern corner of Bikini Atoll. The area was illuminated by a huge and expanding flash of blinding light. A raging fireball of intense heat that measured into the millions of degrees shot skyward at a rate of 300 miles an hour. Within minutes the monstrous cloud, filled with nuclear debris, shot up more than 20 miles and generated winds hundreds of miles per hour. These fiery gusts blasted the surrounding islands and stripped the branches and coconuts from the trees.”

Inkjet-print from a photo by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, thread, stabilizer, cotton backing, acrylic paint.

Inkjet-printed cotton, thread painted.

uranium

92

U

238.03

Radical Elements | 73

Uranium 235 36 x 22 inches

74 | Radical Elements

Pam RuBert Springfield, Missouri, USA Curium is a radioactive element used in space exploration and space probes. It is named for Marie Curie who pioneered research on radioactivity, was the first woman to win a Nobel prize, and was the only person to win in multiple sciences.

Looking at photographs of her, I wonder how such a forwardthinking person can look so old-fashioned to me? Today space exploration also seems futuristic, and yet there is old space junk floating out there from years ago. Finally I realize, regardless of our time or age, whether a scientist or artist, it the commonality of curiosity that drives us forward.

Vinyl, yarn, thread, antique buttons, belt buckles, shoe clips, sewing machine parts, door knob hardware, screen wire, brads, rivets, yoga ball, bicycle tire inner tube, circuit board, television antennae wire, fiber optic wire, math classroom acetates.

Machine stitched, crocheted, hand stitched.

curium

96

Cm [247]

photo by Russ RuBert

Radical Elements | 75

Curious Curium 36 x 22 inches

76 | Radical Elements

Mary Pal Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Einsteinium is an element with many surprises. I used these surprises to guide me in making this piece. The first surprise is that Einstein did not discover it. But as it is named for him, his portrait is sculpted here, based on a photograph by Yousuf Karsh. The second is how it was discovered, in the radioactive debris of the 1952 detonation of the hydrogen bomb, which had five hundred times the destructive power of the Nagasaki atomic bomb. This radioactive quality is represented by the phosphorescent glow of this work in the dark or under a black light, with the cloud of smoke suggested in the background. The third surprise is that very few people in the world have actually seen this element. This presented a challenge as to how to represent it.

The final surprise is the irony of this element being named for a man passionately committed to peace. The only solace of his iconic equation E=mc2 being used to create the world’s most destructive instruments of war would have been that the US did so first. His quote, made from individually sculpted letters to denote appliquÊ, is a stern admonishment against our use of this power.

Polyester blackout drapery liner painted with acrylic paint, foam laminate floor underlay painted with phosphorescent green glow paint, Lutradur, adhesive-soaked cheesecloth painted with phosphorescent white glow paint, text sculpted from fiber paste.

einsteinium

99

Es [252]

Radical Elements | 77

Element of Surprise 36 x 22 inches

78 | Radical Elements

Jim Hay Takasaki, Gunma, Japan Foot operation in mysterious Japan. Nurse says, “Go get a rentogen.” I mutter to myself, “What is a rentogen? Just say X-ray like everyone else?”

I research Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen. He discovered X-rays in 1895 and first tested them on his wife’s hand. She exclaimed, “I can see my death.” He received a Nobel Prize in Physics and Röntgenium was named in his honor. Most countries say “X-rays,” but Japan prefers to honor Röntgen. Now, it all makes sense.

After the hospital comes six months of rehabilitation. Every week I see the same elderly people struggle. I feel broken. Death is sitting next to me. Just then, SAQA announces a traveling exhibition for their expanded art quilt definition.

I am accepted, but can’t begin until the completion of three shows in America and Japan. While waiting, I start electronically stitching layers of photos into photo collages. Exciting. Finally I begin. The entire year of operation and recovery exemplifies this new quilt definition: Röntgen’s X-rays are visual penetrations of human layers. The surgeon cuts through layers and stitches titanium plates with screws and thread. I honor that process by stitching over 160 layers of photographs with wood, cloth, metal and plastic objects.

Wood, paint, cloth, toys, rope, thread, metal dollar store shelves, clothespins, screws, wire. Plus over one hundred sixty layers of my photographs that document my hospital stay.

roentgenium

111

Rg [272]

Radical Elements | 79

Hay Meets Rรถntgen 36 x 22 x 13 inches

80 | Radical Elements

Kathy Weaver Highland Park, Illinois, USA Meet Element 118, ununoctium, pronounced oon-oon-OCT-ee-em, which means one-one-eight. American and Russian scientists discovered “118” in 2006. Lasting less than a millisecond before decaying and ultimately fissioning, this latest element is artificially synthesized. While 92 elements on the table exist naturally, sophisticated particle accelerators smash lighter elements together to create the remaining ones.

Ununoctium resides on “the Island of Stability,” a theoretical region of the periodic table, which distinguished chemist and Nobel laureate Glenn Seaborg considered as one of the keystones of fundamental science. The sea and island analogy have been used to show the newer elements’ positions at the outer boundaries of the periodic table. Old fashioned air balloons depict infant 118’s status as a noble gas in the same category as helium.

To portray the tremendous force used by particle accelerators, I took a life-sized photograph of my original quilt to an indoor shooting range. A marksman, using a 20 gauge Remington rifle with AccuTip Sabot Slugs, shot my piece at 1850 fps. Metal screening is the batting between the photograph and the MDF backing board. I embellished the piece by screwing worn, rusted and burned metal objects found at a boatyard onto the work.

Airbrushed on cotton, silk screened on cotton, pieced, embroidered, quilted, burned, photographed and printed, shot through with a 20 gauge Remington Rifle shooting Accutip Slugs at around 1850 fps, wire screening, iron found objects, MDF board.

ununoctium

118

Uuo [294]

Radical Elements | 81

#118 On the Island of Stability 36 x 22 inches

82 | Radical Elements

Index B.J. Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Mary B. Pal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Brooke A. Atherton . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Pat Pauly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Geneviève Attinger . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Daren Pitts Redman . . . . . . . . . . 72

Elizabeth A. Baum . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Wen Redmond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Regina V. Benson . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Suzanne Mouton Riggio . . . . . . 10

Susan Else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Bernie R. Rowell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Dianne Firth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Pam RuBert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Martha C. Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Arturo Alonzo Sandoval . . . . . . 50

Trisha Hassler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Barbara Schulman . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Jim Hay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Sandra Sider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Annie Helmericks-Louder . . . . . 66

Marialuisa Sponga Archi . . . . . . 12

Karen Jurek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Cynthia St. Charles . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Kathie Kerler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Tiziana Tateo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Gay E. Lasher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Valya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Sandra E. Lauterbach . . . . . . . . . 34

Mary Vaneecke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Michele C. Leavitt . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Laura Wasilowski . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Susan Lenz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Kathy Weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Diane Melms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Grace Harbin Wever, Ph.D. . . . . 62

Jeannie Palmer Moore . . . . . . . . 16

Kathy York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Elin Noble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Marian Zielinski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14