Universe Inside - Deep-Sky Object ALC 4

I can’t believe that it has taken me so long to sit down and write this blog post about a quilt I finished in July last year. Especially since the subject matter is the astroquilt that is my personal favourite so far. Or perhaps that is the reason: it means so much to me that I got blocked. Or perhaps it’s the pandemic, and the fact that it pulled the rug from under my feet, and has left me feeling tired and lost. Probably it’s both these reasons and a few more…

On my project blog you can follow my progress on this quilt step by step, so I won’t talk about that here. Instead, I want to talk about the symbolism in the quilt and what it means to me.

The title of this quilt is ‘Universe Inside’, and it alludes to both the brain inside our heads and the cosmic web that is formed by all the galaxies in the universe.

The first time I saw an image of the cosmic web I was first awe-struck, and then I drew a parallel to the neural network of our brain. Both are amazing. Our brain has the capacity to process enormous amounts of information on a both conscious and subconscious level, and when it comes to imagination, there are hardly any limits. We can dream up a whole universe inside our heads. 

So what is the cosmic web? The cosmic web is the name for the structure of our universe. The hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable universe are not randomly distributed, but held together by gravity in groups, clusters and superclusters that, in their turn, form filaments of galaxies with gigantic voids in between. If you zoom out far enough this structure looks like a web, or rather sponge, where everything is connected. The thought arises: is there a cosmic consciousness? Is this the brain of the universe? This is where astronomy brushes up against philosophy and spirituality.

The cosmic web (image from Wikimedia Commons)

 I am deeply moved by the cosmic web and how the whole universe is connected, and that I am a conscious part of all this. In fact, it moves me to tears, because of its beauty and enormity. This is why I chose to include myself in this quilt. The female profile is my face. The cosmic web has replaced the network of brain cells inside my head.

The quilting on my cheek and neck is one of my favourite quotations and by the astronomer Carl Sagan: “The universe is within us. We are made of starstuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.” What this means is that all the elements that out bodies are made of have come from stars that have existed and died. Stars are factories of heavier and heavier elements, and when a star dies it throws all these elements out into space, where they can be reordered into new stars, planets and living beings such as you and me.

The quilting in the background is a mandala. A mandala is a symbolic representation of the cosmos, and of the connection between the self and the universe. It is often used for meditation practises, to help with focus and as a spiritual guidance. It seemed to me that it was the perfect way to tie this quilt together: mandala – brain – self – universe.

You will find all process images here.

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Black Hole – Deep-Sky Object ALC 3

Black Hole

34 x 34 cm (13,5" x 13,5")

This is my third astroquilt, and the second in a series of astroquilts that combine space and human anatomy. The first in the series is The Heart Nebula, which is an anatomical heart floating in space and pumping stars out into the cosmos. In Black Hole you see a human eye with a black hole instead of a normal pupil. A black hole in space is a complex and fascinating object, and if you want to know a little more about what a black hole is and why I have chosen to depict in in this manner, follow this link to my project page and scroll down to 17 February 2020.

I had a lot of fun with this quilt, playing with different concepts and creating layers of meaning. Apart from the idea of the black hole itself, one thread (pardon the pun) in this quilt is Einstein’s so called field equations. These are a series of equations within the general theory of relativity, which describe the spacetime curvature and lead to the prediction of black holes. Since they are highly relevant for my subject matter, I chose to use parts of these equations for the quilting in the background and in the iris.

Spacetime curvature, i.e. the idea that spacetime is not straight and flat, but warped by massive objects, is also present in the white of the eye and the eyelid, where I used quilting lines to describe the curvature of the surface. There is, however, also another element in the white of the eye and the iris, which alludes to the eye as a camera, where the pupil is the aperture and the iris the aperture stop which controls the amount of light that is admitted into the eye/camera. The lines that curve in from the outer edge toward the black hole symbolise the moving parts of the aperture stop and the muscles in the iris, which contract and expand the opening, as well as the gravitational force that inexorably pulls even light into a black hole, from where there is no escape.

The eye is a very powerful symbol that in itself has many layers of meaning in e.g. folklore (the evil or spellbinding eye), romance (drowning in someone’s eyes) and communication (look someone straight in the eye). I really enjoyed adding another symbolic layer to the eye by introducing the concept of the black hole.

These are the main ideas that I played with in the making of the Black Hole quilt. If you want to follow the process behind the quilt step by step, please visit my project page or check out my Instagram feed.

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The Heart Nebula – Deep-sky Object ALC 2

The Heart Nebula

34 x 34 cm (13,5" x 13,5")

This quilt is the second in a series of astroquilts that I’ve got planned. The first quilt in the series is titled Cosmos and you can read about the process behind it on this blog (Cosmos Part 1, 2, 3 and 4) and in the Autumn 2019 issue of Art Quilting Studio magazine.

Cosmos, detail

This second astroquilt was inspired by a nebula called the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), which is located about 7 500 light years from where we are. The shape of this interstellar dust cloud resembles the heart symbol, and that’s how it got its name. It was in fact the name that caught my attention, but not as the romantic heart-shape it was named after. Instead, I was interested in the anatomical, blood-pumping, tough muscle that keeps us all going.

The human heart is a complicated old thing

A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust and gas. When a cloud like that is dense enough the pressure may become so great that the cloud starts to contract and it becomes a stellar nursery: a place where new stars are formed. I wanted to make a Heart Nebula quilt where the pressure inside the contracting heart muscle is so great that stars are forming and the heart begins to pump out stars.

The mathematical symbols in the background represent ”Jeans mass”:  the critical point when a nebula starts to contract and form stars. I’ve also included a representation of the sinus rhythm: the rhythm of the heart starts at the sinus node, which has the ability to spontaneously and continuously produce electrical impulses that cause the heart to contract.

If you want to follow the process behind this quilt step by step, please visit my project page or check out my Instagram feed.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

From Deep Sea to Deep Space

For quite some time, I’ve been thinking about making a series of art quilts that form a cohesive whole. The problem was that I couldn’t make my mind up what the theme should be. I’ve felt strongly that I want to do something with mermaids and the ocean, but for some reason my ideas felt superficial and childish, lacking depth. I love mermaids and sea creatures, I love swimming, I care about the state of our oceans and lakes, but it didn’t seem to be enough to push me into creative mode.  I didn’t want to make just pretty stuff: I wanted heart and soul. But not politics. I made a mermaid doll, I made a small mermaid art quilt, but it stopped there and my creator’s block continued.

At this point I came across an astronomy course, A Galactic overview, and decided to sign up. Since I was a child I’ve had some interest in space and the starry sky, but because most of my adult life I’ve lived in places where you couldn’t easily see stars and my life has been filled with plenty of other interests, I haven’t really devoted much time to space-related matters. Therefore it came as a surprise to me that this brief course led to a veritable explosion of creative ideas, and a new imaginary world where strange concepts were born: I painted comet ladies, astromaids, moon ladies and Celtic knotwork galaxies. I started painting nebulae on fabric and making purses and garments with a space theme. I took an interest in astrophotography, and took funny selfies with the full moon. I read books about astronomy and gained new knowledge. And in time an idea began to form in my head, which eventually led to my first space-themed astroquilt, Cosmos.

For me, the work on an art quilt brings the deepest satisfaction if it is a journey of learning. Dyeing fabric and sewing isn’t enough. I want more. I want challenge and development. I want to learn new skills and gain new knowledge. And I love to mix concepts, play with words and symbolism and create new meaning and alternative realities. Astronomy turned out to be a deep well to scoop from, and my head is swimming with ideas.

So I’ve decided to start working on a space-themed series of art quilts and mixed media artwork, and as a working title I’ve chosen to call the project ‘From Deep Sea to Deep Space’. The space theme will run through the whole project as the connecting idea, but I also want to introduce other concepts. I want space and the ocean to intermingle and the boundaries between them to blur. I want mermaids and astromaids to play in this environment. I want starfish and star-shaped fossils to twinkle in the deep. I want to explore the universe deep inside the human body.

To spur me on, I’ve set a date for an exhibition in September 2020, and I’ve created a special Facebook page for the project, which will bring together everything I publish on different social media platforms.

Would you like to follow me on this adventure?

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