Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Just Joey and the Family

This is my quilt, Just Joey. It's about the man I love and all his loves and worries. I started this in Mary Lou Wiedman's class at Asilomar in 2004. I got it out the other day to finally finish it. My thought is that if I see it everyday I will finish it. We will see.
It is such a magical quilt. I know why Mary Lou's classes are always full. Something happen to you and your quilts in her class.

My whole family had an opinion about this piece. Other quilts I have made and ask my family, " What do you think?" I get the same pat response: "That great, looks good, when is dinner?"
But not with this quilt. It's a family quilt and the family all has strong feelings about what's going on. Like, "are those shoes, where is the Yellow house?, the computer needs to be a laptop, (we have upgraded since 2004) the goatee looks like a mustache, Dad's arms look like Popeye's." It goes on and on. Maybe that's why it's not done yet. They keep helping.

It been really fun to make a quilt that everyone wants to be a part of. Try it and see what happens in your family. Because no matter how many days I isolate myself in the studio, very self absorbed, because art really is about SELF, I am just a part of a wonderful family. They are the ones who got me here.

Here is the story of Just Joey:

This is Joey. He is a devoted husband and father. It's always raining on Joey even when the sun(Son) is out. He loves to spend time with his son, playing ball with his dog and working on the computer. He reads math books for fun and brews fine beer. He won't let anyone touch his lawn and lives in a beautiful yellow house that he bought for his wife. He is very funny in a warped way and is very much loved by all.