- 2004 Friendship Star Quilt Show, Montgomery County, MD
- 2004 Faithful Circle Quilters Show, Columbia, MD
- 2008 Greenbelt Courthouse Art Quilt Show, Washington DC
Venus
2003
- 72" x 90" finished size
"Venus"
was my second ever attempted art quilt after "Fish". I was inspired
by Botticelli's historically famous painting of Venus. I wanted my Venus
to live in a brightly colored world, more graphic and bold than the painting.
I liked the size of the "Fish" quilt so I designed this quilt
with that size and shape in mind. This quilt, unlike "Fish",
was totally planned and drawn ahead of time. As I was making Venus' body
my three boys would come in my studio and make comments like…"Mom,
why are you making a naked lady?" It never occurred to me that she
was a "naked" lady! To me she was the famous Venus! So the boys
made me promise to put away the naked lady when they had friends over!
LOL
This quilt is where I brought my painting background in to play. I painted Venus' face and shadows over her body. Once I had the quilt assembled I wanted to add some bold graphic elements, hence the black and white stripe and the saw tooth border.
I submitted this quilt to AQS and it was not accepted for the show. That was a big disappointment. I really could not understand how "Fish" could be such a hit and "Venus" not noticed. My good friend and award winning Florida-based quilter of Pat Styring told me something that will always stick with me. She said, "Debra any given quilt can win any given contest at any given time."That was what I needed to hear. She explained just how subjective quilt judging is. Thanks Pat!
I retired "Venus", only showing her at local venues. It was
onward and upward to new things!
