when you walk on a tightrope
when you walk on a tightrope
fabric paint on cotton, machine pieced, hand quilted, 49” x 39” (124.5 cm x 99 cm), 1987.
The text by Surrealist poet Kay Sage is stamped on. It spirals around the images twice.
When you walk on a tightrope, at the least unexpected thing you break your neck. Leave me alone, I will manage all by myself.
— Kay Sage
The elm tree stood on a slight rise of land at the edge of the property, near the highway. It could be seen for miles, because the surrounding rural area was so flat. It could be seen from nearly every window of the house.
The portrait is of the artist's mother, from a photo when she was twenty-two, and pregnant with her first child. .
Creating this quilt helped me to understand my mother. (Judy Martin)
detail
detail