©Lisa Call
Before Wishes
fabric, dye, thread
20 x 20 inches (50 x 50 cm)

Morning Glory Pool

I rarely make one off artwork for specific exhibitions.  Instead I prefer to focus my art practice on my current series and bodies of work that excite me.

I made an exception for a recent challenge put forth by Aotearoa Quilters to explore a specific Natural wonder.

I was assigned Morning Glory Pool – which is located in Yellowstone National Park in the United States.

This is what the pool looks like today – interesting greens and golds.

But clearly something isn’t quite right – because this isn’t the color of a morning glory.  So I did some reading and this is what it used to look like.  Amazing clear blue water:

What happened?  Tourists.  They keep tossing stuff into the pool clogging up the vent.  This includes lots of pennies tossed in to make a wish.

All this junk messes with the natural temperature of the water and as a result a bunch of stuff has started growing in the water – changing the colors.

And hence the title and focus of my artwork – the original amazing blue.

My artwork – Before Wishes – is an abstraction of the pool in it’s former days.

Natural Wonder Challenge

Last year Aotearoa Quilters members  participated in an international challenge with French and Japanese quilters on the subject of Natural Wonders.

Each artist was given a specific natural wonder to depict in their artwork. The same topics were used in each of the three countries resulting in three different perspectives on each of the natural wonders.

The quilts have been exhibited in Japan and are now here in New Zealand. They will travel to France in August for their exhibition in September.

Not surprising – my work is one of the few purely abstract compositions.

The above photo show the works on exhibition in Japan.  Mind is in the top row near the center and you can see the other two much more realistic interpretations below it.

Natural Wonders in New Zealand

You can see this exhibition in person at the following venues in New Zealand.  I’ll update the list as I receive more information.

18 – 22 April – Christchurch
Christchurch Quilters Exhibition, Arts Centre Pūmanawa, 1st floor, 28 Worcester Blvd

4 – 6 May – Ashburton
Annie Country Quilt Store, 167 Archibald St, Tinwald, Ashburton

25 – 27 May – Wellington
Capital Gateway Motor Inn, 1 Newlands Rd, Newlands

June – New Plymouth
Venue to be confirmed

4- 5 August – Palmerston North
Venue to be confirmed