Names for a texture

improv process, joining events

I like to explore the terms to be adopted when describing textures, the ones obtained by patchwork piecing. I’m tempted to borrow words that I use when I describe materials observed at the microscope.
A random texture could be an “isotropic” pattern. This means that you can see similar shapes, whatever direction you look them from. To make some examples: a bubble foam may be isotropic; a wood plate resulting from a longitudinal cut is not isotropic, being oriented in the branch growth direction.

I will talk about this in my next zoom video lecture, on Thursday September 24th at 17.30 CEST (Italian language), thanks to local quilt shop hosting the event. A good occasion to discuss on the fact that, even if improv piecing seems chaotic, there is still some reasoning behind!
For attendance, you can subscribe to Patchworkvictim mailing list, and you will receive free invitation link!

Overall video series can be found at this link.

Tagliamento king of rivers: exhibit vernissage

activism, Exhibits

The virtual gallery, Tagliamento king of rivers, lands on the real world!
The exhibit vernissage will take place in Trieste (Italy), on Saturday September 26th, hosted by Atelier dell’arte, with video live-stream at 18.00 CEST on Facebook page MostraTagliamento (discussion will take place in Italian language).

You will find photo prints on aluminium and acrylic for an immersive experience, quilt wall panels talking of water and sand, all hosted in an elegant Liberty style building, with large rooms that allow distancing; the attendance requires booking.

I’m so glad to host discussion on how to provide statutory protection to Tagliamento river and ecosystem, thanks to event guest Massimo Moretuzzo, regional councilor and primary promoter of the change.org petition aimed to enlist Tagliamento into Unesco Natural World Heritage. A few days have passed since the moment I subscribed the petition on-line, and already some more thousands of supporters have been added. Join us!

It’s not me who entitled Tagliamento as a king. The European relevance of the main alpine river ecosystem is established in scientific literature by German and Swiss researchers, creating the definition “den König der Alpenflüsse“. After reading the article by Tockner et al., “The Tagliamento River: a model ecosystem of European importance“, I understood why the most beautiful photos I took along Tagliamento streams were from the zone between Amaro and Cornino towns: because that area is recognized as the one with highest biodiversity!

Come to see it: you’re invited.

Quilts for a river

activism

Why we quilt? So many are the approaches to expression mediums, that this is the title of a book collecting diverse replies from re-known quilters speaking of the power of art, activism and community. The instances of creativity obviously include political quilts.
Time has come for some of my work to take this role!

May a quilt save a river?
If not one quilt, let’s try with three of them.

As soon as I heard on the media that our beloved main river of the region, Tagliamento, is endangered, all the stories in my memory, and all the material I composed, thanks to my long relationship with the river, joined forces.

I already created three quilts dedicated to Tagliamento river: the first was “King”.

“King” is inspired by the colors of river Tagliamento, said to be king of rivers of the Alps. It’s been, up to now, one of the few rivers in Europe having unaltered stream during all its route, from spring to sea. Recently approved highway construction plan threatens its course!

Tagliamento river water occasionally submerges under the rocks, and re-emerges after a while, a fascinating mechanism due to varying permeability of its riverbed: thus, lower part of composition is blending to white as the colors of river stones.

On “Tumbleweed” quilt, my log cabin piecing looked like the plants that break away from their roots and are driven around by the wind as a light rolling mass. Tagliamento riverbed hosts migrant plants; its natural territory has been subject of important scientific studies.

My most recent quilt is titled “Dam”: this name refers to a moment of play of my son with his friends, on the upper zone of Tagliamento river, accumulating stones in fancy shapes along the water. It was slightly raining but we could not stop staying there. While I climbed the stream towards the spring, I recalled my ancient love for this wonderful river.

Looking for my earlier work which represents my feelings for Tagliamento, was like reconnecting with my inner self: and I found plenty of material.

I wrote a travel diary of riverbed explorations: it is now available at this link, in e-book format.

I dedicated many years to photography: my favorite shots of Tagliamento river are now collected in a virtual gallery.

May this inspire you to act?

Invitation is here: sign the petition on change.org to give Tagliamento statutory protection, by its enlistment as Unesco World Heritage.