Skidding in...!

I took an unscheduled break for a few weeks (you may have noticed). My muse had fled - due, I think to a mild depression I was experiencing. Essentially, I was pre-mourning my future health issues.  I let myself have a wallow, but a few days before Christmas, said to myself "Self, that's enough now!Time to pick up the ball."




So, since then I got creative by making some new decorations for the Christmas tree, making SIX cozies for my new tablet  (because you never know what kind of mood you'll be in); but also, actually finishing "the boy".

I know it seemed like I only had a bit to do -  (I sure thought so!) - but it turned out, that the weight of this sucker was SO. MUCH. that after I put my usual envelope closing on, the  weight of it actually pulled the seams apart. So I had to re-quilt what I thought would be only the centre portion, but as that skewed the rest of it, I actually had to re-quilt the entire thing. (Augh!)



(original fabric, marked off for quilting, before painting.)

And then I had to make the small, but painstaking "repairs" (adding more feathers, fussing with the neckline, making the bat [that bat, as innocuous as it looks, took HOURS and HOURS which I will delineate in another post]).


But on to the actual piece!

It began its life as a piece about my son, Issac, who died 19 years ago. You may remember I started it in the spring - the start date was actually on what would have been his 21st birthday. But I didn't want to make a cherub, so I aged him using my face and those of my other sons at various ages to make him an older child.





But as I worked on the wings, I realized that I was not only grieving the death of my own son, but all of our sons, who are taken from us because of the world we live in - whether its an accident, a stray bullet, a predator, or a George Zimmerman.

And so I called it "Remembrance Day"
...
All alone I didn't like the feeling
All alone I sat and cried
All alone I had to find some meaning
In the center of the pain I felt inside

All alone I came into this world
All alone I will someday die
Solid stone is just sand and water, baby
Sand and water, and a million years gone by

I will see you in the light of a thousand suns
I will hear you in the sound of the waves
I will know you when I come, as we all will come
Through the doors beyond the grave
... 
All alone I came into this world
All alone I will someday die
Solid stone is just sand and water, baby
Sand and water and a million years gone by 
 ...*




I hope you enjoy your new year's eve celebrations if that's what you do - and if you take this time to reflect on the past year(s) or make plans for a new one - I hope you find much to celebrate and look forward to.

I'll see you on Wednesday with my annual "Year In Review".

'Till then!

Kit 120

*From Sand & Water by Beth Neilson Chapman"

Kit Lang

11 comments:

  1. That is an amazing. I am sure your son is proud of what you created in his honor. I wish I had that much skill.

    Richard and Tanya Quilts
    Richard and Tanya Quilts Patterns on Craftsy

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  2. Glad to have you back Kit. What a way to return, this is truly a labour of love and must have given you much poignant pleasure amongst the frustrations

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  3. Kit, it's absolutely incredible. I bet your other sons love it too. Such a fabulous tribute...
    It's remarkable to note how much time some of our work takes...I aways smile when someone asks, "How long did it take to make it?" Happy New Year!

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  4. So sorry to learn that you have had to bear this sorrow. I hope making this quilt has helped in some way.
    I hope the New Year turns out to be much more, in a good way of course, than you are expecting right now.

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  6. BEAUTIFUL! Your story reads like mine. I think we overworked our muses and they went on a well deserved vacation. Mine just came back too. It would be nice if they left something other than depression in their absence. Happy New year Kit!!! That's beautiful. !!

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  7. wow, as always, an amazing piece! i hope your 2014 is as awesome as you deserve. xoxo

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  8. Kit - hoping this comment works (commenting on the iPad can be a bit hit and miss). As I hope you know I am am real admirer of your work and your stamina! This piece is stunning. You have been driving along on full throttle for some time now so don't feel bad that the muse has departed. It needs a break too I suspect, to recharge its batteries. The body of work that you have created since I discovered you is stunning and leaves me at the starting posts. Good luck for 2014 and

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  9. ..... And good art!! ( it froze on me grrrr!) Hilary xxx

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  10. I have always liked this piece and although I can't imagine the hours/days spent on the wings, they are fabulous!!!!! This was a labor of love and it shows. Happy New year to you and your family,my dear friend.
    Beth

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  11. A testament to your perseverance, Kit, as well as a beautiful and meaningful piece. I think I may have cried when those seams separated! The luminous background is just wonderful. You can feel the love in the piece. Congratulations, and Happy New Year too!

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