Studio series: Forgiveness #5

Forgiveness #5 © Karen Thiessen 1999; Photo credit: Julian Beveridge

Forgiveness #5 is part of the Journey Series. The central panel was rusted using the heating grates from my parents' old farmhouse that I "rescued" from the scrap metal bin that dad kept behind the barn. When it was full, he would sell it to the metal recycler. (Hey dad, I only took one!) The farmhouse had gravity heat which meant that the upstairs bedrooms where my brother and I slept were cold in the winter. They were so cold that I would etch pictures on my frost-covered bedroom window. Obviously, gravity was not my friend. The furnace was a giant octopus heated with oil that had been converted from coal. It looked like an alien from Lost in Space.


The other quilt panels were also rust-stained and either dyed with onion skins or stained with blood. The striped fabric on the right edge was once my studio curtain in our first house. The quilt is machine-pieced and hand-quilted. Working to deadline, I quilted the Forgiveness #5 in 24 hours. It is in the collection of Bob and Michelle of Letraset Love fame.