Quilt/Not Quilt

2016

I am drawn to old quilts, especially those constructed from bits and pieces of salvaged clothing. They are, perhaps, one of the original inspirations for recycling. 

The original inspiration for this series was a poorly constructed, vintage baby quilt in a traditionalpattern- of which there are hundreds. Looking at that quilt so soft and worn, and now discarded as past its prime and ruined - I wondered what would happen if I worked into it with materials that were intrinsically at odds with quiltness. Spackling to stiffen, colored pencil to prevent washing, and sand to roughen the touch. Impossible to stitch.

The reworked quilt is symbolic of transition and paradox. Once soft, now stiff and scratchy. Once a quilt - what is it now? 

Quilt/Not Quilt? Beautiful or not?
And in whose opinion?