GROUP PIECE - NATURE'S CARESS
Susan, Janet, Christine, Lyn  

Susan: I based my pieces on a sculpture which I saw at Roche Court Sculpture Park in East Winterslow in Hampshire. Set in a wooded area, it reminded me of two bodies intertwined. My starting point was fairly traditionally pieced with the flying geese in a spectrum of colour representing the two spinal columns, and the neutral crazy patchwork a blank canvas.   

Janet: This was my first swap, and I was probably a bit tentative - I certainly didn't want to cut it up. Instead I added another strip in the same style, but incorporating some of my own layered fabric which was used on a wedding dress. 

Christine: I thought the piece was looking a little bit amorphous when it arrived, so I attempted to add some shape and definition. I cut it a bit here and added a bit there, trying to emphasise the curvy shapes which Susan's original idea had mentioned - but I did struggle with this, and would have liked to do more. 

Lyn: I added the 'family' - small coloured triangles mirroring the flying geese, which are the adults. 

Susan: I really enjoyed setting the challenge for the group involved in the collaborative piece. Although it didn't change in a major way, I am thrilled that they have embraced my original thoughts, and that this quilt now reveals some of the essence of family relationships. 

INDIVIDUAL PIECE - SIDE BY SIDE

Susan: My own piece is quite heavily machine embroidered and quilted with a little hand embellishment to complete the quilt. I feel as though the quilt is revealing an intimate relationship between two people, and that the observer is almost intruding on a very private moment.

Susan Chapman 2003
02380 260220
susan@susanchapman.com