The Quilt That Got Too Big For It’s Own Good

If you follow me on social media, you may have seen my recent ‘quilt size’ debacle… as I was filling out the exhibition entry form for the artwork that I’ve been working on for three months, I realised that I’d been working to the wrong maximum dimensions, and that said artwork was 50cm too long to qualify. 

I considered trimming the artwork, as I made it especially for this themed exhibition. The Mandorla Art Award is a prestigious Christian biannual exhibition, and each exhibition is themed in a Bible text. This year’s theme is Isaiah 43:19. 

Here’s my artist statement for this piece:

The eucalyptus tree is known by its fruit. Abundant clusters of pregnant, ripening hardwood buds. A Christian life is one of growth and change, a journey of maturing in fruit-bearing faith. Change and growth should manifest itself externally. How beautiful when the transformation from old nature to new nature manifests in ways that cannot be contained internally, like the vibrant eucalyptus blossoms that cannot be contained within their hardwood shells, and burst forth exuberantly for all to enjoy.

I’ve decided against trimming the quilt, though (my social media peeps gave a resounding ‘don’t you dare!’), mostly because I had already shortened the image somewhat to fit within 2m - I would have actually liked it to be a little more elongated than what it currently is. 

What I have done for now, is fold over the top of the quilt so that it fits within the exhibition entry requirements. While it wasn’t accepted into the exhibition, the adjusted size works perfectly on our lounge wall. I’m enjoying it’s presence very much, while I decide whether to enter it into another exhibition.

(Some of you felt bad for me. I appreciate that, but really, it’s my own silly fault - checking the size requirements at the beginning is definitely a sensible step to take!)