My Quilt went to Antarctica ! – SAQA Blog Hop

Ice Cliff Antarctica by Catherine McDonald

“Ice Cliff Antarctica is my piece for the 2016 SAQA art auction.

Ice Cliff Antarctica by Catherine McDonald

My local group, Christchurch Quilters in New Zealand, had an annual challenge based on Antarctica. I entered 3 pieces and the one that has been submitted to the SAQA Auction is loosely based on the work of Gloria Loughman. I have not taken this technique class with Gloria but have seen her work and decided to have a go. I felt that this technique of appliquéing the shapes on the base fabric would give me a specific look to break up the fabric as showing broken ice. The fabrics were hand dyed with Indigo, before being cut into strips and placed on the base fabric. I used a quilt as you go method to apply them to the fabric which meant that when I was done there was only the binding left to do. I am very happy with the final piece as I feel I have achieved an icy look.

The exciting thing about this piece (and the other two) is that they formed part of an exhibition in Antarctica over the Southern Hemisphere summer 2015 – 2016.

Ursula Rack, a member of our group and polar historian, took the 21 quilts to Antarctica in what is believed to be the first quilt exhibition down there. Some members of the American McMurdo base also went across to Scott Base to view the quilts.

McMurdo by Catherine McDonald

My other two pieces are McMurdo and Memories.

McMurdo shows that the settlement down there is only a blip on the landscape and is a whole cloth painted piece.

Memories by Catherine McDonald

Memories is raw edge appliquéd and depicts the huge cross in Antarctica remembering those who have lost their lives down there.

This was made in memory of a friend, Natalie Cadenhead, who was curator of Antarctic and Canterbury Social History at the Canterbury Museum and had visited Antarctica several times. She was a quilter and sadly passed away at age 47 in 2014 through illness.”