Next, I chose a site for the trash-stash art quilt, which would give me the dimensions. Nancy Agati’s Aqua Terrace at Da Vinci Art Alliance was the perfect space, since this work would withstand the elements. We chose the long, narrow wall alongside DVAA’s back door, above the basement doors.
I cut a piece of Eco-felt, which is made from recycled plastic bottles, to the size of the final art quilt. Inspired by the mosaic circles on the Aqua Terrace floor, and in order to prevent the design from becoming too busy, I decided to give the viewer’s eye a place to rest: two large silvery moon shapes, made using a stitched patchwork of coffee bags and other foil-lined packaging. Then, I arranged the blocks around these circular shapes. When I was satisfied with the arrangement, I stitched the blocks together into rows, and then I stitched the rows together into sections.
I quilted heavily along the tea-bag envelope squares, and left large areas of the moons without quilting, so they would be puffy. Recycled zippers accented the circumference of the moons. Everything was backed with another layer of felt, cut 2″ larger all around, with edges folded to the front to form a binding. I dressed up the folded edge by couching silver cord as I secured the felt edge. Four grommets–which may have been the hardest part of the quiltmaking for me–allowed the piece to be hung. Samantha Connors, Executive Director of Da Vinci Art Alliance, hung out the office windows to do the mounting.
