Light Garden

It's been a slow process of eighteen years but I have now developed a love for all things quilted. My nan's a quilter and so I've been surrounded by quilts my whole life. Light Garden further enhances my appreciation for what have constituted my idea of the home and of family.

My beloved Frankie introduced me to Light Garden- an installation of two suspended patchwork disks comprised of organic, recycled and naturally dyed cotton. They're described as portraits of life which is exactly how I'd refer to the many quilts throughout my house. Beneath an old fraying quilt I think of the life before the quilt, what inspired the quilt, the life during the quilt's creation, and the life of the quilt and the many lives it has impacted. Quilts are a collage of fabrics and colours but also lives and memories and moments. My nan has agreed to help me create a quilt of my own next year and I resolve to make it purely from recycled fabrics, adding more history to its fibres.

I'm a sucker for the combination of new and old in this art installation- the use of traditional quilting style and techniques with contemporary sustainable materials in a modern context presented in an unorthodox fashion through the use of suspended disks.

This year I tried to not buy any new clothes and instead only buy second hand clothes. I failed miserably, largely due to the fact I travelled to Thailand where I was bombarded with cheap clothes. Also the opp shop can only stock you so many basic quality shirts and singlets. Next year I hope to follow a similar but less rigid path where I will try to only buy clothing that is either second hand, organic, fair trade, or ethically made within Australia by an Australian company. I'll be earning my own money so hopefully it is achievable. I want to be more creative with my clothing choices also, utilising the sewing machine as much as possible, transforming my outfits into a patchwork of colours and histories.

I want to improve my sewing skills with the help of my nan and resort back to the old motto of 'mend and make do'. This woman is particularly inspiring for her resourcefulness and creativity. I've even more reason to start getting creative with the sewing machine now that I've picked up a new job without a uniform!