Sunday, February 12, 2012

Hasu

Hasu means lotus in Japanese.
As I said in an earlier post, this project underwent many transformations but the lotus remained a constant focus all the way through. When Gerrie gave us this theme of "Metamorphosis", I first thought of Kafka and Ovid, for obvious reasons, and also of Buddhism because impermanence is one of the main features of life in Buddhist thinking.
Lotus being a very important symbol in Buddhism, I quickly found myself going through my photo folders looking for images of lotus. I chose a few pictures taken in Kyoto and Arashiyama during my last trip to Japan.
With this quilt, I wanted to show the beauty of the lotus plant with its roots in the mud and its ephemeral flowers almost open and rising towards the sunlight.
Here are a few details...

Next is one of my source photos. It was taken in Kyoto in summer 2010.
There are so many amazing things to say about the lotus. Do you know that all parts of the plant are considered as edible in Asia? And have you heard about the lotus effect?
I could easily see a lotus-based series in my quilting future. I haven't used the roots (mmm... delicious!), the open flowers (gorgeous), nor the seed heads (so graphic) in this quilt. So much more to explore.
In the meantime, I am off to the Twelve by Twelve blog to see what the other members of the group have done!

12 comments:

dutchcomfort said...

Love this quilt and the new size, so wonderful to see your translation of the lotus flower. I didn’t know the whole plant is edible nor did I know about the Lotus effect. Wonderful!

jenclair said...

This is so beautiful, Francois! I love the the blocks, the colors, the little green strip on the bottom left, and the idea of a lotus based series!

Micki said...

I really like this quilt. I will be looking forward to the series.

Ali Honey said...

Pink with those 2 shades of green do it for me! I love the way you take the shapes back to basics and make it a simple statemnet. I love it!

Linda’s Textiles said...

Beautiful! Love the fresh colours & design idea.

ViDerTextil said...

c'est très fin et délicat. Je ne suis pas pour la couleur rose, mais je dois avouer qu'ici c'est elle qui donne la touche de luminosité et chaleur au quilt!

sharon young said...

I really like this quilt, the colour and balance are so beautiful, it has a very tranquil effect.

Anne said...

Lovely quilt, just lovely!

n said...

I like the shape of hasu leaves and the flower is so pretty.. The quilt is beautiful! I love the color palette!

Rebecca said...

Hello!

This is amazing! I am in love with your design. I live in Singapore and have recently been exploring the beauty of the Buddhist beliefs.

I am new to the blogger world of sewing and crafts. I will be following your site! http://satinpieces.blogspot.com/

Have a lovely night!
Rebecca :)

Amber said...

Your quilt is beautiful. I love how you've interpreted the photo. I've been looking for some inspiration to do one for my youngest daughter. Maybe I'll try by interpreting a photo meaningful to her. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Love your work and lots of nice photos too :) Chloe X

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