Today I got some wonderful news: my quilt The Kiss has been accepted into juried exhibition Threads of Resistance.
I am an American citizen living in Lithuania.
I love America and I care of what is happening there and I care of the future of my country. That’s why I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. But even more importantly I didn’t vote for Donald Trump is for how his presidency looks like from here.
The idea that Putin may have helped Trump to win an election and to become a president worries and scares me. It worries and scares not only me, but most of Europeans, especially those living in Baltic countries. Finally we are free and we don’t want to go back under the yoke of Russia. We don’t want to experience the destiny of Crimea. It is possible because we have a border with Russia. It can also be possible because of the romance between president Trump and president Putin.
Either romance or an extreme confrontation will not make the world a safer place and will not make us here safer as well.
President Trump must understand that Russia has never been a friend of the United States of America. It looks like he can’t see this simple truth from America but we can clearly see it from here.
Never before I made a quilt that would make a social or political statement. This time I could not stay silent.
The inspiration came from the street graffiti in Vilnius, depicting Donald Trump passionately locking lips with Russian President Vladimir Putin:
The mural was created by artist Mindaugas Bonanu and Dominykas Ceckauskas at the barbecue restaurant Keule Ruke. It went viral right away! Check this out: http://www.trumpkissingputin.com/
Mindaugas and Dominykas gracefully gave me a permission to use the image for a creation of my quilt.
I started by making a sketch. Then I realized I needed a reverse sketch as well and I got them both printed on a large piece of paper.
I decided to make this quilt using machine piecing so well described in a tutorial by my favorite quilt artist Caryl Bryer Fallert : http://www.bryerpatch.com/faq/FossilFantasyTutorial/0.html
I will not tell in detail how I made it, just will share few photos showing how my work progressed:
The final result (after removing cat’s hair first):
You are more than generous to share the making of this quilt…and the cat should sit on his face!! Good job, good reason, Good God I wish it did not have to be made. But thank you. Thank you from a American that is in pain from this election also. Thank your from a daughter of a military chaplain (Col.) that fought in WWII, Korean War and Vietnam Nam to honor his country and to keep us free. He died at 62, due to results of the war had on his body. You are talented and you have a good mind and heart.
Thank you, Pat!
Thank you, Linda! It really made me feel uncomfortable and I am glad it is on the way to US 🙂
Maryte, you definately have a gift in working with fabric and making it come alive. This quilt must have been very difficult to spend so much time with, yet empowering, in that your statement can be for all to see in this important exhibit. Thank you for being so bold in using your talent to share the disgust and repulsion that this work represents. Someone said it looks like he is sucking the life out of Putin, but perhaps he is trying to resuscitate him. That is what is most troublesome.