Sunday, March 31, 2013

"OMNIPRESENT" - Deborah Wirsu




The concept of something that occurs, or that we do 'every single day' proved a great challenge for me.  At first, so many different ideas raced through my mind - from daily activities or events to concepts such as birth and death, growth and decline, which occur every day, somewhere, sometime.

After discussing this theme with a friend, and tossing around several possibilities, eventually the concept of 'omnipresence' settled in my mind. Omnipresence, to me, represents 'presence everywhere, at all times' - therefore - every single day.

My friend (of the aforementioned discussion) has long wanted me to create a quilt based around the Fu Dogs (Lion Dogs) that guard the entrance to many Asian temples and monasteries, but after weeks of shuffling paper and designs, nothing was falling into place that satisfied me. In the end, after sifting through and seeking inspiration in photos of my Asian travels, I arrived at the idea of using Buddha to represent 'every day', an omnipresent being, rather than for any religious interpretation. Wherever there is a statue or representation of Buddha, there is the suggestion that Buddha is present everywhere - simultaneously all-knowing and all-being.

Somewhere along the design process, I found myself drifting towards Manga style, which is a very unusual direction for me. However, I found that the simplified, cartoon style allowed me to represent the simplicity and tranquillity that I wished for this Buddha.

The traditional 'Om' symbol in the background is used to represent the physical, mental and conscious worlds. For me, as a musician, it also resonates simply as a sound or vibration - a part of one’s being.

The piece is worked in cotton fabrics with raw edge machine appliqué, using satin stitch and free-motion edge stitch. The background is free-motion quilted.The piece measures 15" x 15".

My other quilts can be seen on my blog.

9 comments:

  1. I love the background work in this piece, the colour and the stitching are so textural.

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  2. Beautifully researched and crafted.

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  3. I like the mood of this piece!

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  4. Very interesting interpretation! Quilting is lovely!

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  5. I can only agree with the other comments. Beautiful and very pleasing.

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  6. Hi Deborah,
    A beautifully placid piece.
    Style, color choice and technique are all superb.

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  7. This is really cool (and I don't mean that to diminish the impact of the work). I love the graphic quality of the Buddha, the limited color palette, and the oversized "om's" in the background.

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  8. Deborah, Captivating to the eye, is how I describe your piece. Such strong graphic quality blends well with the gentle cool background colour. Beautiful stitching too.

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  9. There is such a calm feeling to this piece. The manga image is so crisp and clean. It does look like it could have come straight of the page of a manga comic. Beautifully executed

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