Viewpoints 9 (Cycle 2) Challenge 5

Title of work: Happy Birthday

Theme:

“One universe

Nine planets

Two hundred and four countries

Eight hundred and nine islands

Seven seas

And I had the privilege to meet you.”

My Feedback: Nine-floor Lighthouse

There is a lighthouse in my childhood traveling memory. It’s the guardian of Taiwan’s southernmost tip and it prevents vessels from the threat of complex ocean currents. I revisit the lighthouse after 50 years. Surprisingly, due to the change of time, now visitors can come closer to the building and take a closer look. I count carefully and it looks like a nine-floor lighthouse. The lighthouse is made of iron and well-preserved. It was built in 1883. It is 21.4 meters high, 1.8 million candle power with the irradiation distance of 27.2 nautical miles. It is also known as “The Light of East Asia.”

Ever since I got married, I started to see things from different angles. I might not be curious about the floors of the lighthouse if my husband is not an architect. I have a special feeling when the number nine comes to me. According to my blurred childhood memory, the lighthouse wasn’t that tall and there was a spiral staircase. What a chance to refresh my memory! Many imaginations are also derived from the trip. I kept thinking about “rotating” during the trip. I was so happy and felt like going to heaven.

The reveal day is approaching. Thought I've found a feeling to create something, I have not yet found the time to start sewing. It makes me feel nervous and want to climb up a spiral staircase so that I could "reach heaven in a single bound." Best wishes to everyone!

Artist Statement:

When I read the quote from Alicia, I was deeply touched. It’s so nice for us to know each other in such a big universe. Time and space can’t stop our communication and distance can’t separate our friendship. As long as we remember each other in our hearts, we are dear friends.

Out of curiosity, I started to explore the meanings behind the number 9. I kept thinking about it and amazingly I bumped into so many surprises that I haven’t experienced before. It makes me thinking of many people, things and issues in a new perspective. It feels like going to school and start to learn things that I have never focused on in the past. The school is the universe.

Your attitude changes when you see things from different angles. During the creative process, I was keen to include the number 9 in my work. As a reward for all the things that I’ve learned from this challenge, I sewed this piece in a very delicate way with some special fabrics. However, I accidentally hung this piece upside down so that the 9 becomes 6. I’m delighted with the result. My husband is very supportive to my quilt making, but he seldom comment on my works. I completed this quilt on his birthday. He said happily, for the first time, “Is it my birthday gift?” Happy birthday to you, my dear! Happy birthday to everyone!

Thanks for everything that this topic has brought to me.

Materials: floss, silk, hand-dyed silk, commercial cotton, linen, woolen yarn, metallic threads, beads, glitter

Techniques: hand stitches, hand appliqué, hand pieced, hand quilted

Size: 18” x 27”

For more information about Viewpoints 9, please visit: http://www.viewpoints9-2.blogspot.tw/