YARD ART

Theme quilts have been a favorite method of mine since I took the 'off ramp' away from making traditional patchwork quilts.  Humorous wall quilts were often the result.

One such subject that caught my attention was the silliness often found in 'yard art'.  There was a particular love of unusual objects displayed on property in Wisconsin.

 This one always cracked me up....at Christmas the owner put blinking lights on the tractor wheels.....really!

 And...ya gotta wonder about the effort that went into this display!

"The husband' brought this gargoyle home one day....and after I refused to allow it at our main house.....we moved it to our weekend cabin.  I'll never forget the day I got into our van to drive up on a Friday afternoon...only to see "Big Em"....as it was named....strapped into the back seat!  The looks we got from the toll takers along the way was priceless..

"Blossom" was my favorite....all 65 pounds of her concrete wonder lived in front of our house for years.  She had a Rubbermaid tub of costumes....even a cap and gown when our son graduated from college!  This great Green Bay Packers blow up helmet was actually 'russeled' by hooligans.

 So one day, YEARS ago, my "Spritzer Sister", Francie Ginocchio (co-founder of our two person quilt guild) and I decided to issue a 'guild' challenge.....the subject being yard art.  

I got to wondering what happened to those pink flamingos, bend-over ladies, and black bears clinging to trees when their owners tired of them.  Did they get stored in an attic, a garage, or heaven forbid....the dump??  My quilt became "Yard Art Memorial Park".....a final appropriate resting place for beloved yard art.  It was one of the first of my major show pieces as I began entering competitions.

This piece will now reside at my friend Nan's house in AZ.  Nan being a collector of my work!  Yeah....  That's me in the photo above....turning it over to Nan.

This may provide a better view of the piece - click on photo.....as well as the two details below.

If you find this style of quilt intriguing.....see more by scrolling down here.