Sunday, February 12, 2012

Hasu

Hasu means lotus in Japanese.
As I said in an earlier post on my blog, 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 two details...
More on my blog, here.

12 comments:

dutchcomfort said...

Love to see this Hasu quilt in the new 12 x 12 challenge size! When I opened the page, I knew this had to be your quilt. So beautiful! You are such an inspiration!

Karen said...

This is very subtle and zen Françoise, and the quilting makes it look like rain to me.

Diane Perin said...

Françoise, this is lovely. I am always impressed at how you can reduce imagery to its essence so it is instantly identifiable, but it's presented with elegance and serenity and your own style. You've done that again here.

Marianne said...

J'aime bien la démarche et ce quilt est beau dans sa simplicité. Je trouve que la nouvelle série est superbe et que le nouveau format va bien , tous les quilts de cette nouvelle série sont magnifiques

Renate said...

Francoise, the simplicity of this quilt is very striking. Metamorphosis is gradual and gazing at your quilt it gradually draws you in, a metamorphosis in itself.

Terri Stegmiller said...

I really like your simplistic style Francoise. It's very elegant and the stitching seems to lead me around the work and gives me a calm yet happy feeling.

Kristin L said...

I too admire the simple elegance of this.

Deborah Boschert said...

Such a lovely color palette combined with beautiful shapes and expressive stitching. I especially like the loopy stitches in the upper right -- are they buds? Or water drops?

Gerrie said...

This is so lovely and peaceful. You made the leap to the new dimensions so beautifully.

kirsten said...

Francoise, you always get the proportions exactly right! Another quilt from you that exemplifies elegance and restraint (I so admire these qualities that are so far removed from me!).
The reference to the beautiful lotus having it's feet in the mud tickles me.

Terry Grant said...

Why is it that when I have tried to lay out a composition of rectangular elements it always looks blocky and clunky? When you do it it looks light and serene and delicately balanced! That wavy horizontal stitching that is visible in the last image is such a beautiful counterpoint to the horizontal lines through the rest of the composition.

Nikki said...

So simple and so beautiful!