Rhonda Denney - Tart & Yummy! 12” x 12” Art Quilt 2024

Tart & Yummy! 12” x 12” Art Quilt 2024

Created as part of my SAQA KS/MO/OK Regional Exhibition in 2024, inspired by the living-language-land project (at living-language-land.org). That project, devised by a small group based out of the UK, involved people in other countries around the world. The result was a set of 26 words from endangered and minority languages, contributed by members of indigenous communities.

Their goal was to reveal different ways of relating to land and nature, and enlarge the lexicon we can all draw from in reflecting on those relationships. The project was related to COP26 (a series of annual global climate negotiations under the umbrella of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)), with a hope of giving a global audience fresh inspiration for our environmental crisis.

We were asked to select a word and create one or more art quilts inspired by that word, based on our own research, experiences and creative voice. Works could be a combination of 12” and/or 24”, either 2D or 3D.
This art quilt, Tart & Yummy. Inspired by the word: Agranada or Mangrana: Pomegranate. Word Origin: Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean. Word Contributor: Güler Orgun and Derya Agis.

The pomegranate fruit is associated with great symbolism and is full of powerful antioxidants. Just the mention of the name of this exotic fruit makes my mouth water. I remember summer days when I received one of these tart, juicy treats and I would spend hours savoring each little pocket of flavor in my mouth.. I would carefully pull out each individual aril, taking care not to pop them too soon. The sweet-tart juice soon covered my fingers and lips. Yum!

Commercial fabric, polyester batting, cotton/poly & monofilament thread, pigments, satin cording. I used raw-edge applique and my Pigment Patchwork techniques to create this work.

Commercial fabric, polyester batting, cotton/poly & monofilament thread, pigments, satin cording. I used raw-edge applique and my Pigment Patchwork techniques to create this work.