My first choice for this piece was a soft-scape that reflected the diversity in the fabric of our society (all puns are intended) I wanted to create something that was an amalgam of a landscape and the concept of healing. I diverged.
I cut the fabric layers on the bias rather than attempt to make the fabric square or "even" as I had with the quilt. Each section was layered as a mirror of the other. The darkest layer was the top most on one side with it being the bottom on the other half and vise versa. The lower layers were then stitched together very tightly and each layer on top of that became more loose. The layers were stacked so that each layer was offset from the bottom by about 1/8" or so and each was sewn to the layer below it.
I didn't dislike it at this point but it didn't feel finished. I painted the wounds to make them look more raw but that didn't do it either.
I hung the piece up in my front door because the lighting in the picture window is excellent for back-lit photographs and seeing my art that way gives me a better feeling for the whole piece and not just whats on the surface.
I still didn't like it.
I let it sit for weeks and fiddled around with other projects (trying to teach myself watercolors) and eventually took it off the hoop and re-stretched it. I pulled the cloth very tightly, layer by layer to increase the tension. I tried it as a back-lit photo again and felt it better encapsulated my intent.
I brushed each layer with a dog comb and my hairbrush to rough up the edges, strung it, and hung it from the lights in my dining room. I loved the feeling of being engulfed in the fabric and the whole damn thing being upended. That being said I just did not love the piece. There were problems I just couldn't reconcile. And so... I took it apart.
There will be no healing with this piece today, no easy solution. It needed to be dismantled and It will be rebuilt. I don't know what it will look like as it progresses but it couldn't be what it was.
Only time will tell!