Windfarm by Julia Altshuler of Marlborough, Massachusetts
Cotton fabrics, fusible web, cotton batting, thread. Raw edge appliqué, free motion machine quilting
A news article about a proposed wind farm for Nantucket Sound told of the argument between two groups: the environmentalists who want a clean source of energy and the preservationists who want to keep the quaint and traditional nature of Cape Cod. Normally, I identify with and support both groups. How to choose? Controversy is the best inspiration for art. I have often thought that a woman's influence was like the wind: ever present, invisible, powerful. How do you draw power? How do you make it visible? How do you capture it, use it, and make it felt? The wind farm is my answer to how you channel raw power into useable power. Of all the elements, air is the least seen and appreciated. Like women.