Copyright 2004 Susan Brittingham
Size: 48"w x 36"l
This quilt was made in 2004 for the Myths and Legends Challenge
Science Fiction and literature have explored the concept of Gateways or Portals in works as diverse as the Chronicles of Narnia to TVs Stargate-SG1. To step through the portal is to be transported to another time and place.
If portals to other places or dimensions exist, their origins might be technological, magical or mystical. The modern worlds reliance on technology can shut us off from imagining the existence of phenomenon beyond our present day understanding of physics. But all technology seems like magic to those who do not understand it. When we begin to explore any myth or legend, there are often more questions than answers. A myth may be based on a earlier legend, which is based in turn on history, lost millennia ago and perhaps later found again on a scrap of parchment.
My quilt shows two lands that are steeped in Myth. The ancient world is littered with the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome. The culture and mythology of these legendary places were far reaching. Step through the portal and one is transported to ancient Egypt, a land already the thing of legend when Rome was new. Art, whether it takes the form of a quilt, a painting, the written word, a simple song or a symphony, can be a magical gateway transporting us to other worlds.
Detail: I was particularly happy with the way the scroll, below, turned out:
Here's a little something extra, a journal sized piece, based on Portal.
This page was designed
by Susan Brittingham
All photos and images are copyrighted 1999-2007 by Susan Brittingham
and may not be reproduced without her written permission
Created on : 11/12/04
Last Updated : 02/12/07