Merrilyn George

The taaniko weaving technique using the warp and the weft in the shot silk exposes the white and black 'fray' to provide a secondary pattern, reminiscent of the patterns left by the mud of the lahar.

This work came out of the patterns appearing after the lahar of 2007. As the mud surged down the Whangaehu River, the powerful force of nature covered original growth, but formed new and wonderful patterns as it rested.

This is a work in progress. I have used little doors of taaniko weaving, using grey shot silk within a neutral ground. The doors are marked.

Conceptual ideas behind this series:

"They (the Israelites) shall take some blood and place it on the doorposts and the lintels of the houses......"

Did God really need a sign on the door in order to show which home was inhabited by Israelites and which not?

The door creates privacy, in addition to providing shelter and protection. The door is what separates the public person from the private person, the external self from the internal self.  In the privacy of one's home is where all the facades and inhibitions tend to fall away, allowing the best(and sometimes the worst) of what a person has to offer to come to the surface.

Doors are a place where there is a change of thought, a place where passing through the opening can be an act of commitment or faith.

A door can be an opening to a new opportunity, or to something not so good. There are wide doors, narrow doors, locked doors and soft  and zipped doors as in tents, where there is a measure of trust to sleep behind.

What sort of doors do we have?

I have just quilted these two, and I have another 3 in the series ready to do. Watch this space.

Two doors, two pathways (sold)

Two doors, two pathways. (detail)

Statement: Maori King Potatau gave this proverb (the title) in 1858 to demonstrate unity.  It has relevance today for our inter-cultural relationships.

The blanket = land sales, mended places =forgiveness, lines of stitching = forging understanding. 

Size:   40 cm wide x   141  cm long   Year completed:   2009

Techniques used: Dyeing with eucalyptus, rust technique, hand quilting

Materials used:  Top and backing: silk,  cotton and linen threads        Wadding: Wool

This work is from a photograph I took on August 15 when snow was on the ground. The architectural presence and strength of the tree trunks without foliage, in the midst of the coldest season, is an analogy for our lives……..the framework is important….a winter is necessary for spring growth.

Size: 82w x 58 L

Construction techniques: Hand painted with mud from the area, machine stitched by industrial machine. Cut work.

Materials used: Canvas backing, acrylic paint and mud, cotton thread.

Winter- detail

Having provided research and historical documents for Waitangi land claims, made me realise how important the maps are and how detail is poured over making meaning to settlement and belonging.

Our land is not an abstract physical location but a place, charged with personal significance, shaping the images we have of ourselves. ‘Waitangi claims’ research has assisted the practice of investigating the relationship between human perception and occupation of land.

 Size: 101cm x 113cm

Materials: cotton, silk, silk dyes, polyester, cotton batting, cotton threads.

Techniques: piecing, computer generated printing, machine quilting, applique.  (sold)

Winiata's peg: This quilt, another in the 'belonging' series, pictured with a descendent of Winiata.

Size: 110 x 110cm.

This is part of the 'Made in NZ' exhibition showing in France during September 2009.

This is contemporary work both painted onto fabric and quilted, and painted onto board and gold leafed.

 Archangel Gabriel

Paraskeve

Mary