Detail from "Rain Dance," an original quilt by Sherrie Spangler

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The shadow knows

That's me and my shadow with one of my transparent quilts.

I love to take photographs that feature shadows
because of the element of mystery.
Shadows reveal a lot ... 
and they go hand-in-hand with light,
which I love more than almost anything else.
Here are a few of my favorites from the past few months.



My watery self-portrait, taken while leaning
on dock railing in Victoria, B.C.



I wanted to photograph strangers
in the Starbucks in downtown Victoria,
but I didn't want to intrude
or violate their privacy.
I solved the problem by
photographing their reflected shadows.
 



The shadow-story here reveals
the mullions in a window
through which the quilt
-- titled "Light" --
 is glimpsed.


The shadows above let us know
that this quilt is transparent.
(I made it with silk organza
that I painted with Setacolor fabric paint.)


I call these my silk clouds.
After I painted the crisp, sheer silk organza,
I crumpled it and let it dry, sealing in the folds.
I photographed it outside
when the sun was almost overhead.
Only the shadow is seen below.

 



Another silk quilt, above.
I guess this doesn't really show shadows,
but the light coming from behind reveals
layers of fabric and thread tails.
 

Julia and her shadow back in Illinois.
(From 2007.)
 

I saved the best for last:
BUNNERS!
The shadow-story here tells of
the potted philodendron on the window sill. 


Have a bright shadowful day!



7 comments:

Julaine said...

could you quilt the shadows? inquiring minds, you know...

Sherrie Spangler said...

Now that's something to think about ... I think that might veer into performance art, but it could be done.

Marilyn Wall said...

Sherrie I too love to photo shadows. In fact I just posted a shadow of my husband and myself in the botanical gardens of Huntington in CA. I always photo our shadow together when we go some place we've never been.

Jean Cheszek said...

Sherrie-the silk clouds are fabulous.

Linda Teddlie Minton said...

What a beautiful post ... and I LOVE Bunners!

Sherrie Spangler said...

Thanks everyone. Hmmm, I notice a trend: The posts that include photos of Bunners get the most comments.

Julia said...

Favorite post!