journeys and endless roads

those of you who know me probably know about the journey quilt project (link somewhere down there) It was an idea designed to impel myself and Peta to work continuously, autonomously, creating art to a central theme, and coming together at the end to create something together.
The idea is something I have toyed with for years...making a piece of work on a regular basis, be it daily, weekly or whatever, as a form of documentation. For me it stemmed from the idea of keeping a journal and that journal becomming the work that it inspires. The form of a quilt seemed to be an appropriate medium for us both at the time of conception; it is tactile and nurturing, yet in so many ways a quilt is like an open story book; the pages splayed for all to see rather than closed against the world guarding its own secrets. An open book, documenting many journeys.
Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has a different way of telling it.

Naturally when I stumbled (with a shove from Peta!) into Ness Donnelly's blog, 'Folk'(...link over there near the other one) I was intrigued. This idea is not original....what ideas are these days? but here is someone with the courage and tenacity and sheer dedication to continue working inside a set of guidelines for a specified period of time.
I have really enjoyed following your progress Ness. I will be watching with interest to see what you get up to next!!
Today Ness has posted a link to another incessant artist: Kirsty Hall and The Diary Project (do I really need to say it again?) How intriguing! I will be keeping an eye on this one also.
I wonder how many more of us there are?

My first ever implication that I might want to make a quilt was as part of an ongoing daily journal, where I had to produce a square each day for the course of an entire year, then sew them all together. This idea stemmed from another, back when I was making books....instead of making blank journals to fill, I made pages one by one and bound them into books. A diary of sorts. The quilt was merely an extention, a different medium to push the boundaries, to relate my work back to textiles.
A quilt in its very essence is like a map; a series of squares, fields across the earth; boxes on a callendar; pages in a book.
Squares are so comfortable...yet so contrived.
Squares are manmade, sharp angles, firm lines, endless roads.

yet journeys come and go in circles.