"Homage to the First Potter": Quilt Art by Rebekka Seigel

This quilt was conceived after reading an article in one of my husband’s pottery magazines about the first indications of the use of clay by humans in our history. The article maintained that man’s first use of clay was not for making vessels as I had assumed, but for making effigies of the deities of the culture. Since all of the excavations indicate a female deity as the central figure of reverence at this time, the archeologists also assume that the first potters were most likely women. This was an intriguing idea to me and hence the birth of this piece.

Techniques used in this piece include appliqué, reverse appliqué, machine piecing, hand embroidery and hand quilting. The quilt is embellished with shells and clay “goddess” figures which I made out of clay with my husband’s help.

Reverse appliqué is one of my favorite techniques in quilt making. The idea of making a hole and sewing the edges down is a soothing activity and the surprise of what appears after the hole has been filled in and stitched is a joy. I also like the fact that reverse appliqué seems to become a more directly integrated part of a quilt immediately, as opposed to appliqué where something is added that lays on top of the quilt. Reverse appliqué helps to give the appearance of depth to a piece and is definitely a user friendly technique.