As above, so below

The name of this quilt derives from an old pagan saying used to describe the idea that the microcosm mirrors the macrocosm, and vice versa. It was of course adopted by other religious and spiritual genres Put simply: the material world reflects the state of the spiritual world. It could be interpreted as the effects of celestial movements on terrestrial events, such air the moon upon the tides or the sun on the changing of Earth’s seasonal cycles. Of course, by extension, it can be a reflection on the way Earth’s warming temperatures are affecting life in the ocean. This little quilted wall hanging doesn’t have a vase in it. Nevertheless, it fits into the series I’m creating, which is really about Earth’s prolific and unstoppable fecundity, regardless of what we as humans do to her, she will survive. The concept derived from a large number of already cut items that were to be used in one of the early ‘circle’ arrangements for an underwater scene (see Dec 2021). As often occurs, they were not used there and were migrated to the ocean scape as it was developing here. As I have pointed out before, one idea’s leftovers often become part of the next quilt. Nor was the inclusion of the previously-cut Gerbera flowers that sit across the horizon between sky and sea premeditated to be position there. They had been envisaged as being part of an underwater garden, as coral platelets on the sea floor, as part of a coral reef. Through a spontaneous twist of direction, they were positioned on the horizon, with the sun beating down from a sunburnt sky holding within a Gerber, representing the fecundity of the planet we live on in symbiosis with all life. The ocean can be envisaged as a giant vase which displays the health of the gardens we so appreciate for their beauty and rely on for our very existence. The water of the oceans is the basis for all life on Earth, but that fecundity is becoming threatened as shown by the appearance of dead and dying coral in our oceans. With the addition of fish the commentary on the opportunity for addressing that very real threat are symbols of beauty and reason for hope.