Wally Dion, born 1976, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Fabric Star Quilts.
Wally (Walter) Dion is a Canadian artist of Saulteaux ancestry living and working in Upstate New York. Working in a number of media including painting, drawing and sculpture.
Wally explains:
"The first fabric star quilt was made as part of a 2022 residency at Wanuskewin Park. It was my way of reflecting upon prairie tall grass and the reintroduction of bison into the Great Plaines. I wanted to make several transparent quilts and superimpose them; one in front another... a quilt for the microbiome, another for the bison, their manure & hooves, another for the summer fires that scorch the ground and a final quilt for the sweetgrass braid.
I was considering how all of these things worked together for thousands of years to create what is known as the 'prairie tall grass ecosystem'. A vast and fertile expanse of land stretching from the foothills of Alberta to the banks of the Mississippi. I wanted to highlight the invisibility of systems when everything is working well, as it should be.
I started with the green quilt because it is the colour of the sweet grass braid that is exchanged in ceremony and relationship building. I considered the nature and tradition of quilting; impoverished craftspeople using tiny scraps of fabric. I considered the act of offering fabric and adherence to tradition. I thought of a thousand tiny prayers and how that might look; invisible acts of respect and adherence to protocols spanning decades. My thoughts travelled across the land, imagining the trees and rocks collecting these prayers like a bush of cloth, or an etched boulders."
prairie tall grass quilts, Bonavista NL, 2023 bison quilt, 2023. 127 ¼ h x 106 ¼ w. fabric, copper pipe. fire quilt, 2023
ID: 8 images of these quilts. Each quilt is constructed of semi-transparent, sometimes iridescent fabric in various colors, arranged in a starburst pattern radiating from the center and then surrounded by a block border. The effect is like stained glass, but in fabric form. Each quilt is also connected to a copper pipe at one end.
Image 1: A starburst with a deep red center, that radiates out into lighter pinks, purples, into almost-whites. The quilt is being shaken out over the camera against a cloudy sky, showing off the iridescence in the lighter colors.
Image 2: This quilt has a darker center and edges, with a lighter middle of the starburst pattern. The colors are greys with purple and pinkish tints, like storm clouds. A person on a ladder tosses it over the camera and the sunlight highlights gold and silver shine on the edges.
Image 3: Four quilts hung in a series, indoors. In the foreground is I believe the previously described quilt. Behind it hangs a brilliant orange and yellow quilt. Next is a green quilt with hints of yellow. The last quit is brilliant blue and nearly transparent silver. The quilts are lit in such a way that they shine almost like metal, and you can see through each quilt to the colors behind it.
Image 4: A quilt half in pinkish-reds, half in yellows and whites being spread in the wind. On the yellow-and-white side there is more shine.
Image 5: A quilt that appears to be black and white, the white nearly transparent, being spread over a sunset sky.
Image 6: The green and yellow quilt from image 3 hung from a wooden structure outdoors. This quilt has many transparent areas that the blue sky shows through, and the sunlight shows off the iridescence to the point some of the fabric looks metallic.
Image 7: A quilt in black of various transparencies, with neon pink outlining of the starburst pattern and the straight border at either side of the quilt. A person is holding the quilt so it is spread over the sky and the blue shows through areas of the quilt; some of the black shines.
Image 8: A person on horseback carrying a quilt in white, grey, and gold. The center of the starburst is gold. The sky behind is cloudy and the quilt almost seems to blend into the sky a little.
end ID
