| Description: | This piece evolved from Deborah's thoughts concerning the various changes which have occurred in Ireland over the millennia. From the organised chaos represented by the five spiral panels, evocative of the primordial energy of pre-Christian eras, as symbolised by Brigit, the image moves towards the structures and organization of the "Log Cabin" blocks. These indicate a move towards settlement and structure, and perhaps a taming and diminishment of the ancient feminist culture. Using the Diaspora caused by the many famines and political upheavals as inspiration, the quilt also symbolises people moving from their cabins, their hearths (the central small red squares) and homes out into the wide world as emigrants to all parts of the globe, symbolised by the "wild geese" patterned blocks in all four sections. By bringing their Irish dreams and traditions with them, and trying to hold on to their core values through thick and thin, the movement is both outward and inward, past and future, away and back home. |
