Beat the Drum and Burn !

 

41" x 34"
 
The title of this quilt was first established in Swahili, the principal native language of Kenya., "Piga Ngoma na Choma!" ("Beat the Drum and Burn!").  When my older son Ray was four years old our family lived outside the city of Nairobi, Kenya,  The native village near our home often hosted evening drumming and Ray may have been impressed by that fiery beat as he is now a musical percussionist.  He was certainly impressed by fire ants which traveled up and over his body, leaving a trail of red bites, once when he inadvertently stepped into their line of march!  Those red ants now march along the bottom of this quilt.  The central batik has received a gender change and enhancements to become the drummer scene and I added indigenous fabrics to develop this piece.  A carved Kenyan mask came back to the States with us and it inspired the quilted mask.  This quilt hangs by a sisal rope wound 'round a musical instrument, an African rain stick.
 
Quilt=Art=Quilts; Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, NY, 1999-2000
Private collection, Sleepy Hollow, NY