My quilt,  The Contact: Feldspar Megacrysts will be presented by Professor Scott Johnston with his paper presenting zircon geochemistry results from Yosemite granites at the Symposium. Juxtaposing geology and art highlights the fact that both fields are founded in detailed observations and driven by our natural curiosity and desire to understand our world, and suggests a role for each in the promotion and advancement of the other.

I planned this piece after I finally figured out a way to make the rock textures and colors that can be seen in places in the Sierra Nevada. I worked from a photo I took at Cathedral Lake where you see shiny smooth glacial polish, much of it iron stained. Where the polish is broken off, you see the rough textures and various minerals below. The granite in this area of Yosemite is called Cathedral Peak Granodiorite known for its oversized white potassium feldspar crystals, usually a mineral in granite that is very small. The scale of the elements in the quilt are all actual size, including my boots.

The Contact: Feldspar Megacrysts
30” x 73”, Hand dyed cotton and silk, using corn dextrin resist and thickened dyes stamped and rolled on. Machine stitched.

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