“Da Dom Da Dom Da Dom”

The ocean with all its beauty and wonder-I’m completely drawn to it, whether we’re traveling as a family, or when it appears in my artwork-I just knew a “Jaws” piece was going to be constructed for my workspace…and so the sketches began! A plan of layout and color was underway. It was destined to have an ombre scheme with lighter blues on the surface and deeper darker blues (certainly black) would be on the bottom of the quilt.

Jaws is one of my absolute favorite movies and being a movie fanatic and watching this 1975 classic time after time since I was 5…I realized which parts I wanted to include. Without a doubt the sea faring vessel “Orca” would be perched in the waves sending this madden voyage to its doom (spoiler alert).

A saying comes to mind “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight.” This wisdom resonated as I stitched this particular block and placing the blood red sun in the sky would be a telling tale for what’s to come.

Next block contains the three main characters: Quint, Brody and Hooper- each machined stitched with wools and felts. The skin color was even considered, having Captain Quint and shark loving Hooper tote an “out-on-the-sea” kind of tan with particular felt colors. Chief Brody pale in complexion-delivering his famous quote “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

One particular block got a little more gruesome and grotesque. But I was once considering a severed body part from a character in the beginning of the film. Poor “Chrissie”-she never saw it coming. But rather I choose the fisherman- Ben Gardner. Complete with his underwater boat scene-sinking tooth and all.

“Bruce” the famous shark and the main event was going to showcase the barrels and line. I managed to make a 3-D effect with jute to tie the three barrels and attach to the harpoon piece. I think it gave a pretty cool effect and it shows the shark’s strength and tenacity.

The bottom block and the final bit I really wanted to blend together like a story board. The lowest block has a skull resting on the sandy bottom along with some vegetation and a quote: “Here’s to swimming with bow-legged women.” Does that skull belong to good ole’ Captain Quint or any other victims during Jaw’s blood bath?  We shall never know.

The backing of this quilt is also a little artsy. I happened to carve my very own linoleum block and made a homemade stamp for the printed fabric on the back panel. No one sees it…but I know it’s there and it added the final touch.

Our son just turned five when I finished this wall-hanging. He has not yet seen the film, even though he hums those two little notes when playing sharks in the tub. But he loves the shark block best. I know when he’s older and watches the movie with us and understands the references I will be so tickled…and have one of those proud momma moments.

This wall-hanging is mixed with a little whimsy, a little love and a lot of me. I tend to make and create unique and weird things. But that’s ok…sometimes it works and some of it doesn’t. I think it tells a story whether you know the tale or not. It’s one of my favs, and it makes me grin every time I admire it.