Artifact 3.7

This work explores the forms and textures of the artifacts left on my body after joint replaced surgery. Photos were taken with my phone of x-rays, bone scans, and scar tissue. These photos were digitally manipulated, layered, enlarged and then inkjet printed with textile dye. The final fabric is machine quilted in a way that uses the sewing needle like a drawing tool. The resulting whole cloth quilt is a twenty-first century blend of low- and high-tech processes. The finished object has the structure of a quilt, but the images are autobiographical. Artifact 3.7 originated in a photo of scar tissue after a total knee replacement. This recent surgical scar was on top of a scar from reconstructive surgery thirty-eight years earlier.