Watchful Eye VII: Ogalu Blue

Watchful Eye is a series I began when my two sons were quite young and extremely active. Now they are young men and having to watch out for themselves.

The diamond pattern has three sources: from the United States, Mexico, and Africa.

The quilts in this series were based on a traditional American quilt pattern, a Roman Stripe variation.

The concentric diamond shapes also reminded me of the God's Eye ritual object from the Huichol peoples of western Mexico. Ojo de Dios or Sikuli, as it is called by the Huichol, is made from two crossed sticks wrapped with yarn.

Later I became fascinated by the patterns that the Igbo women of Nigeria paint on their houses. They call this design, Ogalu, and it is derived from a skin scarification pattern.

I see these common elements as a sort of universal visual language.