Sardine run
'Sardine run' 70cm x 112cm © 2011 Claire Passmore
Sardine Run
70cm x 112cm
Called 'The Greatest Shoal on Earth', the Sardine Run is a little understood phenomenon. It occurs most years off the coast of South Africa sometime between the last two weeks in May and the first two weeks in June. Literally millions of sardines form shoals, often more than 7 km long, 1.5 km wide and 30 meters deep, being rounded up by the cold water current that flows up the South African Coast towards Mozambique. Sharks, seals, dolphins, gannets, cormorants, gulls and many other species take advantage of this surfeit of food, the result being a feeding frenzy of enormous proportions. Dolphins are primarily responsible for rounding up huge numbers of sardines into huge swirling bait balls which twist and turn in an huge mass as individual fish attempt to avoid being eaten. The sardines usually appear between Port Elizabeth and Port St Johns, and if you wish to see the spectacle these are the towns to aim for.
I wanted to make an art quilt that captured this amazing event; the movement of the fish and the luminosity of the ocean were the main considerations of my quilt design.
To make this quilt I used my own hand dyed fabrics, raw edge applique, extensive free motion quilting and thread sketching and machine trapunto techniques.
70cm x 112cm
Called 'The Greatest Shoal on Earth', the Sardine Run is a little understood phenomenon. It occurs most years off the coast of South Africa sometime between the last two weeks in May and the first two weeks in June. Literally millions of sardines form shoals, often more than 7 km long, 1.5 km wide and 30 meters deep, being rounded up by the cold water current that flows up the South African Coast towards Mozambique. Sharks, seals, dolphins, gannets, cormorants, gulls and many other species take advantage of this surfeit of food, the result being a feeding frenzy of enormous proportions. Dolphins are primarily responsible for rounding up huge numbers of sardines into huge swirling bait balls which twist and turn in an huge mass as individual fish attempt to avoid being eaten. The sardines usually appear between Port Elizabeth and Port St Johns, and if you wish to see the spectacle these are the towns to aim for.
I wanted to make an art quilt that captured this amazing event; the movement of the fish and the luminosity of the ocean were the main considerations of my quilt design.
To make this quilt I used my own hand dyed fabrics, raw edge applique, extensive free motion quilting and thread sketching and machine trapunto techniques.
'The ones that got away' ©2014 Claire Passmore
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'Shoal' © 2019 Claire Passmore
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These small quilts use the same techniques as the original Sardine Run quilt and are examples of what can be achieved in my one-day class entitled 'The Ones That Got Away. More details can be found by clicking here
