Sardine run
'Sardine run' Made in Bath, UK
© 2011 Claire Passmore
Sardine Run
27.5 “ x 44” (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.
27.5 “ x 44” (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
'The ones that got away' Claire Passmore © 2014
This small version of the bigger quilt has beed created to enable you to learn all the techniques used whilst making the larger quilt above. I teach those techniques as a one day class. If you wish to make a larger quilt I will show you how to build the shoal of fish so that you can develop your own 'Sardine Run'.
