Michael Collins by Eileen Doughty

Michael Collins

Eileen Doughty

Vienna, Virginia, USA

Artist Statement

I’ve long been fascinated by Collins being the first human to be utterly alone, while on the far side of the moon. Collins recalled that Armstrong, Aldrin, and 3 billion people were “…all over there, and if I looked in the other direction there was God knows what: only me and the rest of the universe. I liked that feeling, being a part of the rest of the universe instead of part of the Solar System. I didn’t mind being in that corner of the universe alone by myself. I enjoyed that. I wish someone would have communicated with me, but no one did.”

My quilt imagines him floating alone and vulnerable, a speck of white above the moon. He reaches out to an awe-full nebula above, an infinity of galaxies within.

Techniques

Machine applique and quilting. Painted and drawn, figure is fused to background.

Materials

Commercial prints (including black glitter on cotton – partially painted over), paint, ink, colored pencils, fabric pastel.

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