Double Titles, Music, and Quilt-Making

Mary Shelley gave her famous Frankenstein story two titles. Most people only know it as Frankenstein, but the full title is Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus. I have always loved the double titling. It signals that the story can be read on multiple levels. The first level is the topsoil. It's the story of one man's arrogance and the monster he created. It's terrifying and fascinating and resonates with wide audiences.

The second level is the deeper bedrock, where the roots grow in search of nourishment. For Shelley, Greek mythology was part of the bedrock that motivated the story of Dr. Frankenstein. Prometheus was a Titan who stole fire from the Gods and brought it to the humans. As punishment for this, he was tied to rock where an eagle would come and eat his liver each day. Every night he regrew his liver and every day the eagle returned. Fire, a step forward for humans, was the source of unending misery for the one who brought it. Dark, right?

Literature, art, music -- all forms of expression have these multiple layers of meaning. That's part of what makes expression so beautiful and meaningful.

I like to think of my quilts as a form of expression. Not everyone thinks of their quilts this way, but my innermost self has always yearned to be an artist, so I do. Each of my quilts has a topsoil and a bedrock. Many also have bits of recycled materials interwoven throughout.

For example, most of my quilts have strong ties to the music I love. Many quilts have both a descriptive title and a secondary title that links them to what I was listening to as I conceived and created them. Most people never learn the secondary titles, but I almost always think about these music ties when I remember these quilts. Here are a few examples.

This is a small quilted wall hanging inspired by a sculpture I saw in a hotel lobby. The overlapping cutouts reminded me of space, so I used dark prints to create the texture with a space feel. I mostly listened to Pink Floyd's Division Bell while making this. So, in true Mary Shelley style, I call this wall hanging "Space; or, In a World of Magnets and Miracles."




When Tom Petty died in 2017, I couldn't stop listening to his music. I was so heartbroken. Most of my quilts since have had a link to him. Until recently, I had forgotten about the song I now call my favorite, "I Keep Crawling Back to You." It was the soundtrack for my most recent quilt. This quilt is meant to look like waves crashing upon one another, which reminds me of the persistent cycle of life and death. So, another inspiration for this quilt is a line from the song "Highwayman" (by the Highwaymen): "Or I may simply be a single drop of rain, but I will remain. I'll be back again, and again, and again." Taken together, I call this quilt "Waves; or,  Most Things I Worry About, Never Happen Anyway; or Single Drop of Rain."

I call this pattern the Broken Glass pattern, which always reminds me of Annie Lennox. But I exclusively listen to Led Zeppelin when I make things from this pattern. For whatever reason, the pattern reminds me of my sister and her favorite Zeppelin song, "The Battle of Evermore." I put that song on repeat and let the chaos take hold. It's awesome. So, I've renamed these "Broken Glass; or, Oh Dance in the Dark of Night."

Many quilters add labels that include the name of the maker, the name of the recipient, and the date. I haven't added this kind of label yet, but I like the idea of including both titles, should I start.