Genevieve Guadalupe – Time #5
How long does it take for us to see the light of a star
Light from stars takes varying amounts of time to reach Earth, depending on their distance. The Sun’s light arrives in minutes, while light from distant galaxies can take millions or billions of years, because light travels at a finite speed. A star 4 light-years away, like Proxima Centauri, sends light that takes 4 years to reach us, so we see it as it was 4 years ago. When you look at the night sky, you’re looking back in time. Because light travels across vast distances slowly, we see stars as they existed in the past, not as they are now, and many distant stars may have already died before their light reaches us.
Materials and technique: cotton fabrics, cotton batting, poly thread, embroidery thread, printmaking inks. Monoprint on fabric, machine quilted, hand embroidered.
Interesting look at the time… It always amazes me that looking at the sky we see things that happened long ago. I like your embroidered constellations and I think this quilt works well with others in your series.
I had never realised that about stars dying before we view them. I great subject choice beautifully executed.
A beautiful backstory for this piece, with thoughts on time and place that are hard to grasp.
I really like the dense quilting of the background and how you’ve created the constellations on top of it.
I too, ponder this concept. Light travels rapidly, but we mostly aren’t aware of it. I like the embroidery that helps define the constellations.
I really like the notion that when looking at the stars one is seeing something from the past that may not even still be there. I love the colour of the fabric you have used as the background and the stitching of the constellation is really effect. Lovely.
I never realised the stars we see might not exist anymore. Fascinating! The fabric you used is just perfect and the stitching is really effective.
A fascinating story of which I was not fully aware. Lovely handstitching of the constellations. The dense quilting of the background is beautiful and effective as ever.
Time on this scale is difficult to appreciate, also the vast distances that light travels from the stars. I like the background here and the embroidered star patterns link well with the science of the light year.
A striking quilt, beautifully quilted and designed.
I like the use of embroidery for the constellation, it is delicate but with a good contrast. A great addition to your series.