Size: 12” x 12”
Made by Teresa Carole Phillips
Quadra Island, BC
2014-07-11
For this journal theme ‘Crystal Ball’
I attempted a serious look at the state of wild salmon on the
Canadian coast. Some of the problems I see: the federal government
laying off fisheries officers and oceanographers; unmitigated habitat
loss, overfishing, sport fishing, ocean pollution, river pollution,
atlantic salmon farming practices….
Regretfully, my ghost of salmon future was
born, served on a plate of ‘broken dishes’ quilt block pattern.
I sketched a salmon within a circle; a
tribute to the ‘salmon circle’ of life. See the song lyrics at
the bottom. This used to be a favourite song of mine back in the
80’s and I found myself humming it while working on this piece.
I stitched through my sketch onto the
quilt below to create the ghost image, and then picked out the bits
of paper. Apologies for any lack of anatomical correctness.
Here is a close-up:
Song lyrics by Fraser Lang. Great song
if you want to listen to a clip you can find it on the internet.
The salmon circle from the sea to the
sea
Up the rivers of life endlessly
And they always return to the place
they began
For a million years they swam and swam
and swam
They swam and swam and swam
Round the rocks in the pool in the
river below
They are turning and turning oh so slow
Salmon been here forever in this sacred
dance
Round and round they go, its a water
romance
From the long slow rhythm of a four
year cycle
to the pounding beat of the oceans that
are like
a drum that sounds clear across the
globe and
it's calling the children, calling them
home
Redbacks swimming in the stream
Humpbacks dancing in a dream
Nose to tail they circle round and
round
Go back to the spawning grounds
By the taste of the waters they return
to the source
Lay down their eggs and feel the life
force
Resting safe in the gravel, pass the
winter thru
The big fish are dying, but in the
spring life renews
