a memory cloth for 2016

for over a year now i have been thinking about a family textile memorial for 2016 - this is the centenary of the year my great grandfather, Adelphe, died during the battle of the somme in WW1

there have been lots of artworks created as memorials for the 100th anniversary of WW1 and it's various battles and other events - stimulated by my participation in Threads of Time i feel i am ready to take on a commemorative piece to share with the family

so the idea is to collect pieces of fabric from as many family members as possible - i use the word "family" in a very wide sense, it includes anyone with a connection to Adelphe, Marie and their descendants - the connection may be through kinship, friendship, marriage, social or professional contact ..... anyone who feels they are part of this family network - this aims to be an inclusive project

with the collected fabric i will make a tribute to leave at an appropriate location, to be decided with help from  family members

i aim to take the tribute to France during the spring/summer of 2016 and meet as many family members as i can, ideally at a family party or parties - i could make the tribute in sections to be shared out ..... i'll have to see about that

the tribute has to be fairly portable and unbreakable as it will be transported it in the caravan, fortunately a textile piece can be robust while retaining fragility and delicacy - it also needs to be in a form which is easy to display without special structures, as i can't bring any with me - another important factor for me is that it should be biodegradable as i would like to leave it at the chosen location

these parameters obviously influence my choice of design, techniques and construction, but it is helpful to have limits and deadlines of some sort