Jenny Bowker
Collections

My pieces for Collections started as work based on the things I own, and in these quilts I have featured things from Egypt. I love my cluttered home, and every object has a story. As I made the work and started with the objects I realised I wanted to show you what it reminded me of, and not just a thing. I included the makers, some of the people I loved in the city of Cairo.

Hassan and the Glass Factory - Hassan blows glass in a tiny room in the centre of a square opposite the Qaitbey Mosque in the City of the Dead in Cairo. The room is overwhelmingly hot, even in winter, and shelves around the room are packed with bright treasures.

Ittayer in the Friday Market, the City of the Dead - Ittayer has a junk stall in the City of the Dead. It is not tidy - it is grotty and cluttered and he rarely has things I actually wanted to buy. He has a wonderful welcoming smile.

Abu Ali and the Gilded Chairs - Abu Ali is usually strikingly dressed in black and white in the area where he carves chairs. He is guaranteed his very small living as he makes something even the wealthy Egyptians will spend money on. The chairs are gilded and covered in elaborate fabrics - silks and satins and flocked velvets.

Technique/Materials
Machine pieced, appliquéd, machine quilting. Cotton and polyester fabric, dyed fabric

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