Pop Art Identity

I guess you already know that I chose my fingerprint for my identity — actually, my thumb print. I had not seen other fingerprint quilts until I had finished mine. I became very intrigued by the patterns created by my thumbprint as I zoomed in closer and closer. I noticed that I had a scar which has altered my finger print. I reversed the thumbprint for two of the blocks because I like the additional patterning that was created by the juxtaposition of the reverse images. I hand-dyed fabric for this, and I tried to get the complements which would give it that pop art feel.

Here is a detail.


Here is my initial finger print using a stamp pad and my thumb.



I selected the least smudged version which I played with in Photoshop.

I then zoomed in on the center of my thumbprint where the whorl is and created a stamp in the filters. I printed the pattern on Wonder Under which I fused to the upper fabric, and then I cut out the black pattern areas and fused the two colors.


I don't have an interesting story about my identity quilt. For me, it was more about the process of getting the thumbprint on fabric. This was a bit fussy to create, but I loved doing it. The machine stitching was easier than I thought it would be but I had to buy matching thread so that I would not interfere with the simple pattern created by the two colors.