Bonnie Bucknam

McCallum Spring

70h x 66w inches

2019

Artist Statement

1000 Palms Oasis Preserve is in Rancho Mirage in the Southern California desert. About a mile and a half from the visitors’ center is McCallum Spring, where water seeps up through the San Andreas Fault. The spring itself is lined with arrowweed, willows, and cattails. Because the palms are left in their natural state, the fronds pile up several feet high at the base of each tree. The site is a strange combination of dry desert landscape and green wetland vegetation.

Materials

Hand-dyed cottons by the artist

Techniques

Machine piecing, machine quilting