Consilience, 108 x 60 inches (triptych), acrylic on panel. ©Deidre Adams

Consilience
In science and history, consilience refers to the principle that evidence from independent, unrelated sources can “converge” to strong conclusions. That is, when multiple sources of evidence are in agreement, the conclusion can be very strong even when none of the individual sources of evidence are very strong on their own. Most established scientific knowledge is supported by a convergence of evidence: if not, the evidence is comparatively weak, and there will not likely be a strong scientific consensus.
(Wikipedia)

A couple of years ago, I read a book called Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson (available for download in PDF form). From the back cover blurb: “…Biologist Edward O. Wilson believes that all knowledge is intrinsically unified, and that behind disciplines as diverse as physics and biology, anthropology and the arts, lies a small number of natural laws, whose interlocking he calls consilience.”

I like the idea of the “unity of all knowledge.” It mirrors what I’ve tried to do in this painting, which is to take a wide variety of disparate elements and unify them into a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

As often happens with very large objects, the overall effect can be difficult to imagine from viewing a small image. So here are some detail shots.

freedom from the usual authority
12 x 12 inches, ©2015 Deidre Adams. Stitched textile, found papers, acrylic paint.
Hand and machine stitched, hand painted. Mounted on stretched canvas.

The Benefit Auction is the most important annual fundraising event for Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA).  Your purchases help increase the recognition for art quilts and the artists who make them while supporting SAQA’s exhibitions, publications, and education outreach.

The Auction is run in three sections for 6 days each, with a special section accompanying the International Quilt Festival in Houston.
HOW THE AUCTION WORKS

DIAMOND DAY: ALL Benefit Auction quilts will be available for $1,000 each on September 18 as part of a Diamond Day promotion. This early bidding window will remain in effect until September 21 at 1:30pm EDT.

Each week after Diamond Day, a different set of Auction quilts is available for bidding. The bid price is reduced each day (at 2pm EDT) as follows:

For more information and to bid, go to the SAQA Benefit Auction site.

With more than 350 artworks to choose from, it’s an embarrassment of riches. You can be sure to find something to delight your senses. Here’s a very tiny selection of the artwork available:

Ochre Stones 2, ©2015 Dianne Firth

String Theory, ©2015 Lynn Koolish

Trail Ride, ©2015 Jennifer Landau