what is the deal with horizons?

Recently I have been thinking a lot about horizons--you know--that division between the earth and the sky. That line that stretches across the fields. Offering that promise of something. Is it the promise or the journey? After all, the more you walk to the horizon, the further it recedes.

Am I longing for the views from my late great studio? The expanse of sky and the distant everchanging mountain. The new studio offers instead hints of the clouds in the west rolling in and the endless promise of the trains carrying such power and industry. Amazing the difference a block or two can make, isn't it?

Or is it the order I have? The one for the quilt where they don't want that distinct line of the sky. A gentle horizon. Dreamy and subtle. More teal than this piece. But a good start.

Not sure why but I do have horizons on the mind. Interesting word. I check the etymology--of course it is from the Greek, via Latin and then French. Actually it is an abbreviation for the boundless circle of the open ocean.  After all, the Greeks did know their geometry. If you were in a boat on the ocean and looked all around, from above this would form a circle. Think about it. Chaucer was apparently the first recorded usage in English. The question was whether the "h" should be used though apparently it was not pronounced at the time.  The French don't use "h" very frequently.
You can read more about it here.

I had a class from the Academy in Charlemont visit my studio this week. What fun. Great smart kids asking a lot of good questions. Things that I don't normally think about. One of my favorite was whether my landscapes are inspired by a specific scene. No, I said they are a feeling. A sense of time and place that I am trying to achieve. Each quilt leads me to the next. It is a journey--almost like a horizon. The more I work, the more ideas I get. Searching for something I can never attain. But isn't the process in the searching? Isn't that what life is?

And so I start another quilt. Another experiment in horizons. This will be similar but different. I do have more teals. It will be dreamy. Just look at these colors. The first block says a lot. Sets the tone for the quilt.

I want to feel the ocean. The movement of the waves. Then the whole row. Is this right? Or too stark?

I put just a strip of yellow there--can you see it? Yes, this looks better doesn't it? Sometimes it is the little things that matter.

So I keep piecing. Slowly. Adding the colors. More teal. More dreamy colors. I must be patient.

And the sun. I want a red sun hanging just risen. Floating above the sky. That will come later though. After I finish piecing the quilt. And already I think of the next piece. How to give the effect of the open ocean. Turning. The full circle. I do love it when one quilt inspires the next and the next.

And you--do you think of horizons? Is it the journey or the place? And what inspires you to make the next piece? What do you think?