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Sturdy Bridges - Sidnee Snell, USA

Writer's picture: Sidnee SnellSidnee Snell

Updated: Oct 31, 2023

I have been working with bridge imagery for about 10 years. More accurately, I’ve been working with one bridge’s imagery – The Steel Bridge in Portland Oregon. My love affair began one day as I was walking across the bridge and noticed the effect that time, weather, and graffiti artists had on the structure; the rivets were particularly fascinating.


An Amtrak Cascades Talgo train crossing the Steel Bridge in Portland
An Amtrak Cascades Talgo train crossing the Steel Bridge in Portland by Steverelei

When the theme of Bridges was selected, at first I thought I’d move on to another bridge. Or at least a different part of this bridge. But after three years away, I decided to allow a familiar theme to be my bridge back into making art.


I also wanted to acknowledge the importance of the individual components. We often look at a bridge as a whole and admire the feats of the architectural or engineering masters. But what about the builders and maintenance workers who weld, paint, and keep our bridges standing and safe?


I think of 20Perspectives as a bridge and all its members are the rivets and beams that hold it together. Perhaps we are bridging people.


bridge person /brij/ /ˈpərs(ə)n/ Someone who spans two cultures and consciously seeks to facilitate an exchange between the two.



Process:

image original and edited photos of weathered beams and rivets
First: original photo and edited image

images of posterized image and outlines (think paint by numbers)  of weathered beams and rivets
Next: posterized image and outlines (think paint by numbers)

Images of partial and complete quilt top
Bit by bit, the fabric is added.

Images of completed completed quilt and a detail
Finished! (full and detail)
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