What are Ozlandish Writings?

From July 2010 to December 2014 we ran OZLAND PICTURE STORIES as described below. Sadly though the number of writers reduced over the years and we decided to call it a day. We leave these as a record of the good times we had.

Are "You" ready to challenge your writing skills? Then participate in our OZLAND Picture Stories writing series at The Ozland Art Gallery.

Each month a new picture will be picked, from our OZLAND Artist of the Month collection, with different themes. Your goal is to write a 500-1000 word... poem... essay... or story about the picture picked. This is a chance for you to challenge your writing skills each month. Story can be written in ANY genre... sci fi... romance... ghost... fantasy... fiction... non-fiction... biography... mystery... historical... whatever your writing genre... feel free to experiment. Send your writing inworld to Sven Pertelson as a notecard to have it included on the web site. We meet at the The Ozland Art Gallery each Wednesday at Noon and 6pm SLT to read the latest submissions on voice. More Information


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

A Quilt's Eye View by Tami

A Quilt's Eye View by Tami

The world when seen from the perspective of a quilt is a very different place. Though a quilt may last for many generations, it is incredibly rare for one to survive that long since most simply disintegrate as ultra violet rays slowly, but surely, break down the molecular bonds of their fibres. As sunlight patiently eats away at their strength, they start to rip and tear, needing patches and repair, until one day their owner decides that it is time for a replacement. What follows for the quilt would cause the quilt to tremble, if it was able to tremble, and can include burial alive within a landfill, burning on a rubbish heap, or shredding to produce recycled fibres -- none of which is pleasant for the quilt.

There is no need to eat, no need to drink, and thus, no waste products to release. The quilt does not need to breathe, for even in the most airless vacuum it can exist. In fact, an airless case with leaded glass is the safest place for a quilt and can lead to the quilt surviving for hundreds of years. Such "museum quilts," in their hermetically sealed cases and humidity controlled cases, lead very long and fulfilling lives as they enrich hundreds of visitors each day with their beauty.

Water, in moderation, can be a quilt's best friend. The smell of being freshly laundered is one that a quilt never forgets. Washing can remove unsightly stains, odorous substances, and accumulations of dust and dirt. While adults can be somewhat troublesome with their spilled drinks, particularly red wine, or dropped foodstuffs such as jam, dips, soups, and other things, it is children that bring terror to a quilt. From each end of a child can flow noxious and vile things that no quilt should endure. Pets can also cause considerable grief as they deposit fur, fleas, and other unmentionables. Woe comes to the quilt that is used by the sick and infirm, and dread fills it when it hears words like Anthrax, Plague, and Cholera for burning is often not far in the future.

A quilt does not sleep or need rest, for it does nothing to tire itself. Each day and night is identical as the quilt remains stationary and lies upon whatever is beneath it. Sometimes it covers a sleeping person while at other times it lies upon a shelf. A quilt occassionally rests in a spread configuration maximizing the area it covers. At other times, it rests folded up, and in between it can be bundled into bags, baskets, boxes, or hampers. When spread, the quilt is most affected by its nemesis as the ultraviolet rays can attack all of its surface simultaneously. At rare times the quilt is hung, perhaps for display on a wall or perhaps to feel the wind upon its back while suspended from a laundry line. It is the oft washed quilt that has the shortest lifespan.

Although they are the most beautiful of all the quilts, the artistic quilts are the least loved for they rarely get to cuddle a sleeping person. Their lives are spent on display, enriching others with their vibrant colours and intricate patterns. The patchwork quilts, made from old scraps, are often the most loved as they spend their nights cuddling and warming a sleeping soul. Although most of their companions sleep beneath them, a quilt is not unused to smaller and furrier creatures such as cats and dogs spending the night on top of them. Though their weight is not a burden, claws and teeth can seriously bring a quilt into despair and needing of repair.

A quilt lacks free will, but does not mind her servitude. Most quilts are female and are made of soft pliable materials. A few quilts consider themself male, if forced to chose a gender, as their materials are hard and rough. Male quilts are incredibly rare and not to be trifled with. The birth of a quilt varies significantly and can be a long, slow, drawn-out process lasting weeks or months. Some have a single parent who lovingly stitches their panels together. Others have many parents and are born at quilting bees from dozens of loving hands. A few are special projects made to commemorate historical events or bring attention to social issue -- such as the famed AIDs quilt that is now a hero to the rest of quiltdom. More and more often, one can find an immaculate quilt born without parents. These sad creatures come into being within vast industrial complexes, made by the thousands, bagged, shipped, and sold at Walmarts around the world.

A quilt has but one goal in life and that is to bring happiness to all around her. Whether it be by keeping someone warm on a cold winter's night or by bringing joy to all who see her, a quilt yearns to know that she has made the world a better place. As I look down upon you, knowing I was chosen to inspire your stories, I am fulfilling my goal and I am happy.

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