Crystal Ball - Salmon Circle

Size: 12” x 12”

Made by Teresa Carole Phillips

Quadra Island, BC

2014-07-11

For this journal theme ‘Crystal Ball’ I attempted a serious look at the state of wild salmon on the Canadian coast. Some of the problems I see: the federal government laying off fisheries officers and oceanographers; unmitigated habitat loss, overfishing, sport fishing, ocean pollution, river pollution, atlantic salmon farming practices….

Regretfully,  my ghost of salmon future was born, served on a plate of ‘broken dishes’ quilt block pattern.

I sketched a salmon within a circle; a tribute to the ‘salmon circle’ of life. See the song lyrics at the bottom. This used to be a favourite song of mine back in the 80’s and I found myself humming it while working on this piece.

I stitched through my sketch onto the quilt below to create the ghost image, and then picked out the bits of paper.  Apologies for any lack of anatomical correctness.

Here is a close-up:

Song lyrics by Fraser Lang. Great song if you want to listen to a clip you can find it on the internet.

The salmon circle from the sea to the sea

Up the rivers of life endlessly

And they always return to the place they began

For a million years they swam and swam and swam

They swam and swam and swam

Round the rocks in the pool in the river below

They are turning and turning oh so slow

Salmon been here forever in this sacred dance

Round and round they go, its a water romance

From the long slow rhythm of a four year cycle

to the pounding beat of the oceans that are like

a drum that sounds clear across the globe and

it's calling the children, calling them home

Redbacks swimming in the stream

Humpbacks dancing in a dream

Nose to tail they circle round and round

Go back to the spawning grounds

By the taste of the waters they return to the source

Lay down their eggs and feel the life force

Resting safe in the gravel, pass the winter thru

The big fish are dying, but in the spring life renews