In this studio art quilt, Michael James, one of the most prominent male artists to use quilts as his chosen medium, explores the “dual masculine/feminine principles at work in each of us” as reflected within nature.

His artist statement notes that various cultures describe certain characteristics of nature as male and others as female. Yet these ideals are culturally and socially constructed, rather than fixed and permanent.

Quilts too, can be perceived as male or as female, depending on our cultural perspective.