Dust into Gold
Rachel Roggel
Jerusalem, Israel

Vacuum cleaner disposable bag, buttons, beads, charms. Hand quilted through the beads.

When I was growing up, the dust that collected in our house turned into gold, literally!

My parents' vacuum cleaner bags contained gold particles. My father, a goldsmith by trade, sold the dust to the gold refinery. Each year, one pound of gold was recovered from those bags.

I, also, treat these bags as a gold mine, as they contain buttons/beads collected from my studio carpet. I, an art/quilter by trade, embellish my quilts with thousands of them and just like my father, recover those treasures (buttons and beads) from the bags..

"Dust into Gold" is made of a green disposable vacuum cleaner bag.My father's photo, in the bag collar, is surrounded by golden beads and ornaments and "AU" glass beads (gold symbol in the Periodic Table.) The dotted line "replace bag when dirt reaches this line" is the border where golden beads are separated from buttons. Part of this description is stenciled on the binding.

This is a conceptual quilt, but also a realistic view of my vacuum cleaner bag.