Northern White Rhinoceros

Quilters use their creativity to celebrate myriad subjects, including endangered species. This impressive quilt by Corinne Yarbrough from California, exhibited at the 2020 Road to California show, inspires us in many ways. 

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Northern White Rhinoceros by Corinne Yarbrough (California)

Corinne designed and made this original quilt for her nephew, whose favorite animal is the Northern White Rhinoceros.  Corinne used raw edge applique to create the magnificent animal. The background tiling design was adapted from Gloria Loughman's Radiant Landscapes.

Those who are familiar with Susan Carlson's fabric collages may recall her Pink Rhinoceros. Corinne participated in one of Susan Carlson's classes in the past, but this Northern White Rhino is her own design. Her expert use of light and dark fabrics to create the details of the rhino's face can be seen below.

Sadly, since 2018, there are only two known rhinos of this subspecies left, both of which are female. Barring the existence of unknown or mis-classified male northern white rhinos elsewhere in Africa, this makes the subspecies functionally extinct. There are hopes that another of this species might be created some day from eggs that have been banked. Meanwhile, the two remaining of this species are kept on around-the-clock guard to deter poachers, who are responsible for decimating this species.

Northern White Rhino, photo by Mistvan, Creative Commons image at Wikimedia Commons

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Road to California quilt show.