History and Purposes of Quilts
1. Quilts are considered American Folk Art. Folk Art means that anyone can do it and that the art is useful. While some people hang quilts on walls, most everyone uses quilts as blankets to keep warm. They are useful.
2. Quilts are also magical. They speak without words. They tell stories about people, family, comfort, love, memories, hope.
(Example 1) Wedding ring quilt
Who do you think receives this quilt as a gift?
What do you think this quilt says?
(Example 2) Friendship Knot quilt
Who do you think receives this quilt as a gift?
What do you think this quilt says?
3. Quilts can also speak about unfairness and how to change that unfairness. For example, slavery. The people who worked to end slavery were called Abolitionists. Some Abolitionists helped runaway slaves get to safety, and one way they helped them run away to safety was by using quilts.
(Example 3) A log cabin quilt hung outside of a house told the slaves that the house was safe to stay in for the night.
(Examples 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Some quilts used secret symbols and codes to tell the people what they needed to do to get to safety.
(Bread)
(Doctor, No Charge)
(Go This Way)
(Sleep in Hayloft)
(Example 3) A log cabin quilt hung outside of a house told the slaves that the house was safe to stay in for the night.
(Examples 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Some quilts used secret symbols and codes to tell the people what they needed to do to get to safety.
(Bread)
(Doctor, No Charge)
(Go This Way)
(Sleep in Hayloft)
(Unsafe Area)
4. Quilts not only speak without words, they also create emotions for people who look at them or use them.
(Example 9) This quilt is called, “Make this Nightmare End”
4. Quilts not only speak without words, they also create emotions for people who look at them or use them.
(Example 9) This quilt is called, “Make this Nightmare End”
Looking at this quilt, how does it make you feel?
(Example 10) This quilt represents part of the universe.
Looking at this quilt, how does it make you feel?
Looking at this quilt, how does it make you feel?
(Present tactile quilt) Look at this quilt.
(Present tactile quilt) Look at this quilt.
Who do you think it was made for?
Who do you think made it?
When was it made?
How many of you have a grandma, grandpa or another person who you love very, very much?
How do you think a one of their quilts would feel wrapped around you?
How do you think a one of their quilts would feel wrapped around you?
5. Quilts can be made from recycled fabric and bags.
(Example 12) This quilt was made with old overalls.
Some people, like the very first people who moved to Oregon--they were called Pioneers--needed to use scraps of their old clothes to make quilts because there were no fabric stores around. It was a comforting connection to family members.
During the Depression--a time when a lot of people didn’t have jobs or money--people needed to use every little scrap of fabric (flour sacks, worn clothes, feed sacks) to warm their families.
Who has a bag of flour or a bag of dog food at home?
A long time ago, these bags used to be made out of fabric--and the fabric was really nice and pretty, so that people would buy that brand of chicken food, for example. Then people could make quilts or clothes out of those bags.
(Example 15) Castle Wall
(Example 16) A kid playing I Spy
7. Quilts have always been made for fundraisers.
(Example 17) Here’s a schoolhouse quilt that was made in 1897 to raise money.
8. We are going to make a quilt for Ainsworth’s auction fundraiser.
Look at the different shapes cut and sewn together. It’s crazy.
(Example 19) And a watercolor quilt.
8. We are going to make a quilt for Ainsworth’s auction fundraiser.
(Example 18) It will be a combination of a crazy quilt.
Look at the different shapes cut and sewn together. It’s crazy.
Look at how the shading goes from dark to light just by using different pieces of colored fabrics.
And we’re going to fill it with one kind of feeling/emotion and a short message.
Each of you will bring one or two pieces of clothing or fabric scraps already cut up, and we will make our quilt from those things.
First, we need to draw our plan for our quilt:
What kinds of basic emotions to we feel? (Anger, Love, Hate, Happiness, Jealousy)
What kind of feeling/emotion would you like this quilt to give to the person who buys it?
Does that feeling travel up your body? Or down?
Does that feeling explode in your body? Or does it float?
Can we add a small symbol to this quilt (hearts, tears, sun, rain) that represents the emotion in this quilt?
What short message do we want to say? 1-5 words.
This looks amazing, Denise. Thank you so much for organizing this for our class. We're really looking forward to seeing the finished product!
ReplyDeleteLily
Thanks Lily--let's cross fingers and hope that everything turns out (yikes!)
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