African American Quilting
I'm new here and I just wanted to say this seems like a wonderful community. I've been reading through the archives and have learned quite a bit already. :)
Anyway, I just wanted to share some reading/photo materials on Slave Quilting. I'm an artist and designer who has started a collection of quilts, rugs and other textiles from the slave era. Ebay and antique stores are great resources but collecting is pricey and I don't have nearly as much as I'd like to.
Personally, I've always been fascinated by the contributions of African Americans to visual art. The media and school systems focus so much on our music and dance talents but we often get little credit for our gifts as painters, architects, craftsmen, seamstresses, etc.
Anyway, here are some interesting books and things I've collected over the past few years:
Stitched from the Soul is an interesting study showing how African culture influenced American quilting as well as commenting on the life of the slave.
Gee's Bend, Alabama, is a hamlet of 750 residents, most of whom are the descendants of slaves from the former Pettway plantation (and bear the surname Pettway), who during the New Deal purchased farms from the government. For much of the last century, the women of Gee's Bend have produced some of the most striking examples of American vernacular art, sharing them among the community and storing them within their homes.
When quiltmaker Ozella McDaniels told Jacqueline Tobin of the Underground Railroad Quilt Code, it sparked Tobin to place the tale within the history of the Underground Railroad. Hidden in Plain View documents Tobin and Raymond Dobard's journey of discovery, linking Ozella's stories to other forms of hidden communication from history books, codes, and songs. Each quilt, which could be laid out to air without arousing suspicion, gave slaves directions for their escape. Ozella tells Tobin how quilt patterns like the wagon wheel, log cabin, and shoofly signaled slaves how and when to prepare for their journey. Stitching and knots created maps, showing slaves the way to safety.
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Picture of a quilt made for Mary Todd Lincoln by her dressmaker, Elizabeth Hobbes Keckley, a former slave, here.
Harriet Powers was an ex-slave whose work is now in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. Site shows a picture of her and her famous Bible Quilt. Detailed information is given about the quilt.
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Underground Railroad: A slave family, escaping to Canada by traveling at night on the Underground Railroad, arrives at a "station" in Oberlin. In the background is the home of James Monroe whose work was devoted to the repeal of unjust slave laws. This quilt block was made by Bobbie Carlson.
Anyway, I just wanted to share some reading/photo materials on Slave Quilting. I'm an artist and designer who has started a collection of quilts, rugs and other textiles from the slave era. Ebay and antique stores are great resources but collecting is pricey and I don't have nearly as much as I'd like to.
Personally, I've always been fascinated by the contributions of African Americans to visual art. The media and school systems focus so much on our music and dance talents but we often get little credit for our gifts as painters, architects, craftsmen, seamstresses, etc.
Anyway, here are some interesting books and things I've collected over the past few years:
Stitched from the Soul is an interesting study showing how African culture influenced American quilting as well as commenting on the life of the slave.
Gee's Bend, Alabama, is a hamlet of 750 residents, most of whom are the descendants of slaves from the former Pettway plantation (and bear the surname Pettway), who during the New Deal purchased farms from the government. For much of the last century, the women of Gee's Bend have produced some of the most striking examples of American vernacular art, sharing them among the community and storing them within their homes.
When quiltmaker Ozella McDaniels told Jacqueline Tobin of the Underground Railroad Quilt Code, it sparked Tobin to place the tale within the history of the Underground Railroad. Hidden in Plain View documents Tobin and Raymond Dobard's journey of discovery, linking Ozella's stories to other forms of hidden communication from history books, codes, and songs. Each quilt, which could be laid out to air without arousing suspicion, gave slaves directions for their escape. Ozella tells Tobin how quilt patterns like the wagon wheel, log cabin, and shoofly signaled slaves how and when to prepare for their journey. Stitching and knots created maps, showing slaves the way to safety.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Picture of a quilt made for Mary Todd Lincoln by her dressmaker, Elizabeth Hobbes Keckley, a former slave, here.
Harriet Powers was an ex-slave whose work is now in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. Site shows a picture of her and her famous Bible Quilt. Detailed information is given about the quilt.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Underground Railroad: A slave family, escaping to Canada by traveling at night on the Underground Railroad, arrives at a "station" in Oberlin. In the background is the home of James Monroe whose work was devoted to the repeal of unjust slave laws. This quilt block was made by Bobbie Carlson.