Quilts… Quilts, how warmth can they keep our body. That was one of the reason these African American women had in mind, while creating different quilts of recycled and reusing materials that no longer function its purpose (which is a way to be sustainable). Materials like “clothing, bedding, and flour sacks.”
The artists of these beautiful and unique quilts are women from around the 19th Century and were women whose obligations were to take care of the family. During the day by helping to plow the crops with men and at night alone or with company of other women to provide the sweet warmth with these quilts that are exhibited in the Richard L. Nelson Gallery & Fine Art Collection at University of California, Davis.
Sharecropper’s Masterpiece, is the title of the picture you see on the left and is made by Mensie Pettway of Gee’s Bend. It is a quilt done by hand with materials like “cotton corduroy, cotton batting and hand-dyed muslin.” This quilt creates a united final product through repetition of pattern and rhythm, like using the repetition of colors in each square. Also, each small square has it unique way of standing by itself that at the same time and creates the entire quilt.
By using repetition in the rips achieve a linear pattern that either goes from top to bottom or from left to right, which in combination of the staccato rhythm it gives us the opportunity to find a visual begin and end. Colorful patterns of tones of reds, pinks, purples, browns, black and white create the vibrant feeling of happiness of joy that could resemble the pleasure of the artist while creating this piece of art.
This artist did not ever think that her quilt that was meant to create warmth will ever be put in an art exhibition and be admired by so many people. But, she made it attractive by using different design techniques that helped her achieved a united visual product.
References:
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & Fine Art Collection
Photos taken by Weijing
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