Explore how artists combine and repeat different shapes and colors to create quilts that bring beauty to everyday family life and create a spirit of community in Story Quilts. View this PowerPoint presentation first. You will see a good overview of the great diversity of quilts created in the last 200 years in America.
After your research, you will experiment with color and cut paper designs, then create a quilt square expressing your ideas about our PACE High School community.
Here are other web galleries to inspire your artworks.
Harriet Powers Harriet Powers is known as the "Mother of African American Quilting." She was born a slave in Athens, Georgia. Southern Negro women slaves were often trained as expert seamstresses. Harriet was probably instructed in the craft of appliqe quilt-making by her mother. This web gallery gives you more information, artworks and photos.
Grace And Peace Quilts This group of women has created over 600 quilts for cancer victims, parents whose children have died and for their overseas missions. Learn about their ministry and enjoy samples of their quilt designs.
African American Quilting Traditions This web gallery gives an overview of the general themes and patterns of quilting that have been influenced by African aesthetic, religious and cultural traditions.
Southern Quilting Traditions This is a short but very interesting comparison of African and European quilting traditions.
Faith Ringgold Ms. Ringgold is a painter as well as a quilter. This is her personal web site and you'll enjoy seeing many of her fine artworks created over the last thiry years.
The AIDS Quilt Started in 1987, the goals of the AIDS Quilt it to create a memorial for loved ones who died of AIDS and to help people understand the devastating impact of the disease. With 44,000 hand sewn panels, it has grown to be the world's largest community art project.
Fellowship Quilt In 1996 members young and old of the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship created their quilt. It contains stories both personal and universal. You can view the whole quilt and individual squares and eachartist explains the story that inspired it.
Woven In Time Inspired by the events of September 11, 2001, the Pentagon quilts came from freedom-loving people in small towns and big cities across the country and around the world. They are and will remain symbols of patriotism, comfort and encouragement to the Pentagon Community forevermore. There are 100 quilts displayed at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Northern Virginia.
Granny Irwin's Quilt Read the full story of Granny Irwin's Quilt told by her grandson who is one of the leading writers and researchers on Appalachian history.
Great Lakes Quilt Collection Michigan State University actually has ten collections of quilts, each on this web exhibit. The North American Indian, Silber and Cark Cole collections are good.
The Art of Being Kuna The Kuna are a Native American people who live in Panama. For centuries, their women have sewn molas, a multi-layered decorative artwork for clothes. This web exhibit shows 32 examples of molas collected in the early 1900's with explanations from Kuna women living today. This is a bright, colorful, informative exhibit.
The Quilts of Gee's Bend This National Public Radio web site gives a good overview of the women of an isolated southwestern Alabama community who created great works of art from recylced fabric. There are also four quilts in a gallern.
The Quilts of Gee's Bend Auburn University has an extensive gallery showing the quilts. Some have very interesting comments by the artists. The photos are so clear that you can often see the stitching.
Free Quilt Patterns If you become really interested in quilting, this site links you to over 700 other sites with quilt patterns and sources of fabrics.