Glenna Stearman Park
Traditional American quilts were developed as an efficient use of all available fabrics and have become an art form with social centers and extensive fabric shops where patterns and materials are found. Almost every American family has a history of a quilt maker (or more) in the family tree. Patterns are chosen for symbolism, attractiveness, and complexity. Unlike Janice Bailey, I have made only one authentic quilt, although my crazy quilt of family clothing was part of my graduate degree in fine arts in 1975.
During the 1970’s, a great rumble was going on between “high art” and craft. The high art people were ferociously
defending the idea that any utilitarian object could not qualify as a true “high art” item. High art was philosophically and conceptually based in visual imagery and did not address function. The 1970’s encompassed the era of giant canvasses painted one color with only a subtle surface edge of change, or giant formal geometrics. I-Beam steel structures ignoring function were the powerhouse of sculptures. One artist called those kinds of work the “f___ you” aesthetic of art, because one had to have an introduction to education in art to “see” the art of these objects.
Also, the 1970’s was when the Whitney Museum in New York took the daring step to produce the first major museum show of quilts, along with a book. Shortly after, the Phillip Morris company sponsored “The Artist and the Quilt” featuring visual artist designed work and professional quilters working together. Faith Ringgold, Mariam Schapiro, and Marilyn Lanfear were among the artists invited into the show, and their quilts are in a permanent collection owned by Phillip Morris. And finally, the southern Gees Bend African-American quilters were recognized as masters of geometric and colorful imagery with a show in DC, a book, and a video.
My favorite stance in art has always flirted with iconoclastic positions. I have made “quilt pieces” that acknowledge
the history and impact of quilts on my life, but run them through my art brain to force them to be accepted in the old “high art” world. It is an art game I love to play.
MY QUILTS
Jack in the Pulpit is a traditional pattern, sewn in a patch on my machine with threads left hanging, and glued over a geometric drawing with text. My intention was basically a rude play on mega-church pastors (jackass in the pulpit). I made more than a dozen art works using different sewn patterns, hanging threads and texts—all related to the name of the quilt pattern.
Variations on the Star Patterns
The Star Pattern was patchwork pieces glued to a square canvas with acrylic paint over the fabric. The words were stenciled over the pattern in acrylic paint. The text was referring to romance and love. There were about twenty paintings, hung like a quilt on the wall and sold in sets of any four since most people do not have room for a large collection.
In Process
The dictionary is one of my favorite books, and then the Thesaurus. Also I like to read a lot of poetry. These paintings were designed to be hung in any order. I did not provide any directions for hanging.
These paintings are “in progress” and are made in the same process as the Star Patterns. Some works stay on the easel for years! I go back and forth with ideas in art. I have not written the text yet.
The Bedtime Stories #24
The following quilts on a bed were influenced by my bed when I woke up in the morning and the last things we discussed at night and/or my thoughts before sleep. I worked in a hand-made paper studio at the SOUTHWEST CRAFTS CENTER in San Antonio for six years. Using several large tubs of dyed pulp in water, I put window screening on frames to pull up the pulp, used presses to drain the water, and shaped the wet paper into rumpled quilts and pillows. The quilt patterns were layered papers. The wet work was placed in dryers for a week.
“Sometimes the mess was so bad that she liked to lie in bed, looking at the white ceiling, and pretend that was the floor and that they could just live upside down for a while. He always stumbled and ruined her illusion by refusing to play the game.” (Glenna’s handwritten note on White Ceiling piece above.)
The Bedtime Stories #28
“He closed the windows when they went to bed. She opened them back up when she heard his steady sleeping breath. Then, he got mad when the snow on the bed made him cold, and he slammed the windows shut again. She opened them back up when she heard his steady sleeping breaths.” (Glenna’s handwritten note on the piece below.)
Gardens
Quilt patterns have also been a pattern for the planting of gardens. The White House Steps was made as a planter. A small center square, representing the White House is contained in the center of a larger square, representing the government and the military. They are both inside the largest and final square which represents the public. I chose plants to represent each section using a single rule for watering all the plants. The center was DUMB CANE a.k.a. Dieffenbachia, president Ronald Reagan at that time. The next larger square was OAK LEAF IVY, for the military and government. The largest square was filled with BABY TEARS, standing for the general public. This is a democracy where everything is equal, but presidents are more equal than anyone, so the watering instructions were set for his survival. The BABY TEARS started dying off and were dead within a month. The OAK LEAF IVY turned brown and some died off. The DUMB CANE thrived and could still be alive today.
Glenna, my grandmother was an excellent seamstress and gave us a good many quilts, which we are beginning to divide among the family. We recently sent one to my niece in Hawaii.
One of my grandmothers made a patchwork top of about 1,000 very small pieces. I had it for years and did not quilt it, but sent it to the only serious quilter among my many cousins. She values it and will give to someone else someday.
Glenna, I love the out of the box way of making the quilts you make… unique pieces to be artful. Ones that stimulate our minds. Some of the quilts I’ve seen at recent shows are quite “artistic.” With many new tooIs and products, this has allowed quilt makers to widen the definition of a quilt. The most basic quilt just has to have a top, batting, and a backing all held together by some method.
I have another set of p-paintings based on the quilt, but have to round up the photographs. My first New York show was with 6 quilt paintings. I sold every one, but forgot to photograph them. In those days I was teaching full time, writing art reviews for papers, working in my studio until the wee hours and raising my three boys. My husband encouraged my career goals in the art world, so I managed pretty well. I grew to love quilts and traditional needle work because of grandmothers, aunts, and a talented mother-in-law. For a few years in Maryland, I taught summer art classes in patchwork of hand-sewn pillow covers. I had several boys in the class who were delighted to learn how to hand sew. In another class I taught first and second graders how to knit. That class had many boys who felt comfortable about knitting after I talked to them about the sailor’s history of knitting. I often remembered Mike Selig (on the East swim team) who used to knit sweaters between events.)
Having been surrounded at work by many creative types (often self proclaimed) I’ve been amazed over decades at the twists your fertile off the wall mind often takes. I’ve seen some small portion of your quilts, admired the craftsmanship, and been amused by your quirky narratives, which embarrassingly make sense. Somehow a wonderful baby blanket quilt my mom had for me was shredded by our daughter. You know both of us and can explain no doubt. Hope your grandkids got some quilts from you. Thanks!
My sons each had a quilt made by my mother-in-law. It was skillfully-made of images of puppies. The boys used the quilts, but I saved them from wearing out. I knew the quilts were a special gift of love from the maker. It is not easy to rescue these special covers from the children who drag them all over the place as a “comfort” piece.
I have been saving this quote (tweet) and now I can pass it on in honor of those of you who make quilts!
Leah Hampton@pludger
“People will really say, ‘Girls suck at math lol,’ and then be like look at this amazing quilt my grandmother designed by doing the quadratic formula in her head.”
“p.s. knitting patterns = computer coding; go get your money, girls.”