Some of the most influential and inspiring quilters for me, are the ladies from the Gees Bend community. The women are African-American and live in an isolated hamlet in Alabama, USA.
This is one of my favourites, and shows a central striped motif made
from corduroy, surrounded by strips of denim jeans and work clothing.
Their work is free from following strict rules, and the colour placement is stunning. Despite often very hard working lives with little money to spare, they produced works of art which have now been acclaimed and shown in art galleries. Many of the quilts used old work clothes or offcuts of corduroy from a factory where some of the ladies worked.
If you would like to read more about these remarkable women, I recommend a book called "The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces From A Lost Place" by William Arnett. It seems to be out of print now, but you can still find copies on bookfinder.com starting at £28.
My attempt at a small wall hanging inspired by the third quilt shown above:-
Black & White Stripes #2
Also available as a printed art card, priced at £2 each.
Their work is free from following strict rules, and the colour placement is stunning. Despite often very hard working lives with little money to spare, they produced works of art which have now been acclaimed and shown in art galleries. Many of the quilts used old work clothes or offcuts of corduroy from a factory where some of the ladies worked.
If you would like to read more about these remarkable women, I recommend a book called "The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces From A Lost Place" by William Arnett. It seems to be out of print now, but you can still find copies on bookfinder.com starting at £28.
My attempt at a small wall hanging inspired by the third quilt shown above:-
Also available as a printed art card, priced at £2 each.
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