“Words are but pictures of our thoughts.” - John Dryden
When we chose ‘Well Said’ as our theme for this issue ofCurated Quilts, we envisioned an opportunity for some of today's great modern quilters to come together and reflect Dryden’s sentiment. Words are often inadequate to express what we feel, but perhaps in a quilt we can catch a glimpse of the “pictures of our thoughts.’ We invite you to explore a glimpse of the latest issue ofCurated Quilts to see the ways modern quilters channel their thoughts, emotions, and desires into beautiful, powerful quilts.
Princeby Riane Menardi Morrison
Morrison was inspired by a crown when she createdPrince. “It’s a reminder to be confident, live the life you want, try something new, and practice until you get good at it,” she says. The bit of color in the binding draws the eye to the bottom left-hand corner and accentuates the slanted lines of the quilt design.
5/325 by Hillary Goodwin
An emergency medicine physician, Goodwin often encounters the devastating effects of drug addiction. Opioid addiction has become a deadly epidemic in the United States, killing more than 700,000 since 1999.5/325 is the identification code for the prescription drug Norco, and highlights opioids’ benefits to those in pain, but also the very real risks of taking opioids.
Tagged: The Japanese Internment Series by Patricia Kennedy-Zafred
Tagged is a series of quilts featuring photos of women and children of Japanese ethnicity who were literally tagged by US government officials as they were forced into internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Kennedy-Zafred’s process for making quilts begins with finding historical images and learning as much as she can about the stories behind the images. She then hand silk-screens the images onto hand-dyed cloth and sometimes prints words or graphics on the base textiles.
Separatedby Valerie Luberecki
Between April and June of 2018, an estimated 2342 children were separated from their families at USA borders. In Luberecki’s quiltSeparated, each square represents one of those 2342 children. Luberecki used color to enhance her message. The dark background represents the dismal situation, while the yellow squares represent hope and light that remains with each child. The overall effect of the varied-size shapes and irregular spacing between the squares is one of ordered chaos.
Tell Me Something by Aryana B. Londir
Tell Me Something is about the secrets of the heart. Londir says, “The decision to show ourselves to others can be truly liberating and scary at the same time.” Her use of the color red, the color we often use to convey love, creates a feeling of intimacy. Lighter colors in the quilt were specifically chosen to represent opening up to others and how we lighten our emotional, and even physical, loads when we share of ourselves. Further, a feeling of vulnerability can be found in the fractured shapes of the quilt.
In Our Own Words by Kim Soper
The idea for this quilt began on International Women’s Day 2018. In Our Own Wordsis meant to be a celebration of women and how powerful they are when joined together in a cause. Soper sent out a call to fellow female quilters and asked them to embroider a word that described themselves on a piece of white cloth and then send it to her. 196 women responded from all over the world.
Find these quilts and more when you purchase your own copy ofCurated Quilts: ‘Well Said’.