What Does a Traveling Exhibition Look Like?

The My American Series quilts, along with two quilts designed in the fashion of the Gee's Bend quilts, and a quilt on a local Hartford, CT man, left this morning to travel to Connecticut for the first leg of their tour. The quilts are being escorted by Dr. Gaither and one of her students, Sara Allred. They left in the early hours of the morning and are currently making their approach into Hartford as I type. I have been receiving driving updates since about 5:45 this morning somewhat making this a "community" transportation effort.

One question I always receive after workshops and sometimes during tours is "How are the quilts transported?" The image here can give you a clue. For this exhibition, the quilts are individually packed into large plastic containers and stacked in a manner that will provide the flattest surface possible. When feasible, the quilts are then chauffeured by vehicle to ensure their safe arrival at their final destination rather than shipping them. When the quilts weigh anywhere between 35-55 pounds and are at a minimum 8 feet long and/or wide, you don't really want to be sending them by post where they are priced by weight. Even the Postal Service's newly advertised package shipping policy of "if it fits, it ships" in one of their pre-priced boxes will fall short of providing an adequate shipping box for these artworks. This process is a change from the in-area quilt transportation which, up until this point, has been packing the quilts into large rolling suitcases or in a large bag as was evidenced by a photo I posted in September when J2WH left - something that would strike fear in any museum conservator's heart.

In addition to the quilts, the hanging rods had to go and those were entertainment to fit in the car. After J2WH left the Banneker-Douglass Museum, the hanging rod stayed in my office for at least a month because there simply wasn't enough room in Dr. Gaither's car to take it, the quilt, and another person without causing damage to something or someone. When I finally took it to her in my car I nearly put a hole in the ceiling of my office and the front door of the museum. Naturally clumsy people such as myself really should not be entrusted with carrying, moving, or generally handling long wooden poles without supervision and assistance. Last night we had to fit 7 hanging rods into the van which literally ran the length of the vehicle going under the seats from the back of the van all the way under the front passenger seat. For the longest pole, it was touch and go for a minute as to whether or not it would fit.

As the exhibition will be hung in multiple venues, Dr. Gaither is providing large giclee (pronounced gee-clay) prints, aka really good scanned images printed out, of all of the My American Series quilts to be set up with the Gee's Bend-inspired quilts at the Hartford Stage. These images will help show Dr. Gaither's other works on display in Hartford as part of the Threads in the Community exhibition going on from December through February. To transport the framed canvases, we had to pack the car in such a manner that they would have a large space to lie flat. We then placed cardboard between them to protect the images and wrapped them with a large piece of fabric to help hold them in place during the drive so they wouldn't go flying and strike anyone in the head in the event of a fast stop. There was also a very large framed print of the Poulson Slaver quilt, the 3rd in the My American Series. This print was so large it could only fit in the van by sliding it through the open rear gate of the van and even then it just barely fit laying flat between the back of the rear seat and the quilt box pushed up against the back of the front seats. Minor miracle there.

After everything was packed in, there was actually room in the van to see out the back believe it or not. Without even considering it, we just so happened to leave room for two overnight bags plus their owners. When you look at the photo of the packed van you can see Dr. Gaither just peeking out over the precious cargo on the left hand side. Not a bad night's packing if I do say so myself.

More stories will come in the next few days on the progress of the traveling exhibition from Sara Allred along with more photos. Stay tuned to learn more about the exhibition as it travels as well as some of the other quilts included.

And They're Off...

The My American Series quilts hit the road first thing tomorrow morning for Hartford, CT. During the roadtrip watch this space for postings from Sara Allred, one of Dr. Gaither's students at MICA who is going along for the ride. She will be writing in about their journey and the beginning of the national tour.

We will post pictures and information about the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt dedication in the next few days. Needless to say it was a smashing success with around 200 people in attendance from all areas of the state. A great time was had by all and the quilt was dedicated in grand style. Dr. Gaither was also bestowed with the title of Ambassador of Maryland and Ambassador of the Chesapeake by Governor Martin O'Malley and Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Michael Busch. She will be embarking on her first "official duties" tomorrow with the delivery of the quilts in Hartford.

Stay tuned for more information on the exhibition dates and locations for Hartford and beyond.

The Quilting Sessions Get Musical

During the third quilting session held at Meredith's Seafood and Carry Out in Grasonville, MD on the Eastern Shore, several watermen and their families turned out to add photos and stitches to the quilt. As an added treat for the session a few people provided musical accompaniment to the evening's work. Posted here is Vince Leggett of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation introducing a performance of Amazing Grace. Enjoy!

Quilt Dedication Ceremony and a new tour date

Please join us next Wednesday, December 9, 2009, for the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt dedication ceremony. The event will be held at the Annapolis Maritime Museum located at 723 Second St., Annapolis, MD, 21403 at 10 a.m. This will be the first time the finished quilt will be on public display.

The event will be inspiring and entertaining, but I can't say too much more about it as we are trying to keep as much of it a surprise for Dr. Gaither as possible. This isn't the easiest feat in the world as she seems to be very good at getting information. Fortunately, those in the know aren't talking despite her best attempts.

The event is free of charge and open to the public. If you would like more information, contact either Vince Leggett of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation at 410.570.1187 or vleggett@blackschesapeake.org or myself at 410.216.6186 or GKaplan@goci.state.md.us.

The dedication ceremony has been timed to coincide with the beginning of the first leg of her national tour. All six of the My American Series quilts will be leaving a few days later for the first ever exhibition of the entire series. The first stop is in Hartford, CT and will take place in two locations. The My American Series quilts will be on display at the Capital Community College beginning the end of December through mid-February as part of a community-wide quilting exhibition initiative. Several of Dr. Gaither's other works including four quilts inspired by the Gee's Bend quilts will be on display at the Hartford Stage to correspond with the run of a new play on Gee's Bend from January 14-February 11, 2010.

After they return from Connecticut, three of the My American Series quilts will go on display at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore from March 3-June 6, 2010. The full series will be "reunited" in Baltimore for a one month exhibition from June 18-July 14, 2010 at the School 33 Arts Center. Additional dates and locations will be announced here shortly.

I hope you can join us for the dedication next week and make this event a truly special one.

The Other Chesapeake

Vince Leggett, founder of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, submitted this posting recently on the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake and the important role it play in documenting the people and places along the Chesapeake Bay.

Dr. Joan M.E. Gaither hopes the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt will "help people learn about the rich and storied history of black men working the water, fighting winds and tides and other obstacles to pluck precious fish, oysters, clams and crabs from the bay. The quilt looks like a 3-D map of the Chesapeake Bay and is multilayered and bright. An outer strip of African mud cloth gives way to a blue one symbolizing the Atlantic Ocean crossed by slaves during the Middle Passage. Hundreds of large safety pins, some left open, represent the pain of separation from Africa, link to the next few layers; a red one for blood and death, a star spangled one for the United States of America they live in, and zippered fabric from a yacht’s canopy-which makes the quilt contemporary-all of which lead inward toward the story of black life on the bay.”

The Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation have been documenting the roles that black watermen played in the shaping of our nation through exhibits, books and teacher’s guides and documentary films for the past 25 years. The Black Watermen of the Chesapeake documentary story quilt takes this saga to new heights. Black watermen make their living harvesting the bay’s finfish, shellfish, eels, and crabs. In the past African Americans on the Chesapeake Bay have been marginalized-pushed off into the corners of history or buried in unmark graves on the oceans floor. Independent and self-employed, black watermen own their boats and choose their catch. It’s a tough, physically demanding way of life, and it’s been going on for hundreds of years.

The documentary quilt project places African Americans front, center and in living color. Black watermen “Saved by Grace” is a theme which intersects the latitudes and longitudes on the quilt. That amazing grace is represented through several beautifully hand-crafted angels celestially adorned in spiritual and nautical artifacts strategically placed on the quilt as the guardians of the black watermen. The quilt contains memorial tributes to black watermen who have lost their lives on the bay, such as Captain Thompson Wallace, of Deal Island, who went down with his son and four other men in Tangiers Sound. Captain Wallace was one of 23 children to watermen Robert James and Roseanna Wallace. In 1977, his skipjack the Claude Somers was struck by a squall near Hooper Straight Light, leaving six drowned including her owner-operator Captain Thompson Wallace. The Claude Somers has been redeemed and now is used for educational and heritage tourism purposes by the Watermen Museum in Reedsville, VA.

The quilt is an elegant tapestry of black life on the bay. It is filled with stories, images and key dates such as 1619 when the first Africans came to the bay in Jamestown, Virginia as indentured servants. Chesapeake blacks have made steady progress for the past 350 years migrating to Nova Scotia following the 1776 War of Independence and the War of 1812. The black watermen of the Chesapeake have seen the tides of life rise and fall like the sails of a sail boat for nearly four centuries. However, black watermen have faced discrimination on the water and their stories recant how unsavory white oyster captains have shanghaied their fore parents and refused to pay for their services on oyster boats. Instead they were knocked off of the boat by the swinging boom. They lamented about how their ancestors were “paid off by the boom.” Still others spoke about standing at the back of the line waiting to sell their catch at the end of the day and how the prices steadily dropped as the ice melted on the docks. Many a watermen have cautioned against just talking about the beautiful sunrises and sunsets on the bay, but the bay has also been a watery grave for black watermen. These men and women whispered about the “other Chesapeake.” The one not mentioned in the history and texts books—the black side of the bay.

The Black Watermen of the Chesapeake Quilt:

• Details the lives of the many African American men and women involved in the history and culture of the Chesapeake Bay
• Highlights the men and women who dedicated themselves to the bay through their work, communities, or their love and concern for the waters of the Chesapeake
• Tells the stories of the unique Maryland communities through images, text, and artifacts
• Includes images and references to Maryland’s maritime history
• Represents an unsung part of Maryland’s past
• Joins together hands and spirits to tell untold stories
• Shows men hand-tonging for oysters through the frozen ice, shucking oysters, cooking oysters, and eating the bi-values on the half-shell. The cleaned empty shells have been decorated and placed through out the quilt as a reminder of this legacy
• Shares the history of the bay’s black watermen’s dreams, disappointments and hopes
• Incorporates many different groups working together all along the reaches of the bay, cataloging their stories, images and fond memories by paying tribute to their loved one
• Encompasses a wide variety of the occupations held by Blacks in the maritime and seafood industries such as Lighthouse Keepers, Ferry Boat Captains, Bridge Tenders, Bay Pilots, Sail makers, Boat Builders, Seafood Process Plant owners, etc
• Features the people, places and communities associated with Maryland African American watermen.

Oyster Shucking Live!

One of the interesting things about holding a quilting session at a restaurant is that I was on hand when a fresh bushel of oysters was brought in and was able to see them prepared to order live. Check out the video below of oyster shucking in action by Captain Meredith, owner of Meredith's Seafood and Carry Out.

Preparation

Friday and Saturday will mark the third and fourth public quilting sessions on the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt and we are getting ready for a very busy next few days. We have seen unprecedented interest in these quilting sessions with people calling from as far away as Rochester, New York and parts of New Jersey all asking how they can be involved. The flurry of publicity provided via the many articles on the quilt and quilting programs over the past week has certainly taken the BoC quilt team by surprise. We are thrilled with the responses and high level of interest we are receiving surrounding the watermen and the quilt.

To prepare for the quilting sessions this weekend, the team has been working late into the night with many people jumping in and helping to work on the quilt until nearly midnight most nights to make sure the quilt is ready for travel and additional images, stitches, and embellishment.  As much as I was bragging about how I was able to avoid quilting last Thursday, I did my part and worked on the quilt until well past 11 p.m. last night stitching around the three inch faces that make up a part of the fabric on the border of the quilt. I made it about halfway down one of the "short" sides of the quilt in three hours. When the quilt measures 11 ft 5 in long and 8 ft 4 in wide, there really isn't a short side.

As we have worked on the quilt we have remarked on some of the interesting numbers attached to the quilt that I can share here on the blog. Some of the figures we have come up with are how many faces are on the quilt, how many safety pins went into the making of the quilt, what is the total number of hours it took to create the quilt, how many people have worked on it. Today I thought I would start sharing some of this information by addressing the question of the ages of the oldest and youngest people working on the quilt. Age does not matter - old or young, everyone who wants to and/or comes into contact with the quilt is asked to add a few stitches. To date, the youngest quilter for the BoC quilt is 4 years old. The image here is of Dr. Gaither working with her 5 year old great-niece Rockelle, a veteran quilter who has contributed to several of Dr. Gaither's works including BoC and J2WH. As far as the oldest, well, I was always taught it isn't nice to ask someone you don't know how old they are. I don't really think people would appreciate a perfect stranger asking them to provide their age to see if they are the oldest person in the room! I know there have been at least a few people in their 80s who have contributed to the quilt in one way or another.

We want this quilt to be a community quilt in every sense of the word and that cannot happen without the contributions of many. If you are planning on coming to one of the quilting sessions and bringing images or stories to be added to the quilt, never fear there are still plenty of spaces on the quilt for your additions. Please come and join us!

Reflections on the BoC quilt from Blacks of the Chesapeake Founder Vince Leggett

For the past 25 years, I have been documenting the contributions of African Americans to the Chesapeake Bay region’s maritime and seafood industries. This labor of love has taken me everywhere from Point Lookout in southern Maryland to Havre De Grace on the upper bay and Ocean City on the Atlantic coast. I’ve visited far and wide, collecting oral histories, rescuing artifacts, archiving memorabilia, sailing on workboats, fishing with boat crews, and eating the catch of the day around an old pot belly stove, talking about hope for tomorrow.

But the most extraordinary journey I have taken was not in the bay’s waters, nor along its shorelines. It was through the air.

On Saturday, November 14, I joined quilter Dr. Joan Gaither and Genevieve Kaplan, Education and Public Programs Manager at the Banneker-Douglass Museum, for an event in which the public was invited to add to the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake documentary story quilt. The quilt is a one-of-a-kind, dynamic work of art, visually ebbing and flowing like the ever-constant tide. Every river, creek, and tributary depicted on the quilt is wending its way back home to the Atlantic Ocean, along the way touched by many hands.

At the quilting event, I spent the day watching all the activity around the quilt -- it was as busy as a watermen’s wharf. Dr. Gaither was working with teachers, students, parents, and even some tourists who stopped by the museum. She prodded everyone who took a sideways glimpse at the quilt to have a go at it.

Throughout the day, more than 150 students from the Wiley H. Bates Middle School’s Visual and Performing Arts Magnet Program assisted Dr. Gaither by adding stitches to the quilt. Young people were adding their names or the names of their favorite fish (“rockfish”), and some stitched in their cherished waterways (“I love the Severn River”). The students were also enjoying themselves at the “Waterman For a Day” hands-on exhibit. Boys and girls tried on watermen’s bright yellow rain slickers, white boots, and black gloves and authentic hats -- Nor’easters, ball caps, Greek fishing caps, and captain hats. They tried their hand at tying nautical knots, tossing nets over their heads, pulling lines, and pretending they were hauling in their bountiful catch of the day: fish, crabs, clams, and oysters. They were laughing and having a ball as they posed for photographs.

Other young people were attracted to a wide-screen TV showing the documentary “Black Captains of the Chesapeake.” The film features Black watermen primarily from the Kent Narrows area of the Eastern Shore who were once proud oystermen of the bay, but due to the declining resources, their advancing age, and over-regulation of fisheries, they were forced to stop harvesting. Today, they are captains of their own boats and carry out fishing parties from April to November every year. The film begins in Jamestown, Va., in 1619, when the first Africans came to the shores of the Chesapeake as indentured servants, and ends with a statement by me emphasizing the importance of enlisting all stakeholders in efforts to preserve the bay and its rich history.

The Black watermen’s quilt is another way to try to carry on this message and reach into the hearts of all who see it. Seeing the young people so engaged in the day’s activities was an encouragement. They are the future champions of conservation and restoration of the bay.

After working with the first wave of 30 students, I took a break and went upstairs to the second floor balcony, overlooking the sanctuary of the former Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church. Even though the space has been retrofitted for use as a museum gallery, its tall, beautiful stained glass windows remain. They were a reminder that I was in a sacred space, and that brought me to a quiet place within.

In that moment, I drifted away from the scene below. I imagined myself soaring high like a seagull, looking down on the remarkable quilt. I began to slow my wing beats, circling downward, trying to catch a closer glimpse of everything that was going on below. The rich colors of red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, and violet were complementing a field of royal blue running through the center of the quilt. When I flew a little closer to the quilt, I discovered that the sparkling blue hue was the Chesapeake Bay. I could smell the salt air and hear the calling of other gulls, and it made me feel at home. I tucked in my wings and dove directly into that blue center and found such peace and tranquility.

The more I peered down at the quilt, the more I imagined myself riding on a large magic carpet. I was floating in the Gulf Stream and slowly gliding over the many towns and villages that I have come to know in my years of research along the bay. The sounds of chatter and laughter filling the sanctuary reminded me of the men and women workers of the Chesapeake. I thought of the thousands of African American women that have worked in the seafood processing plants all along the reaches of the bay, picking crabs, shucking oysters and clams, and cleaning fish. Seated at long stainless steel tables, the women would look something like communion stewards at an old Methodist church on first Sunday, but they were separating lump meat from back fin and placing claw meat in different piles. These women, dressed in white hats and aprons, would sing praise songs and gospels to break the monotony and help keep time and rhythm, because in this trade they were not paid by the hour, but by how much they produced. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s honorable, and has long been a way of life for people all over the bay -- Kent Narrows, St. Michaels, Cambridge, Salisbury, Crisfield, Solomon’s Island, and Broomes Island.

The carpet ride was so peaceful that I started to doze off into a deep sleep. But I was stirred awake by a loud noise: a flock of Canada geese overhead, flying south for the winter. The majestic birds were traveling in a V-formation. I was reminded of a lesson they learned thousands of years ago: one individual cannot go nearly as far as a group working together. And with that, I returned to the scene below, where student by student, the Chesapeake Bay’s group of defenders was growing.

The first two sessions

Thursday and Saturday's quilting sessions brought over 175 people out to work on the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt. It was an amazing experience which, as expected, ran well over our allotted times. Both quilting sessions were supposed to end at 1:00p.m., however we were still working at 2:30 p.m. both days. People from all over Maryland and beyond came out to stitch and see the quilt with many out of town folks asking how the quilt and Dr. Gaither's other works could come to them. It was such a gratifying experience.

One of the groups coming to join us during the quilting session on Saturday was the student body of the Bates Middle School Performing and Visual Arts School. The students were introduced to the quilt and the process of quilting by Dr. Gaither and then allowed to work on the quilt itself. The students helped add structural stitches along the border area to help secure the quilt backing as well as accent the designs in the quilt. They were also able to add messages to the quilt including the names of some of the fish in the Chesapeake Bay, words associated with water, and different types of shells and beads. Visitors were also offered the opportunity to dress up like a waterman thanks to props provided by Vince Leggett. One group staged an entire scene using the props they were provided. Other students created artwork out of paper, glue, and markers inspired by the quilt that will be scanned into the computer and added to the quilt.

Many family members of watermen came to the event to see the quilt and get a sense of the type of materials and stories we are looking for in anticipation of next weekend's events. The quilting session on Friday in Grasonville, MD is shaping up to be quite a celebration. In addition to the quilting session, there will be live music provided by a sit in jazz and blues jam session as well as plenty of great food. We are anticipating several watermen and their families at the sessions in Grasonville and Shady Side and hope to record some great oral histories.

I am very excited to see what the next week brings. I hope you can join us for a memorable experience.

Black Watermen of the Chesapeake Quilt in the News...Again!

Yesterday, the Baltimore Sun ran an article on Dr. Gaither's work with a special emphasis on the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt. This article, featured on the front page of the Anne Arundel County section, provides some history on Dr. Gaither and her work as well as the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt. There is a slide show with images from the Bates Legacy Center quilting session attached to the article.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel/bal-ar.quilt15nov15,0,1222604,full.story

Enjoy!

Sharing stories

As the quilting sessions progress on the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt, we would like to invite people to share their experiences on the Chesapeake Bay with us. What is your favorite memory about the Bay? Do you have a story of a family member, event, or place that is special to you involving life on the Bay?

We are hoping to collect memories both at the quilting sessions and here on the blog in the comments section that will travel with the quilt in a memory book when the quilt is on tour. Please add your stories below in the comments section.

If you would like to send photos or perhaps feel your story is too long for a comment on the blog, you are also welcome to email us your stories. Send your emails to GKaplan@goci.state.md.us.

One final note, if you would like to add a photo or story to the quilt, but will not be able to attend one of the quilting sessions, you can email the photo and/or story to us and we will consider it for inclusion. All images and stories need to be received by Sunday, November 22, 2009. You can send them to ObamaCommunityQuilt@gmail.com.

Watermen quilt event in the Capital

This morning the front page story of the Capital featured the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt with a great image of Mrs. Betty Mack quilting on one of the corners. I am posting the link to the article here.

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2009/11/14-14/Project-shares-history-of-black-watermen.html

Please come join us at one of the three remaining quilting sessions. The dates, times, and locations are listed to the right of this posting.

Table Linens Beware, Part II

In a posting last month, I wrote about Dr. Gaither's habit of "taking" items such as table linens and turning them into parts of her quilts whether it be during the planning process or as part of the actual quilts. The BoC quilt has several elements of "appropriated" items. The main fabric making up the Chesapeake Bay center of the quilt is a former table cloth with a tropical theme. The tropical part of the quilt was covered up by images of the Bay, lighthouses, crabs, and other items. If you come to one of the quilting sessions, check out the transformation.

During the quilting session yesterday, I was thoroughly entertained watching Dr. Gaither in action as she was able to get Vince Leggett of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation to give up his key lanyard off his neck which was then promptly added to the quilt. The desire for the lanyard came from the fact that it was embroidered with "Blacks of the Chesapeake." She was also able to get Vince to part with a portion of his hat that represented his role as one the Maryland four "Admirals of the Chesapeake." In her defense, one of her students did try to get a good scanned image of the pin, however when that didn't work, he gave the pin up to her.

I believe that will be the end of the "appropriated objects" added to the quilt, but one never knows. I will keep you posted if I see any other objects appear on the quilt that once belonged to someone else.

First Black Watermen of the Chesapeake Quilting Session

Yesterday marked the first public quilting session for the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt and what an event it was. People from all over Maryland came out to the Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center in Annapolis to add their stitches to the quilt, share their family stories, bring photos to be added to the quilt, provide oral history interviews, and simply have a good time.

The quilting session also saw several members of the media including representatives from the Capital in Annapolis, The Baltimore Sun, and the Capital News Service from the University of Maryland. Be sure to check your newspapers over the next few days for articles on the quilt and the quilting sessions. True to form, Dr. Gaither made everyone in attendance (well, except for me, although I am still not quite sure how I managed not to) add at least a few stitches to the quilt, members of the media included. The image to the left shows the photographer from the Sun learning how to stitch from Dr. Gaither. I can certainly say from personal experience that being asked to sew on an artwork such as the BoC quilt is a bit unnerving when you really haven't sewn before. Fortunately for those such as myself, there wasn't any shortage of good teachers at the quilting session to help make the learning curve a little less steep.

During the quilting sessions, we ran a film created by Vince Leggett detailing the history and contributions of the watermen to Maryland's history. This film provided a glimpse into an aspect of Maryland's history that I was unaware of and helped to educate me on life around the Chesapeake Bay. Coming from Central Illinois where I was surrounded by corn and soybean fields rather than waterways, life on and around the water is a completely new concept for me. It is amazing to listen to the stories on how the industry operates and the many facets of life on the Chesapeake Bay. As the quilting sessions progress, I am excited to learn more stories about the people living and working on the Chesapeake Bay.

At the session, we had one gentleman come to participate who, upon seeing the film, realized he used to fish with one of the watermen featured in the film. Uncovering connections between different people seems to be a hallmark of the public quilting sessions whether it be for the BoC quilt, J2WH, or the Community Quilt which is part of the Trails, Tracks, Tarmac exhibit. Whenever people come together to work on these quilts they seem to discover connections and relationships with other people they never realized. It is one of my favorite parts of the community quilting process. You never know what you will discover about yourself and the people around you.

We will post some of the stories to the blog as we get them and share oral history video if we can. Photos of the sessions will go online as the quilting sessions progress both within the posts and in a slide show on the right hand side of the blog.

First Quilting Session is Tomorrow!

The first quilting session for the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt is tomorrow and we are getting very excited. There has been quite a bit of feedback rolling in around the sessions and we are expecting good sized crowds. If you are planning to come to one of the sessions, please know you will not be alone. We will have many activities going on during the sessions in addition to quilting. Vince Leggett, founder of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, will be screening a documentary on the lives of the watermen, we will have oral history stations, storytelling sheets for people to share their experiences on the Chesapeake, a hands-on activity for children to design a quilt square using paper, and there is always the opportunity to view the exhibits on display at the Bates Legacy Center and the Banneker-Douglass Musuem.

The sessions should prove to be very lively and "not to be missed." Come out and join us over the next two weekends for one or more session.

Blog Changes

If you are a regular follower of this blog, you will notice changes beginning today to the look of the blog. We started the blog in December 2008 to follow the Journey to the White House quilt from community quilting sessions through exhibition. The growing popularity of the blog and Dr. Gaither's ever increasing number of projects have brought us to the point where we feel the original blog is a bit too restrictive. As the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt is moving along and the national tour of Dr. Gaither's artwork is quickly approaching we wanted to add that content to the blog, but under the original blog format it didn't flow as well as we wanted. We want to add content to this site that will incorporate all of the community quilting projects as well as some of Dr. Gaither's other works. The changes we are making will not alter the content, in fact it will increase what we include.

The biggest change you will see is to the web address of the blog. The new web address is http://www.joangaither.com/. If you type in the old address (http://obamacommunityquilt.blogspot.com/) you will still reach the blog. By changing the address it will be easier to find the blog for people looking for Dr. Gaither's works. In the next few days we will add images of some more of Dr. Gaither's works including the latest addition to the American Series, Black Watermen of the Chesapeake.

As we work on making these changes, please let us know what you think by leaving a comment here or sending an email.

Dr. Gaither Receives Legacy Award

On Wednesday, November 4, Dr. Gaither received the Legacy Award from the Four Rivers Heritage Area during their 6th annual heritage awards ceremony.  According to the nomination requirements the Legacy Award "recognizes an individual or group who continues or preserves a traditional craft or livelihood—a craftsperson, waterman, farmer, quilter, musician, boat builder, etc."

Click here to read an article from the Capital on the Heritage Awards Ceremony and all of the award winners.

Congratulations Dr. Gaither!

Dr. Gaither on Community Quilting Projects

Last week Dr. Gaither received the Legacy Award from the Four Rivers Heritage Area based on a nomination I submitted on her work with the community with a special focus on the J2WH project. As I wrote the nomination, I went through old emails dating back to the very beginning of the J2WH project when we had only just agreed to display the quilt and host quilting sessions. As I read those emails, I came across the following passage Dr. Gaither wrote in one of the emails on why she is doing so much community quilting work. In light of the upcoming Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt public quilting sessions beginning this week, I thought I would share a part of that email.

I wanted to share the communal activity of the quilting process, as I did for the other quilts in the series, with those in my multiple communities. There is great joy, celebration, storytelling, and reflection that occurs when multiple storytellers come together in this very accessible creative process. I believe that each of us has a story that only we can tell and NEEDS telling. What greater time than the present to stop and reflect on this moment in time and record a permanent response to leave for the "generation not yet born." It is my hope that in sharing the process with my communities, this will give them cause to reflect on or to continue to reflect on their place in history, important people, places, and events that have helped to shape their lives and want to expressively respond in some creative manner. My format is documentary story quilts; others might write poetry, create a video, sculpt - wherever their reflections and artistic thoughts take them.

The Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt is truly a community effort that will incoporate many different groups through the images on the quilt, the stories collected, the people participating in the sessions, and those who simply come to see the quilt. During the J2WH community quilting sessions that took place in December 2008 and January 2009, nearly 500 people participated in the creation of that magnificent artwork. From the early feedback we are receiving, it appears the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilting sessions will be even larger.

We are very excited for the next two weeks and look forward to sharing the quilt. Please come and join us for a truly unforgettable experience.

Community Quilting

As the date of the first public quilting session for the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt moves closer (next Thursday, 11/12 at the Bates Legacy Center from 10:30am-1:00pm), I am starting to feel quite a bit of excitement about this project. The quilt is coming together beautifully with changes and new objects and images appearing every day. As with J2WH and all of Dr. Gaither's other quilts, I have already had an incident of seeing something on the quilt for the first time even though it has been there all along.

Also like J2WH, there is a frantic energy wrapped up in this piece with many different hands coming together to ready the quilt for its public outings and tour schedule. With the first exhibition opening of the tour occurring in a little over a month, Dr. Gaither is understandably busy and working at the speed of light it seems to get everything completed. I have even gotten wrapped up in this frantic work, finding myself actually quilting on Friday evening when I went to her workspace to get photos of the quilt for publicity. My camera battery decided to be uncooperative and the next thing I knew I was standing next to Dr. Gaither as she was showing me how to stitch into place some of the fabric along the border of the quilt. To understand how bizarre this experience is, I should probably mention that Dr. Gaither commented several times that she wanted a camera to document this occasion and that she couldn't believe I was actually quilting. In my defense, I did quilt on J2WH. I added stitches to the center section to help secure it during the quilting session at the Bates Legacy Center.

I hope you join us at one of the public quilting sessions in the next few weeks. We want to have as many people share their experiences of the Chesapeake Bay. You don't have to be a waterman to participate. The quilt is designed to encompass all experiences on the Chesapeake. Come share your experience with us and help create a work of art that will be shared throughout the nation for years to come.

Sneak Peek of the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake Quilt

Check out the image below for a sneak peek of Dr. Gaither's latest work, Black Watermen of the Chesapeake. This quilt is the newest installment of the American Series and features the people, places, and communities associated with Maryland's African American watermen.

The image below was taken nearly three weeks ago and the quilt has changed dramatically since then, but I wanted to share this work in progress to encourage as many people as possible to come join in the public quilting sessions next month. Dates, times, and locations of the quilting sessions may be found to the right of this posting.