Now What?

The Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt is finished. The My American Series of quilts is in Connecticut for the first stop of the tour. Does that mean Dr. Gaither has slowed down or is without a project? Of course not! If nothing else, she is even busier than ever.

She is currently working on 50 quilts. Yes, 50. There is a 36-quilt project documenting her life story by decade. This project incorporates two large scale quilts (not quite as large as the BoC quilt) and several smaller quilts which increase in size, number, and color as the decade depicted comes closer to the present. This project will also incorporate outside additions from Dr. Gaither's friends, family, and acquaintences through different sized circles depicting their relationship with her.

The next American Series quilt idea is being "stalked." Dr. Gaither has been commissioned to create a quilt to document the history of the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC. This quilt will make its debut at the festival in August 2011. She is currently doing what she calls "stalking the idea" which means she is coming up with the overall design of the quilt, finding the fabrics, and researching the content for the quilt.

She is working on several other individual quilts and stalking a few other ideas including two quilts which pay tribute to two Maryland doctors who made great contributions to their field, a social justice piece, and a quilt about her mother created in the Gee's Bend style. Additionally she is working with several individuals and organizations to create quilts to document their history.

If you would like to learn more about her style of quilting and take a class with her, you will have the chance this February. Dr. Gaither will present a workshop for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture in late February. The workshop will be held in northeast Washington DC in an area frequently photographed by the Skurlock Studio. The museum currently has an exhibition on the Skurlock Studio entitled The Skurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise on display in their "preview gallery" at the National Museum of American History. The workshop will tie into the exhibition through the use of photographs to document history whether through the photographs themselves or using images to create a quilt. I will post more details on the workshop including how to register soon.

If this wasn't enough, Dr. Gaither will be heading back to Connecticut next month for the opening of the exhibit at the Hartford Stage as well as continuing to set up future tour dates. As always, if you would like to bring any of her quilts to your area, please get in contact with us. Send us an email at ObamaCommunityQuilt@gmail.com and we will get in touch with you.

The quilts have landed in Connecticut!

Hello everyone! This Sara Allred, one of Dr. Gaither's students at MICA. I had the pleasure of accompanying Dr. Gaither and several of her quilts to Hartford, Connecticut this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Dr. Gaither will have quilts in two exhibitions in Hartford - the six "My American Series" quilts (including the Journey to the White House and the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilts) will be in one exhibition spread throughout the city, and four additional quilts will be at an exhibition at the Hartford Stage. We had a great trip and met so many people who were so excited to have the quilts start their national tour in Hartford! I have so many photos to share from our trip, so here goes:

Here is the van - packed to the brim and ready to go!

Dr. Gaither had her coffee and was ready to start the journey at 5:45 am!

I had my coffee too! We were ready to hit the road...we had a great drive, and arrived in Hartford just after noon to drop the "My American Series" quilts off at the Hartford Community Health Services building.


Here is Dr. Gaither delivering the quilts to Dr. Rick Rawlins and Andrea Montgomery of the Community Health Services of Hartford.


Dr. Gaither couldn't help but roll out a few of the quilts to show them off (as a special sneak preview!) - here is the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt - as you can see, it almost filled the office space (and attracted quite a crowd!)...

Here are Dr. Gaither and Michael Sherman (CEO of Community Health Services) holding up the Journey to the White House quilt for all to see.

Before we left, Dr. Gaither took a moment to hug her quilts good-bye as they begin the first leg of their national tour. This is the first time they will be exhibited all together (and will all be out of Dr. Gaither's possession).

Congratulations to Dr. Gaither and the many people who have supported her and assisted in the making of these quilts! Stay tuned for more specific information about dates and locations that the quilts will be shown in Hartford (and beyond!)...

Quilt Dedication Ceremony: Another Perspective

Aleithea Williams from the Four Rivers Heritage Area posted an entry on their blog about the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt dedication ceremony along with photos. Her pictures are far better than mine, so I thought I would add the link to her post to let everyone see them and get her take on the day's event.

http://fourriversha.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/a-story-quilt-and-a-spirited-ceremony/

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.