Busy Weekend

Looking for the chance to see some of Dr. Gaither's work and possibly the artist herself this weekend? You will have two opportunities to do just that!

Tomorrow, Friday, June 18 marks the opening of the My American Series (MAS) exhibition at School 33 Art Center. The opening reception will be held from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. at School 33. The reception is open to the public, so come one, come all! This will be the first time all six of the MAS quilts will be on display in the same place. I have had the opportunity to see the exhibition twice already and I can assure you it is amazing. You don't really realize just how large the quilts actually are until you are standing right next to one of them. When you are standing in the middle of three of them it is really impressive. Some of highlights of this exhibition (besides the quilts) include the sketches and plans for each of the quilts. The precious TTT sketch on a napkin (see posting Table Linens Beware!) is there, framed coffee spots and all. Grids explaining the layout and symbolism behind each of the quilts will be on hand to provide details and reveal some of the "secrets" of the quilts for first time and seasoned viewers alike. There is also a beautiful booklet with an essay by Dr. Leslie King-Hammond and images of the construction of each of the quilts. My favorite photo is of the J2WH border laying on Dr. Gaither's driveway showing how it came together. Signed giclee prints of Dr. Gaither's work will be available for sale at the event tomorrow night as well as cards and Trails Tracks Tarmac quilt books. If you are in the market to purchase one of the My American Series quilts, you can do that as well! For those unable to attend tomorrow night's celebration, the My American Series exhibition will be on view at School 33 until Saturday, 14 August, 2010.

Dr. Gaither will be a part of the African American Heritage Festival in downtown Baltimore beginning tomorrow and running through Sunday. Her work will be a part of a special display highlighting African American artists. At the time of this posting, I am not sure which works will be included in the exhibition. I know she was finishing one of her social justice pieces this week which I know was being considered for inclusion and I have heard her mention several other options, all coming from her social justice quilts. Many of the quilts on the list have not been seen here in Maryland before.

If you get a chance to visit one of these two events, please drop us a line and let us know what you thought of the events. If you are unable to attend, I will post images and stories from the weekend on the blog next week.

School 33 Opening Reception Reminder

Dr. Gaither has requested I re-post information about the opening of the My American Series quilt exhibition at School 33 Art Center in Baltimore which will take place a week from this Friday - 18 June 2010. The opening reception will take place at School 33 Art Center from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. It promises to be quite an evening. Please come and join in the celebration.

Exhibition Details
18 June 2010 - 14 August 2010
School 33 Art Center Gallery One
1427 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
http://www.school33.org/
Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Opening Reception
Friday, 18 June 2010
School 33 Art Center
6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Click here for more information.

My Memory Such As It Is -- AKA The Next BIG Project

Over the next year (and probably a bit longer) Dr. Gaither will be working on a project involving every community she has been associated with in her lifetime. The project is a multi-quilt project which will incorporate quilts by Dr. Gaither and quilted circles from people she who have had some sort of connection to her during her lifetime.

The project begins with two white quilts representing the decade she was born in. Out of courtesy to her, I won't state what decade that is although she has fessed up to that in the past. The quilts are square in shape and have images and memories of her life in each decade. As she works through the decades, the quilts increase in number, size, and vibrancy of color. This follows the line of thinking that as you get closer to the present, your memory is more vivid. The greater number of quilts allows for more room to show different aspects of her life as well as the growing number of communities. The final project will include 37 quilts with the largest quilt starting to approach J2WH size (8 ft by 8 ft)!

The square quilts will chart people, places, and events that were important in her lifetime as well as different personal events. The whole project was inspired by a visit to a restaurant with a large gift shop attached which sells cards/books giving the price of milk, bread, gas, cars, houses, etc. during a particular year and/or decade. She is taking the idea and putting a personal spin on it, placing these events within the context of a personal story. It is basically her memoirs in visual form. She always tells me that she doesn't like the computer so perhaps this is her way of "writing" her life story to share with others without having to sit in front of a computer screen.

This project wouldn't be a Dr. Gaither project without the involvement of the community and this project won't disappoint. The community involvement this time doesn't take place on her quilts but rather she is asking people to create their own quilted works to be included. Dr. Gaither is literally asking anyone and everyone she has ever come into contact with during her life to contribute. Participants are being asked to create circular pieces that can fit into embroidery hoops for a size between 6 and 24 inches. The design of the circles is being left up to the designer with the idea that the design should represent their relationship to Dr. Gaither and how they know each other.

Dr. Gaither is looking for a huge number of circles. The number used to be 1,000 however it appears to have doubled in the past month. I am anticipating some fun storage games with this project. If  you would like to participate in this project, please join in! Participation from Dr. Gaither's blog community is definitely welcome! Email us at JGaitherStoryQuilter@gmail.com and we will send you instructions for the quilt circle project.