My quilt
TEP 1 – Make something out of found objects:
Like the quilters of Gee’s Bend who made beautiful quilts out of old clothes and scraps of fabric found around the house, find materials in your home, yard, or neighborhood and make something out of them. What you make can be practical or artistic. In other words, it can have use, or it can be for aesthetic purposes. There are countless things you can make, from painted-rock paperweights to a lap blanket from old T-shirts to a dollhouse out of cardboard boxes and well beyond. Search Pinterest and Google for “outsider art,” “found object art,” and “found object crafts,” for starters. It’s okay to purchase supporting materials such as thread, paint, or glue, but make sure the primary materials of your project are things you found.
STEP 2 – Make a 5-minute video presentation showing us your project. Center your discussion on the following questions:
· How did you decide what to make?
· Is your project practical or artistic?
· Did making your project during this time of social distancing and self-quarantine impact you emotionally? If so, how?
· Did making your help you relate to the women of Gee’s Bend?
· Many of the Gee’s Bend quilts were made during hard times. Can you draw connections between the circumstances under which they were made and the circumstances under which you made your project?
· What surprised you about the process?
· What did making your project teach you about sustainability?
· What did making your project teach you about your own creativity?
· What did making your project teach you about your family, home, or community?
STEP 3: Watch and comment on at least three of your classmates’ project videos. (You must post your video first.) Aim for your remarks to equal at least 250 words for each classmate. (That’s 750 words total.) This assignment will be open until Monday night so that you can post peer comments, but your video is strictly due by Sunday night. When you upload your video, you will automatically be assigned three peers to comment on. Obviously, if you’re among the first to upload, you’ll have to wait for others, so give it a couple of hours if you don’t receive the names of the people you’re to comment on right away.
Watch and read these related materials:
·
The Quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend
(Links to an external site.)
documentary
·
New York Times article (Links to an external site.)
: “In order to understand the brutality of American capitalism, you have to start on the plantation.” (This article is also available as a
PDF document under Files
.)
·
Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers (Links to an external site.)
·
Quilts of Gee’s Bend slideshow (Links to an external site.)
·
“The Master Quilters of Gee’s Bend” (Links to an external site.)
·
“The Alabama Women Who Made Their Quilts a Part of Modern Art” (Links to an external site.)
·
“Can You Copyright a Quilt?”