From the Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Looking at, Talking about, and Appreciating Art
This week in the #fwmoa Studio, we were inspired by the Gee's Bend quilters and their foray into printmaking with the Paulson Fontaine Press. Grab some paper scraps, scissors, and glue and design a paper patchwork quilt top with us!
We sent our new Curatorial Assistant, Jenna Gilley, into the #fwmoa vault to find some treasures! Her first find: three favorite quilts from the David Pottinger Indiana Amish Quilt Collection.
The majority of our collection is from a single collector, David Pottinger, who focused on “Amish Quilts” from the early 20th century, though our earliest quilt is from 1876. Amish quilts have two definitions: quilts made by Amish or Mennonite quilters or quilts made using traditional Amish techniques and fabrics. Amish Quilts have a distinct style that persists to quilters today. A dark base color, striking geometric designs, and fantastically intricate hand stitching are hallmarks of Amish Quilts, though of course not the only techniques found in these types of quilts. Quilting is often a community project, where many friends and family members gather to work together to create a single quilt. Much like glassblowing, quilting is a collaborative art that is passed down to the next generation. Mothers would teach their daughters from an early age what they knew. When you look at the quilts, see if any share similarities in color or style, were they made by people from the same family? From the same community?