This Art Term Tuesday, we're learning about the uses of appliqué! Education Director and sewist, Alyssa Dumire, walks us through the varying appliqué techniques while reviewing quilts from our own collection.
Art Term Tuesday: Appliqué
Historical Highlight – Sampling American Quilts
We're taking a look at practical, decorative, and popularized quilts! This Historical Highlight gives us a window into the social and economic changes that shaped the quilt patterns we know of today.
Textiles Uncovered: The Milwaukee Handicraft Project
The thread of the textile collection at #fwmoa continues, stitch by stitch. Collection Information Specialist Sue Slick unravels the mystery behind a block-printed wall hanging made by the Milwaukee Handicraft Project in this blog post:
Curator’s Corner: Quilts on a Roll, or How We Store Textiles
As we look ahead to the new year, #fwmoa celebrates completing one of its resolutions: new textile storage! Learn how we store textiles, like quilts and blankets, to ensure they remain in tip-top condition in this post from curator Lauren Wolfer.
Playing Favorites: Jenna Gilley & Jean-Marcel St. Jacques
Staff at #fwmoa are playing favorites! A woodblock quilt by American artist Jean-Marcel St. Jacques caught Jenna Gilley's eye thanks to its tactile quality and color.
Saturday Studio: From Scrap to Nap
It may be hot now but it won't be for long! With June already flying by we're thinking of long summer days and cooler nights that require a blanket, or quilt. Learn to make a tie quilt in this #saturdaystudio!
Saturday Studio: Paper Patchwork
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!
Art Term Tuesday: Quilt
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?