Why Can’t We Just Have Pretty Quilts at Quilt Shows? – Here’s why.
Honestly big quilt shows are possibly the WORST place ever to really BE with a quilt, to take it in, the fabrics, the stitches, and the possibly moving message and artists statement.
With so many people, so much noise, being bumped along with little time to process between each piece not to mention screening out some of the less than precious comments of those around you.. NOT IDEAL and yet to see a quilt in person is like seeing a bit into the soul(s) of the maker(s) and there is something so powerful about that.
All of this to say that I did not get near enough time with many quilts at the 2024 Quiltcon show in Raleigh but there were indeed quilts I was struck by and one that prompted this post.
The quilt was Maternal Mortality- 3x’s Higher by Patra Jones, a striking quilt using Hand Appliqué and Machine Piecing to shine a light on the shameful fact that Maternal Mortality is 3x higher for black women in the United States as compared to white women due to the structural racism which is endemic in our medical system.
This was not a topic I was unfamiliar with as I have long supported multiple projects working to enact change and give voice to this issue of racism faced by black women every damn day so I was pleased to see a quilt tackling this topic.
As I stole a moment to take in the quilt the woman next to me was huffing and grumbling a bit and said to me or perhaps to no- one in particular “Why can’t we just have pretty quilts at quilt shows” as she and her privilege then pushed past me in search of what I assume was a quilt that did not make her think or feel anything but butterflies and daisies. Let alone remind her that we have FAILED an entire group of women leaving them with a chance of dying in childbirth that is 3x higher than their white counterparts.
She was gone before I was able to respond but if I had I would have said “Pretty is for plastic ponies, give me Powerful any day!”.
( The utter bullshit that surrounds this topic is staggering, it is PURE racism which lives and breeds in the medical establishment putting black woman at risk and if you care to fight me on the topic you can meet me in the alley but be warned I will be the one armed with ALL the statistics and a rather wicked verbal left hook.)
Quilt shows are art shows and art is created to make us feel. Not only feel light and happy but sometime to feel that deep pit of our stomach gut-twist that grips us when we feel we have no control over or worse are possibly complicit in something due to keeping our mouths shut when they should have been loud and open even when it was uncomfortable and our voices shook.
Sadly I did not have enough time or space (gads it was crowded) to read each artist card for each quilt but at the show there were quilts that touched on loss, and pain, on LGBTQIA+ rights, on gun violence, domestic violence, racial justice and so many other painful and powerful parts of this world we find ourselves in. So many were beautiful, ( always better than pretty IMHO) but best of all they were powerful.
Quilts are art and art should make us feel, and when we feel I would contend we are called upon to act. So I ask you reader.. has there been a quilt that has changed you and called you to action?
Please take a minute to read the artist’s card for this quilt and to learn more are Maternal Mortality in the united states when it comes to all women but black women most of all.
