The creation of this class quilt served as an opportunity for students to experiment and create as a community of artists. We used the art form of quilting to study pattern, color, and visual textures. The quilt is made up of hand dyed and batiked fabrics as well as sentimental found fabrics. We used the famous quilts of Gee’s Bend as inspiration and guidance in how to create unity and harmony in a collaborative work of art.
Students used a variety of dyeing techniques to hand dye white cotton fabric:
Tie dyed patterns using analogous color schemes
Batik dyed fabrics with hot wax using a variety of patterns
Students provided a variety of found fabrics as well; denim, old clothes, old blankets, fabric scraps
All fabrics were cut into uniform strips and arranged by color to create a "bank" of fabrics for all to use
Each individual student chose a color scheme, then "shopped" for fabrics to fit their scheme
Each student sewed their own square, which were then assembled into one large quilt