My First Artist Residency

My current days are filled with the preparations for a very special project that has been in development now for about 10 months.

Last winter and spring I wrote a grant application for an Artist in the Classroom Grant from ArtStarts in Schools whose mission is to provide innovative arts programs for young people.  My project was funded which means that I will be working at my neighbourhood Elementary school for most of this 2017-2018 school year.

My sons attend Forest Grove Elementary and being able to work alongside the wonderful teachers and staff at the school made creating this project that much more meaningful. The project is called Art + Craft: Young Hands Quilting Community. It will explore the capacity of a quilt to be both an art and functional object. For more information about the project and to follow along please subscribe to the dedicated blog: Quilting Community or on Instagram Young Hands Quilting.

Getting here has been a lot of work. Getting to the finish line of this project, May 31st 2018 will mean a lot more work. I have doubted myself and getting even this far many times. The learning curve on such an opportunity is huge. I think the key to getting through it all so far has been a driving passion to share my love of the quilted form and to connect that passion to the young people that are part of my community.

This feels like a great step towards an engaged and deepening art practice. And I will share more about this journey as it unfolds.

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JJ

Universal Declaration for Human Rights Quilt Update

As we find ourselves getting back into our fall routines Tal Fitzpatrick is collecting the last quilt blocks as they arrive in Australia for 4 quilts that will be made for this exciting craftivist project. You can find my first two posts detailing the beginnings of the project here and here.

I sent off my block in the mail in early August and after some nervous days of waiting I was relieved to see that it arrived just fine.

I mentioned the inspiration behind each element to my block in the post linked above. Overall, I hope this piece demonstrates four different textile cultures that coexist today despite the attempt by two to overthrow the other two. There are so many wonderful textile based arts in First Nations culture and they stand proudly beside European based textile works to tell rich and varied stories of people and their handiwork over the centuries.

What a monumental task Tal and her volunteers are going to have to piece and quilt all these blocks together.  Many important issues relating to Human Rights today and in the past are featured. You can visit Tal's Instagram feed to view many of the blocks. I will update you all about the project as it progresses.

You are welcome to follow along through my monthly newsletter or click here for other ways to keep up to date.

JJ