Telling your story differently

Fabric Memory Art Quilts

There are many ways to tell our story. In addition to writing, there are other ways to share, from podcasts to memory art quilts. Since I’ve been a textile artist for the last 14 years, one of the ways I like to tell my story is through fabric. 

Fabric memory quilts can be bed-size with lots of pictures or small wall hangings. They can cover all types of events, vacations, or other stories.

I have several pictures of my grandmother, Lillian Haag Schatz, and her sister, Lucy Haag Macke. I never met Lucy because she died before I was born (and that is another story to tell later), but in every picture of her I have, she has such a beautiful smile. Her daughter and Mom appear in the pictures as good friends, although I never knew Lucy or her daughter. I plan to make art quilts as part of a series that shows my ancsestors and their relationships. Here, they are together as young girls and then grown women.

During the pandemic, our Indiana art group decided to have an exhibit about COVID-19 and how we dealt with it. The 20” by 20” quilts were due in December 2020 to be exhibited around the state in January 2021.

COVID: Embracing the Positives, was my contribution. Despite the isolation, the fear of this devastating virus, and seeing all the pain and suffering in the media, positives showed up. My gardening, art, daily walks, genealogy, and more helped me through 2020 and gave me hope that we would get to the other side. The Covid death total is inaccurate since it was the last number before I finished. I waited until the last minute to print that part of the quilt since I wanted it to be accurate.

Temperature quilts also tell stories. This quilt documents my city's high and low temperatures on my birthday for my first 70 years. The color key on the right side starts at the bottom below zero, and every color shows the next 5 degrees. This quilt is 21” by 35”. 

The fabric postcard group I belong to posted a memory postcard challenge in 2020. Every month, the challenge focused on a different decade. We were only given the decade. We were to decide what we wanted to say about that time in history, and create postcard-sized fabric art. We included our artist statement with each piece. Here are just a few of my monthly challenge postcard art.

1930 – The Golden Age of Radio

It was common for families to sit around the radio in the evening listening to various programs. I remember my parents talking about that special time. Several of the programs that they heard on the radio I remember watching on TV including Queen for a Day.

1940 – Rationing

I remember Mom telling me years ago that when I was whining about something, she'd say, "You should have lived through the depression. You should have had to deal with rationing." These are copies of Mom and Dad's ration booklets, and stamps printed on fabric and sewn onto the card.

Food was in short supply for a variety of reasons: Much of the processed and canned foods were reserved for shipping overseas to our military and our Allies; transportation of fresh foods was limited due to gasoline and tire rationing and the priority of transporting soldiers and war supplies instead of food; and imported foods, like coffee and sugar, were limited due to restrictions on importing.

Because of these shortages, the US government's Office of Price Administration established a system of rationing that would more fairly distribute foods in short supply. Every American was issued a series of ration books during the war. The ration books contained removable stamps for sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. A person could not buy a rationed item without giving the grocer the proper stamp. Once the ration stamps were used up for a month, you couldn't buy more of that type of food. This meant planning meals carefully, being creative with menus, and not wasting food.

1950 – Saddle Oxfords

Then we're in the 1950s, which made me think of those saddle oxfords I hated. In addition to hating to wear them, I hated to have to polish them all of the time with that little wand with the ball on the tip.

1960 – The Beatles

I remember sitting on the floor in the living room, waiting for this cute British mop-head group to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. Mom and Dad sat on the couch, baffled by all the attention these musicians received. When they came out and sang "All My Lovin," I was in love. I probably would have screamed if Mom and Dad hadn't been in the room.

1980s/1990s – Macs and Internet

There are many events from these decades, but I chose these two. I never owned one of these small Macs that I drew on this card, but I bought my first Mac in the early 1990s when I started my writing/graphic design business. It cost $5,000 – way more than any pc. My brother had died, and I received that much from his estate. In the 90s, when my graphic design business was going strong, I flew to California for a conference on designing web pages. I went out there not thinking I'd get into it. When I got home, several of my clients called to request them!

2020s – Great Aunt Mary

I had spent the last several years researching my ancestors. When I reached out to my grandfather's half-sibling descendants in 2020, I found so much, including information on my great aunt Mary, my grandfather’s sister. I connected with several 1st cousins in their late 80s and 90s who shared memories of my grandparents and their parents. It was such a joy for me, one of the activities that helped me through the pandemic, and why I wanted to dedicate this decade topic to her.

And then there are fabric books that can tell the story. This book was made about a trip to Alabama last year. Here is the cover and one of the page spreads.

Memory art quilts come in all shapes and sizes. They hold memories just like those ones on paper.