#celebratingblackquilters — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #celebratingblackquilters, aggregated by home.social.
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#ScribesAndMakers May 16. Create a poll with three websites you reference for your creative work and one you don't. Ask people to guess the one you don't.
Three of these are major sources for the #CelebratingBlackQuilters threads. One I don’t use as much for individual quilter research, but it’s a great resource anyway
There wasn’t room for one more, but I feel like shouting out sjsacademy.org too
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#ScribesAndMakers May 16. Create a poll with three websites you reference for your creative work and one you don't. Ask people to guess the one you don't.
Three of these are major sources for the #CelebratingBlackQuilters threads. One I don’t use as much for individual quilter research, but it’s a great resource anyway
There wasn’t room for one more, but I feel like shouting out sjsacademy.org too
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#ScribesAndMakers May 16. Create a poll with three websites you reference for your creative work and one you don't. Ask people to guess the one you don't.
Three of these are major sources for the #CelebratingBlackQuilters threads. One I don’t use as much for individual quilter research, but it’s a great resource anyway
There wasn’t room for one more, but I feel like shouting out sjsacademy.org too
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#ScribesAndMakers May 16. Create a poll with three websites you reference for your creative work and one you don't. Ask people to guess the one you don't.
Three of these are major sources for the #CelebratingBlackQuilters threads. One I don’t use as much for individual quilter research, but it’s a great resource anyway
There wasn’t room for one more, but I feel like shouting out sjsacademy.org too
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Video about Gary Tyler, a quilter incarcerated for 42 years for a crime he did not commit
https://www.nbcmiami.com/on-air/as-seen-on/voices-reclaiming-his-time-one-quilt-at-a-time/3555669/
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And finally, it is rarely easy to describe a quilt, especially when it uses as many colors and techniques as these quilts do. But there were two that I felt I wrote particularly good alt text for -
When Hope Unborn Had Died
https://mastodon.art/@inarticulatequilter/113969048073552425My Dreams
https://mastodon.art/@inarticulatequilter/114076448509678901
***So that's the end of #CelebratingBlackQuilters posts for #BlackHistoryMonth 2025. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for following along and, as always, warm wishes!
🧵
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I’m going to miss researching and writing the #CelebratingBlackQuilters thread for #BlackHistoryMonth 2025. Now that the month is ending, I put together a few notes, some odds and ends that didn’t fit into the daily posts
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthDorothy Burge (1956?-) used her industrial design and urban planning degrees as a springboard for a lifetime of public housing and criminal justice activism in Chicago. Her sewing career started with making banners for protests; later she adopted the recognizable figural quilt style she employs today
Representative work:
Eric Blackmon
Applique/Paint
92”x24”
2019More info: https://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org/to-speak-for-yourself-on-the-many-lives-of-dorothy-burge/
Photo credit: Textile Center Minnesota
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthElizabeth Talford Scott (1916-2011) learned quilting from both parents growing up in South Carolina. After a career as a domestic worker, she expanded on those childhood lessons, developing a unique, mixed media style. Later in life, she often partnered with her daughter, artist Dr. Joyce Scott, on collaborations
Representative work:
My Dreams
Mixed media
71”x57”
1987-88More info: https://www.goyacontemporary.com/artists/elizabeth-talford-scott-estate/biography
Photo credit: Goya Museum
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthSara Trail (1995-) was a quilt book author and fabric designer by the age of 12. After creating a portrait quilt of Trayvon Martin when she was 17, she realized traditional quilting spaces no longer welcomed her evolving interests. She now runs the Social Justice Sewing Academy, using quilting to give kids a voice
Representative work:
Rest in Power Trayvon
Applique
Unknown size
2012Photo credit: SJSA
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthMozell Benson (1934-2012) raised 10 children as a bus driver in Alabama. Widowed in 1968, she began strip piecing quilts to keep her large family warm. She used seasonal rhythms to inform her NEA Heritage Fellowship-awarded work, piecing and gardening most of the year, then quilting tops in the winter
Representative work:
Sampler Variation Quilt
Pieced cotton
67”x88”
1985More info: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/mozell-benson/
Photo credit: Folk Art Museum
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthEaramichia Brown always wanted to be in fashion, so of course she became a Howard University Law grad. The quilting part of her life began in earnest with an art quilt for an aunt who lost everything in Katrina. Today she balances being a lawyer and fiber artist, though is happiest when those two worlds combine
Representative work:
The Advocate
Applique/Digital drawing
50”x30”
2019More info: https://createwhimsy.com/projects/spotlight-earamichia-brown-fiber-artist/
Photo credit: VMOTA
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthBasil Kincaid (1986-) comes from a family that has quilted for 9 generations. Splitting his time between St. Louis and Ghana, he is known for the scale and dimensionality of his quilts, with massive works that often include multiple fabrics and repurposed textiles
Representative work:
Buttons in the Sky Bursting at the Seams
Kente/Ghanaian Wax Block/Other
144”x204”x12"
2023More info: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/meet-basil-kincaid-miami-beach-2402768
Photo credit: Rubell Museum
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthBeverly Y. Smith (1957-) combines graphite drawings of figures with vintage textiles, hand embroidery, machine stitching and paint to create her unique mixed-media quilt style. Many of her pieces depict family members from the present day or are based on the stories of ancestors whose lives she has researched
Representative work:
Not Just Child’s Play
Mixed Media
54”x43”
2018More info: https://carolinekipp.com/social-distancing-studio-visits/2020/11/17/beverly-y-smith
Photo credit: B. Smith
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthNedRa Bonds (1948-) learned to quilt as a kid but as an adult pursued a career in a civil rights activism. In 1989, after learning her historic Black Kansas neighborhood was slated to become a landfill, she made a quilt to display at civic meetings in protest - and won. She’s not stopped making quilts, or protesting, since.
Representative work:
The Price
Applique
27”x31”
2011More info: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37450269.amp
Photo credit: CU Bioethics
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthYvonne Wells (1939-) made her first quilt in 1979 because her home was being remodeled and she needed a warm blanket while the furnace was down. Self-taught in both piecing and applique, she describes her folk art story quilts as falling into four design categories: religious, sociopolitical, children’s and potluck
Representative work:
Noah’s Ark
Applique
72”x66”
1988More info: https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/yvonne-wells-quilts-retrospective-book-interview-2024
Photo credit: Smithsonian
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthEd Johnetta Miller (1945-) was a professional weaver before taking up improv quilting 30 years ago. While her works, which often incorporate photo transfers, are exhibited worldwide, she is also an artist in residence at local schools and uses her art to raise awareness of breast cancer among Black women.
Representative work:
Right of Passage
Improv Pieced/Applique
60”x52”
1996Photo credit: EJ Miller
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Posted about quilter Chawne Kimber in the #CelebratingBlackQuilters thread today as she came up in conversation overnight; seemed fitting
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthChawne Kimber (1971-) turned to quilting in the mid aughts. Her signature improv word art-style continues to evolve, but she is mostly known for her unique voice, deliberate fabric choices, color placement and hand stitching. A math professor/university dean by day, her pseudonym Cauchy references her fav mathematician
Representative work:
Still Not
Pieced/Sashiko
71”x69”
2019Photo credit: C. Kimber
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthPatricia A. Montgomery has been quilting for over 40 years. Early on, her quilt style featured story quilts with very heavy topstitching. But more recently, she emerged as the ‘Coat Lady’ for a series of quilted swing coats each celebrating a woman who made a contribution to the US Civil Rights movement
Representative work:
Claudette Was Arrested
Pieced/Appliqué
Size unknown
2014Photo credit: LJ World
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthBisa Butler (1973-) was encouraged to be an artist from age 3, but it wasn’t until her Master’s thesis involved quilting that she found a calling. Her life-size, hyper-colorful representations of famous Black figures and everyday African-Americans invite people to "engage in dialogue” instead of just viewing
Representative work:
I Am Not Your Negro
Appliqué
50”x72”
2019More info:
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/12/bisa-butler-artist-interview/Photo credit: Margaret Fox
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthCarolyn Mazloomi (1948-) started quilting in the 70s, but was for years best known as a quilt historian and mentor to other Black quilters, founding the Women of Color Quilters Network in 1986. Now retired from a career as an aerospace engineer, she recently opened her first solo gallery show in Harlem
Representative work:
Ruby’s Courage
Cotton/Paint
68”x67”
2024More info:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/quilt-artist-carolyn-mazloomi-2534710Photo credit: Claire Oliver Gallery
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthPeggy L. Hartwell (1939-) relocated to NYC from South Carolina as part of the Great Migration, not returning to her home state until 2001. Originally a jazz performer and dancer, her quilting career began in the 1970s. Much of her textile work is autobiographical, often referencing her Southern childhood.
Representative work:
Sweetgrass Basket Weaver
Cotton/Batik
40”x40”
2018More info: https://www.unitedstatesartists.org/artists/peggie-l-hartwell
Photo credit: P. Hartwell
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthMarla Jackson (1952-) was initially scorned by traditional quilters for her unique style and desire to call out historical injustices with her art. She founded the African-American Quilt Museum and Textile Academy, offering unique programs for youth and people on parole, so no one else need feel the sting such rejection
Representative work:
Became
Cotton/Paint
55” x 33”
2019More info: https://lawrencekstimes.com/2022/02/20/quilter-marla-jackson/
Photo credit: Don Jackson
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthAlice Beasley (1945-) started quilting in the late ‘80s, seeking an artistic outlet from her job as a civil rights litigator. Now retired in Oakland, CA, she prefers working with commercially printed or self-designed fabrics to create the realistic faces and figures that grace her appliqué quilts.
Representative work:
The Water Dancer
Cotton/Silk/Organza Applique
63”x60”
2023More info:
https://48hills.org/2023/08/art-fabric-portraitist-alice-beasley-story-politics-community/Photo credit: A. Beasley
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthFaith Ringgold (1930-2024) grew up in the Harlem arts scene. Gifted in painting, writing, sculpture and performance, she is best known for narrative quilts, choosing to work with textiles as an escape from Western art traditions. Her success fueled her to become an unparalleled supporter of other Black artists
Representative work:
Sonny’s Bridge
Paint/Cotton
84.5”x60”
1986More info:
https://www.nextavenue.org/faith-ringgold-story-quilts/Photo credit: Faith Ringgold
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthAisha Lumumba (1955?-) once considered herself “a mediocre art major” uninterested in quilting. Discovering the world of African-America story quilts changed that, though. The Georgia-based artist rarely places limits on her colorful textile work, exploring everything from landscapes to portraits.
Representative work:
I Am Not My Hair #27: Vote 2024
Pieced/Appliqué
50”x46”
2024More info:
https://obaquilts.com/about/Photo credit: A. Lumumba
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonth
Jessie Telfair (1913-1986) was a Georgia quilter known for several versions of the quilt shown, all made between the mid-1970s and her death. Believed to be self-taught, Telfair was inspired to make the quilts after attempting to register to vote, then being fired from her job by white officials in retaliation
Representative work:
Freedom Quilt
Pieced
74” x 68”
1983
More info:
http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2023/02/freedom-quilts-civil-rights-era.html
Photo credit: folkartmuseum.org
#Quilting -
#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonth
Gwendolyn Ann Magee (1943-2011) first made traditional quilts but quickly transitioned to powerful imagery tied to Black history and her own participation in the civil rights movement. A magazine featuring her work was once censored by JoAnns for its graphic portrayal of Black life in the US
Representative work:
When Hope Unborn Had Died
Pieced/Appliqué/3D
50”x72"
2004
More info:
https://southernspaces.org/2014/lift-every-voice-and-sing-quilts-gwendolyn-ann-magee/
Photo credit: Dave Dawson
#Quilting -
#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthStephen Towns (1980-) established himself as a painter, taking up quilting in 2013 because the stories he wanted to tell worked better in fabric. The first major museum exhibition of his quilts was held just 4 years later. He continues to use both paint and fiber today, often in the same collection.
Representative work:
Birth of a Nation
Pieced/Appliqué
66”x90”
2014More info:
https://www.textileartist.org/stephen-towns-quilting-narratives-of-the-black-experience/Photo credit: Stephen Towns
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#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthClara Nartey was born and raised in Ghana and moved to the US for her MBA. The 2008 economic crash left her free to experiment with digital painting, machine embroidery and quilting on textiles she designs herself. In addition to her artistic work, she also lectures on creativity and marketing.
Representative work:
Radiance
Ink/Thread/Cotton
Pieced/Appliqué
40”x30”
2022More info:
https://www.quiltingdaily.com/clara-nartey-in-conversation-with-quilting-arts-magazine/
Photo credit: Gaudio Fine Art -
#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonth
Janet Saboor is a former Atlanta, GA art gallery owner who took up quilting around the turn of the millennium. Her work, influenced by a lifetime of international travel and activism, has come full circle as her mixed media quilts are frequently exhibited in art galleries today.
Representative work:
They Could Have Cuffed Us, Instead They…
Pieced
Size unknown
2018More info:
https://www.mergeliterarymag.com/multi-media-quilt-review.html
Photo credit: scalawagmagazine.org
#Quilting -
#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonth
Harriet Powers (1837-1910) learned to sew while enslaved in Georgia. After the Civil War, she and her spouse owned a farm, but financial difficulties forced her to sell the quilt shown (for $5!) She is known to have made many quilts with religious and astronomical themes, though only two of her works have survived.Representative work:
The Bible Quilt
Appliqué
88”x74”
1886
More info:
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_556462
Photo credit: Smithsonian
#Quilting -
#CelebratingBlackQuilters
#BlackHistoryMonthRosie Lee Tompkins (1936-2006) learned quilting as a child but didn’t pursue the craft seriously until later in life. 500+ works from her 2½ decade quiltmaking career are in the permanent collection of the Berkeley Art Museum. Born Effie Mae Martin, Tompkins was a pseudonym used to protect her privacy.
Representative work:
Untitled
Cotton, wool, polyester
104” x 145”
c. 2002More info:
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/rosie-lee-tompkins-0Photo credit: Ben Blackwell