News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A quilt from Afghanistan is one of the featured items in Gwen Marston's presentation.
The creation of beautiful textiles is a phenomenon as old as human civilization itself.
All over the world for thousands of years, people have made functional items that are also beautiful. Folk art. Quilting is just one example of textile folk art.
Those who "Save It For Sunday" at this year's Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show will have an opportunity to explore a fabulous collection of folk art textiles compiled over a 30-year career by artist and teacher Gwen Marston of Beaver Island, Michigan.
Save It For Sunday special events run from 9:30 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 15.
Marston will host a lecture on her collection of mostly pieced and appliquéed textiles from 32 countries. In the lecture, illustrated with textiles from the collection, Marston will discuss the common characteristics of folk art the world over and share how she has adapted her quilting techniques to capture the spirit of these gems in her own work.
Two walking tours of her collection, displayed in an outdoor setting, are sold out. Signups for a possible 2:45 p.m. walking tour are being taken at http://www.sistersoutdoor
quiltshow.org (click on Events & Activities and scroll down to Save It For Sunday).
Marston's odyssey began out of simple curiosity.
"As a quilter, I got real interested in what my sisters around the world were doing with needle and thread," she told The Nugget.
She began exploring traditions from regions around the world - traditions usually handed down from mother to daughter across many generations. As her interest grew, she began collecting textiles - some contemporary, some with interesting historical provenance.
One such piece is an Uzbek horse trapping, a fabric piece that was draped across the rump of a horse for a wedding ceremony. It dates back to about 1850, but the tradition it represents is ancient.
She also has a 19th-century quilt from Afghanistan featuring silk, damask (figured fabric with origins in the Byzantine and early Islamic world), ikat (a dyeing technique) and needlepoint.
"And it's backed and quilted," she said.
Marston's treasure hunting has taken her to Africa and she keeps an eye out in shops and museums all over the U.S., wherever her teaching takes her.
One of the striking features of folk art textiles is the appearance of similar patterns and elements in pieces from different parts of the world and different epochs. Patterns that we might think of as classically "American" are also found in pieces from halfway around the world.
Most of Marston's pieces "are made for use," she said. She notes that tribal peoples around the world and across history have made functional items into art - indeed, there is no real distinction between the "practical" and the "artistic."
"Not only did they make them, they made them beautifully," she said.
Folk art is considered to be that made by "the unschooled artisan" and is often thought to be more "primitive" than "schooled" art. That's often not the case.
At any rate, it's the fluidity and spontaneity of folk art that makes it attractive. To Marston, "enthusiasm and exuberance is what makes a work artful."
Marston says that her exploration of folk art textiles has affected her own work. She seeks that exuberance, that spontaneity.
"I have a little more irregularity in my work," she notes, and she likes to include "surprises for people to discover."
Folks who Save It For Sunday will have plenty of surprises to discover - most importantly, that ineffable sense of connection with their sisters around the world and across time.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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