 "Photo:")
A group of Oxford women are keeping the tradition of quilting alive by adding patches of their own colorful experiences to their creations.
The Oxford Community Arts Center (OCAC) is hosting an exhibition Feb. 13 until March 6, featuring the musical "Quilters" and a display of 30 quilts. The exhibit will open with a presentation by Linda Luggen, a quilt maker, quilting instructor, lecturer, designer and a certified judge for National Quilting Association.
The exhibit will also include a silent auction fundraiser featuring quilts donated by local artisans. Proceeds will benefit the OCAC's Children's Education programs.
Caroline Croswell, executive director of the OCAC said she is excited for the upcoming exhibit.
"I would hope the exhibit will inspire an appreciation for the journey this once simple domestic craft has taken in it's evolution into a beautiful and lasting art form," Croswell said.
Linda Kramer, chair and historical quilt coordinator for the exhibition's committee, said the director of "Quilters" wanted the musical to be accompanied by an exhibit of quilts by regional and local quilters.
Quilts on display will be categorized historically, traditionally or as customary art quilts, which rely on fabric and design to communicate expression and feeling.
Kramer said local quilters were recruited to help put the exhibit together with the help of a committee of those who teach, take classes or work at Miami University.
The musical is based on a book, The Quilters: Women and Domestic Arts, by Patricia Cooper and Norma Bradley Allen. The play, which will be performed by Oxford's theater group OxACT, will consist of several vignettes characterizing pioneer frontier life and womanhood.
The event caters to quilters specifically involved in contemporary art quilting, but Kramer said it should be interesting to all who appreciate the craft.
Kramer said Oxford's quilting guild, PieceMakers, has also contributed to the event by loaning the OCAC quilt display frames. Several members of the guild will be presenting quilts of their own during the exhibition as well.
Oxford's quilting population isn't limited to the PieceMakers, though. Croswell said informal quilt groups and individuals are also active contributors to the quilting community. Kramer said the inclusion of personal expression in one's piece, the "art quilt" movement, started in Ohio in the late 70s with some of the movement's most influential artisans educated artists at Miami during CraftSummer workshops.
Kramer said she hopes the resulting sentiment for quilters is one of a tight-knit community, fueling a succeeding appreciation for quilting as an art form.
"I hope the important aspect of the exhibit turns out to be that it has brought a community of quilters together, both the traditional quilters and the art quilters, that one will see the progression of quilting from a 'domestic craft' to an art form," Kramer said.
Croswell also thinks the exhibit will bring the community together.
"This exhibit is one more example of the community coming together at the Arts Center to 'do their thing' ... both in supporting the Arts Center … and in providing a beautiful experience for everyone who attends," Croswell said.
The event also serves to illuminate the personal expressions of the artists who created their respective quilts. Kramer attends an informal quilting group at Miami's Women's Center and said she appreciates the friendships forged there.
"I've learned that quilters are some of the friendliest, most caring, giving, interesting and fun people to be around," she said. "Each person develops their own quilting style and is inspired and encouraged by other quilters."
The quilts displayed will reflect Oxford's creative community and the personal experience of its artists.
