My House: 52"x 70", 2006

In June of 2006 I experienced a phenomenal exhibition at the Houston Museum of Fine Art titled Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. Most of these works were created by black women in 1930s.

The women were sharecroppers who made quilts for their families after enduring long, hard hours of work in the fields. Materials were meager: old clothing, tiny scraps, rags, and sometimes mill ends.

Working in isolation, these women produced exceptional designs that evolved from the traditional log cabin quilt block. Notes from the past reveal that these women were truly excited about the designs they authored.

I was inspired. Working with virtually nothing, these women had made some of the most memorable art of the 20th century. They made me believe I could make quilts.

After all, I had something: a library of fabric remnants, an embroidery sewing machine, a few quilting books, and an extensive collection of threads dating back to the 1960s. Now a full-time artist, I could also devote the majority of my time to making quilts.

On June 9, 2006, I began my first quilt. My goals were to break all the rules of quilt making that I had heard of or read about, to use materials I had on hand, and to use the imagery and freedom evoked in the Gee's Bend exhibition. Thus began My House, which depicts my home on several

architectural levels, and contains stories of my life within its rooms. The top third of the quilt could be construed as stairs, or steps.

 
(L) My House in Progress (photo from "Cell Phone" series by Salli McQuaid, 2006)
(R) My House detail

The middle quadrant is composed of literal and imaginary rooms. The bottom section depicts the various rooflines and incumbent attics.

The bottom section represents the various rooflines and incumbent attics. The bottom is purposely pantographed (stitched through all the layers) to wave in and out, breaking the "flat" rule of quilting.

Breaking further rules, I pieced fabrics without regard to bias, grain or pattern. Many kinds of fabrics were incorporated: from silk, to ribbon, to upholstery, to cotton. Threads were metallic, rayon, cotton, silk, polyester and other blends. I used imprinted edges of fabric salvages.

I even used a "turkey" illustration from a craft panel as an applique. Ironically, part of an identical craft panel, with instructions intact, was used by Sue Willie Seltzer in one of the Gee's Bend quilts. I believe Seltzer's inclusion to be one of the great conceptual art achievements of the 20th century. I was amazed that I had the opportunity to refer to the same "turkey" panel in my own work.

As is usual when making a quilt, I cannot count the hours I spent creating My House. However, the quilt was an adventure and a challenge. For this, I thank the formidable Gee's Bend quilters. 

Salli McQuaid, 2006