Quilting

Upon viewing the collection of African-American quilts in the Nelson Art Gallery at UC Davis, I was particularly struck by a quilt by Rosa Ellen Kincaid. Without using the more common shapes so often found in quilts (such as rectangles, diamonds, stripes, etc.), the craftswoman managed to achieve a balance and unity in an overall pattern by her choice in placing relative shapes in a seemingly intuitive manner across the blanket. A reoccurring shape that looked a bit like a simplified figure wearing a bonnet was placed repeatedly but not systematically throughout the composition. This among other rhythmic placements of shapes contributed to a sense of wholeness when viewing the quilt. A few colors followed the same trend of non-calculated rhythm. I enjoyed this technique particularly because of this inexact quality. It made it all the more human for me. But very few of these quilts could be called exact, as the process of quilt-making does not involve precision tools but rather an age-old craft inseparable from the imperfections of the human hand. I believe it is this evidence of the creators’ hand that gives quilts their charming reputation.