'Pieces of Me' at museum
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If you visit the new quilting exhibit at the Church History Museum, you'll find more than quilts.
"Pieces of Me: Quilted Expressions of Human Ties" had its public opening March 11, the day after President Thomas S. Monson cut the ribbon for it and another exhibit (please see March 19 Church News).
"We have beautiful pieces on the wall, but we did this [interesting] thing," said Jennifer Hadley, co-curator of the exhibit at the opening. "Instead of focusing on techniques and style, we also decided to look at the stories behind the quilts. And we also decided that, with those stories that are such a big part of who we are and our relationships with each other, we wanted to combine and broaden it. We wanted this exhibit to be for people who don't consider themselves to be quilters, just as much as it is for the quilters."
Thus, visitors will see pairings of quilts with related artifacts from the museum's vast collection.
For example, "To All Worthy Male Members," a 1990 quilt by Emma Allebes, celebrates the 1978 revelation extending the priesthood without regard to race. With it is displayed the shortwave radio belonging to Joseph William Billy Johnson, the first Church member in Ghana, on which he heard the news of the new revelation. He had heard of the Church in 1964, taught others the gospel, and waited 14 years for missionaries to come to Ghana and fully organize the Church there.
Many of the pieces explore family relationships. "Empty Nest" was made in 2008 by Sydney Haglund when her youngest daughter left for college and she and her husband thus became "empty-nesters." Each of the grown children is represented by a bird on the quilt having flown from the nest. The eldest daughter, who died in 1999, is shown as a bird flying above all the rest.
Near that quilt is a cradle handcrafted by Edward McGregor Patterson for the birth of his daughter, Ida May on Feb. 24, 1889. "It is an example of how the works of our hands can tell the story of the growth of a family," reads an exhibit panel.
Through interactive elements, museum visitors themselves can become part of the exhibit. They may sit down and practice some stitches. Children and others can piece together quilt blocks on a magnetic board or practice on a giant-size "Sewing Wall."
Any visitor is invited to enter the "Submission Kiosk," to record a video of his or her story regarding quilts. Within a few weeks, these will be posted on the website www.piecesofmeexhibit.org. Or, following instructions on the website, a visitor may submit a story in writing with a photograph.
Examples are available for viewing at the exhibit. Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy, for instance, shares his story of a quilt that was given to him at the time he was released as a bishop. He becomes emotional as he relates how ward members, unbeknownst to him, had each submitted a quilt block for piecing together into the quilt that was presented to him. One block was from a man who had been reactivated in the Church while Elder Jensen was bishop. The block showed a cup of coffee and a cigarette to symbolize the change in lifestyle the man had undergone in order to be fully active in the Church.
A series of lectures on quilting will be given at the museum on April 7 between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. While the exhibit runs, visitors may schedule tours in which docents dressed as pioneers will teach about pioneer-period quilting. See wwwchurchhistorymuseum.org for more information.
