From the Stars
28"W X 21"L
detail
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Sherry Boram
Pendleton, IN
Artist's Statement: This quilt
expresses for me the meaning of E Pluribus Unum. FROM THE STARS refers
to the
original
colonies from which our
nation began and the countless stars in the heavens that surround
our planet.
Hand painted by the artist, stamped, hand and machine quilted, bead
and paper embellished.
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Kathryn Leinbach Brown
Winston-Salem, NC
The multitude of stars
represents the mass of immigrants that make up the United States
of America. From there the 13 colonies are represented
by the 13 red stripes, then going into 1 nation with the eagle over
looking us all. The red, white and blue threads that are couched
on pull all of the different people and cultures together.
Materials/Techniques- 100% cotton and cotton lame fabrics. Reverse
Appliqué, free motion quilted. Couched threads.
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“E Pluribus Unum”- Out of Many, One
17" x 12"
detail |
Written in Stone
39"W X 33"L
detail
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Jane Butler
Hillsboro, VA
Artist's Statement: I made
this quilt because the Pentagon is very special to us in Northern
Virginia
and I was
so
impressed every time I read in the
Washington Post about the outpouring of support from local businesses
and citizens to help rescue workers and contractors dealing with
the disaster. I was in nearby Alexandria when the plane hit the
Pentagon
and could see the smoke. My husband and I drove home between the
Pentagon and National Airport. Pilots, passengers and other workers
were streaming
across the highway to get away from the airport in anticipation
of another attack. We felt very lucky to get home safely.
The Washington Post was filled every day for a long time with full-page
stories about all the people who brought cases of drinking water; set
up food serving facilities; contributed flashlights, tools, heavy equipment
and anything else the rescuers asked for. The building contractor had
been on site renovating that section of the Pentagon for some time,
installing terrorist-resistant components and otherwise improving the
building to meet current needs. The improved structure survived the
impact better than it might have before. The contractor and his workers
vowed to rebuild the damaged area within one year, and they met their
own challenge, working around the clock.
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Artist's Statement: Growing
up as a non-Irish child in an all-Irish neighborhood, parish and
school,
I was often
excluded because of my nationality.
I saw all of us as American - after all, we were all born here, as
were our parents - I couldn't understand why I was singled out. Now,
looking back from the adult perspective, it's abundantly clear -
but then, despite red hair, green eyes and freckles, it was made
plain
to me by the other children that I didn't belong.
To make this quilt, I engaged my own children in conversation -what
did E Pluribus Unum mean? They could rattle off the English translation,
but I made them think
further, and it was through their exploration that we came up with a list of
words that mean "Many", drawn from as many languages
(nationalities)
as we could find using an internet search. We know there are many more that we
didn't find, but even this many was enough to open my children's eyes to the
fact that there is more than one way to say something, and more than one meaning
for "From Many, One".
The quilt is created from fabric silk-screened (by my sons and I) with some of
the different words we found, and the alignment of letters that allowed us to
form the word "One" is painted with metallic paint and foiled. The
colors are deliberate - blue background, white lettering and red 'one' are the
colors of the United States, in which we are proud to live. From the many of
us, comes this one quilt :)
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A World of Words
15” W X 14”L
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The Stranger
40” W X 36” L
detail
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Abigail Eliot
Rockford, IL
Artist's Statement: Out
of many one. Is the stranger our unknown self? Is the stranger
out
side
of our
selves,
or a reflection of the inner one?
Once we know ourselves and create peace, then can peace occur with
those out side of our selves.
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Materials: Cotton, yarns, beads
Technique: photo-transfer,
fusible appliqué, machine pieced, machine embroidery, machine
quilted, hand beaded
Artist's Statement: They were
adventurers and refugees, merchants and slaves. They were conquerors
and the
conquered,
men of God and women
of the world. All
with one hope, one dream: a free and prosperous life for their
children, and their children’s children.
Joel is an American by birth. His ancestors came from sixteen countries,
with an even wider variety of cultures and religion. All had one hope,
one dream: that Joel and his children would live free and prosperous
lives.
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Made in the USA
30" W X 34-1/2" H
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Net of Souls I: Out Of Many, One
34.5" w x 24" h
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Christy Johnston
Houston, TX
Materials: cotton, various yarns, beads (lots and lots of beads),
cotton batting
Technique: machine quilted, hand beaded
Artist's Statement: Each
of us holds a spark of life. It is our spirit, our soul, and burns
in all of us. Like the stars in the heavens, the
sparks burn in different shapes, colors, and intensities, and when
woven together, they make something beautiful.
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Peg Keeney
Harbor Springs, MI
Materials: Hand dyed and commercial fabrics, rayon, silk and cotton
threads, textile paint and chalk with cotton batting
Technique: raw edged appliquéd
figures and background
Artist's Statement: As
a response to this challenge, I met with some middle school students
and brain stormed
the idea of how to depict
the idea that we are a nation of many different peoples, with different
backgrounds, different cultures and different traditions, who come
together in belief of democracy and the rights of individuals.
The song “From the Mountains to …….” kept
going though my head. So I cut the mountains, valleys and the sea
and appliquéd
them to the backing. Next I made added figures of children of different
ethnic backgrounds holding hands and dancing at the edge of the
sea. As is often the case children best express this “oneness”,
before they are taught “difference and distrust.” As
a people we need to remember the “child” in each of
us and reach out to our neighbors.
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From the Mountains to the Valleys -
From Sea to
Shining Sea
40" x 40"
detail
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Diversity = Strength
Approximately 16" x 15"
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Becky Kelly
Kingsburg, CA
Materials: Watercolor
pencil on Muslin. Various beads, buttons and shells are attached
around the edges.
Artist's Statement: This
piece is my attempt at showing that it is our diverse cultures
that give this great country of ours its strength.
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Kathy Lichtendahl
Clark, WY
Artist's Statement: As
a naturalized citizen if the United States, the theme of "E
Pluribus Unum" holds particular significance for me. Perhaps
that is why the design for this piece seemed to come together with
much less effort than normal. Each part of the quilt has some significance:
the curved, colored "arms" represent various unique cultures;
the black and white border stands for barriers to movement and diversity,
and the multicolored center star represents a diverse community.
Viewers will see that the "arms" go both over and under
the outer border and that each arm, although consistent in color,
is made up of numerous fabrics, each with its own particular characteristics.
Many of my quilts have poems I have written on the back and this
one is no exception. The words read:
"One single color does not a rainbow
make,
Nor one lone shade of skin tone a diverse world create;
How drab would be the meadow, if but one wildflower bloomed,
How sad and lonely hearts would beat if each new soul, presumed.
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One Single Color (Does Not a Rainbow Make)
36" Diameter
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Can We Piece It All Together?
20” W X 20” L
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Penny Mateer
Pittsburgh, PA
Artist's Statement: I
am disturbed by our tendency in today's society to grow more fragmented,
to fear diversity instead of embracing it, and to champion self-interest,
protectionism, and conformity. We must acknowledge our responsibilities
to one another, and to the world and we must bear witness to the
consequences of our actions. E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many One.
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Artist Statement: I
was thinking about this challenge for a long time. I'm not that close
to the people in my community, since I work in another county from
where I live. One thing I could think of that was a steady community
for me are my friends online. No matter where we move to, our computers
still link us together. Several years ago I participated in a block
swap. This quilt is the result of the blocks I got back in that swap.
I recently finished putting these blocks together into a quilt. It
gives me a warm feeling looking at all my friends gathered into one
place.
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A Community of Friends
38.5” W x 47.5”L
detail
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E Pluribus Unum
35" x 35"
detail
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Ann Louise Mullard-Pugh
Las Vegas, NV
Artist's Statement: One
from many...all searching for Peace. But Peace is elusive...it
cannot be imposed by one person or country; Peace does not happen
in isolation. Peace does not demand that we all be the same, but
rather that we respect our differences and celebrate with each
other, sharing the joy and sorrow that each culture brings to the
table. It is a puzzle...how do we fit all the different shaped
pieces together to make a beautiful and peaceful whole...one from
many.
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Marti Plager
Louisville, KY
Materials: Commercial
and artist dyed cottons, cotton batting.
Technique: Machine
pieced and machine quilted.
Artist's Statement: Using
my "fractured" block approach, this quilt is part of
a series expressing the idea that all the races of the earth, black
and white, red and yellow, can live together in harmony and still
celebrate our diversity and individuality. In "People #2" each
color and line is distinct just as people are and yet the colors
meld together in harmonic rhythm. Each block represents a geographic
location, distinct and yet only a component of the planet earth.
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And the People Shall Color the Earth #2
36” W X 22” L
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Karst Politics
32" x 34"
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Barbara Pozek
Kimberling City, MO
Materials: Cotton
fabrics, various yarns and fibers and fusible fibers.
Techniques: Curved
piecing, couched twisted fibers and free motion quilting.
Artist's Statement: America
has the reputation in the world as being a green land of opportunity.
When we look below the surface, we see it is made up of layers of
hopes and dreams for a new life. Accumulated over time it creates
the rock our nation is built upon.
Abrupt political changes and slower social changes shape the nation in positive
and negative ways. Despite the changes, Americans remain linked together
in a changing landscape of our own making.
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Meena Schaldenbrand
Plymouth, MI
The Statue of Liberty wears a
cloak of the Pledge of Allegiance to one country, and has many strong
and diverse roots from all over the world.
Her torch emphasizes, United We Stand.
Her arms and face are made of wire mesh.
Her crown is made of a red, white and blue metal pop can.
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One Allegiance, Many Roots
20" x 24"
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Written in Stone
39"W X 33"L
detail |
Sarah Ann Smith
Friday Harbor, WA
Artist's Statement: A
Quiltart list discussion about public art helped resolve my dilemma:
how to interpret the powerful words which for me represent the
concept of "out of many, one” into a graphic image.
I offered the FDR Memorial in Washington, D. C., as a good example.
FDR's words etched in stone I provided the idea to use the words
themselves as the image, drawing on the FDR memorial with its
outdoor rooms, waterfalls and pools. Since I was a child, I loved
to read the last names on TV credits because they reveal the
diversity of our nation, so I quilted the names of my community
of family, friends and quiltart list members into the stone.
When our nation was founded, the words of the Declaration of Independence
the Constitution were seen as mere "parchment barriers," but
as the words of our finest twentieth century presidents reveal, those
principles have become ingrained in the psyche of our nation. They are
not just a foundation for, but also the living core of our political
culture. These presidents' words serve as an example of how a nation
can live in peace and celebrate the diversity that creates one out of
many.
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Karla Thomas Solomon
Vienna, Austria
Artist's Statement: "E
Pluribus Unum" has meaning on so many levels, from the multiplicity
of peoples and countries that make up the world, down to the variety
of cells that make up a human being. "Heterogeny Hop" is
a visual celebration of the diversity within an individual. The
figures, originally static in their whole forms, perform their
own unique dance when cut into quarters and combined. Each person
takes their biological and environmental influences and creates
their own unique person from it--from many, one.
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Heterogeny Hop
36.5" x 23"
detail
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Together
22”W X 31”L
detail
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Julie Zaccone Stiller
Boulder Creek, CA
Materials: Scraps
of commercial cottons and fabrics dyed, painted, discharged by
the artist. Glass beads.
Artist's Statement: E
Pluribus Unum, what does this mean in my world?
Nice concept, difficult to achieve in reality. Many parts brought together,
assembling disparate elements together like pieces of an impossibly complicated
puzzle. Brought together how? By the Common Threads than connect us as
human beings, here in this place. I truly believe that when we make the
personal effort to get past the media-driven fear-mongering and facile
classification we can learn that more UNITES us than DIVIDES us. Individually
each one of us is precious, together we are a treasure beyond measurement.
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