exitcreative

I’m so proud of my mom.

She just won Best in Show for the quilt pictured above at the Morris Graves Museum/Humboldt Arts Council Member Show. The art there was a pretty incredible cross-section of artists from California’s North Coast, including several phenomenal paintings, photographs and sculptures. You know, “Real Art”.

Just in case you’re not aware, a lot of artists and art critics don’t consider quilting an “Art”, instead calling it a craft. And to be sure, there is a great deal of “craft” involved in the creation of an Art Quilt, but no more than is required to create a stunning photograph or painting. So it’s validating to win such an award, especially when going up against more traditional art forms.

Congratulations, mom.

Here’s her artist statement:

Cabrini-Green Public Housing

Wikipedia: Cabrini-Green in a public housing project in Chicago’s North Side. At its height, Cabrini Green was home to 20,000 people, living in mid and high rise apartment buildings. Over the years gang violence and neglect created terrible conditions for the residents and the name Cabrini-Green became symbolic of problems associated with public housing in the United States. Currently 5,000 residents remain in Cabrini-Green.

My son rides past what remains of Cabrini-Green on his way to work in Chicago. Most of the original housing projects have been torn down and are being replaced by newer buildings. This 15-story high rise is one of the last remaining buildings. The structure is scarred with fire damage, there are burned out apartments, and a majority of the windows are boarded up or covered in newspaper. My son was impressed with how much this building reminded him of a quilt. There are one hundred and sixty-five identical rectangular window units; all the same and all very different. Many people still call this home, and to continue the quilt analogy, the residents find warmth and security in this soon to be demolished building.

Again, congratulations.

And also to my cousin Adam Parker Smith, who I’ve written about before, whose Bold as Love installation was picked up in Fiber Arts.