First Quilting Session is Tomorrow!

The first quilting session for the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt is tomorrow and we are getting very excited. There has been quite a bit of feedback rolling in around the sessions and we are expecting good sized crowds. If you are planning to come to one of the sessions, please know you will not be alone. We will have many activities going on during the sessions in addition to quilting. Vince Leggett, founder of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, will be screening a documentary on the lives of the watermen, we will have oral history stations, storytelling sheets for people to share their experiences on the Chesapeake, a hands-on activity for children to design a quilt square using paper, and there is always the opportunity to view the exhibits on display at the Bates Legacy Center and the Banneker-Douglass Musuem.

The sessions should prove to be very lively and "not to be missed." Come out and join us over the next two weekends for one or more session.

Blog Changes

If you are a regular follower of this blog, you will notice changes beginning today to the look of the blog. We started the blog in December 2008 to follow the Journey to the White House quilt from community quilting sessions through exhibition. The growing popularity of the blog and Dr. Gaither's ever increasing number of projects have brought us to the point where we feel the original blog is a bit too restrictive. As the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt is moving along and the national tour of Dr. Gaither's artwork is quickly approaching we wanted to add that content to the blog, but under the original blog format it didn't flow as well as we wanted. We want to add content to this site that will incorporate all of the community quilting projects as well as some of Dr. Gaither's other works. The changes we are making will not alter the content, in fact it will increase what we include.

The biggest change you will see is to the web address of the blog. The new web address is http://www.joangaither.com/. If you type in the old address (http://obamacommunityquilt.blogspot.com/) you will still reach the blog. By changing the address it will be easier to find the blog for people looking for Dr. Gaither's works. In the next few days we will add images of some more of Dr. Gaither's works including the latest addition to the American Series, Black Watermen of the Chesapeake.

As we work on making these changes, please let us know what you think by leaving a comment here or sending an email.

Dr. Gaither Receives Legacy Award

On Wednesday, November 4, Dr. Gaither received the Legacy Award from the Four Rivers Heritage Area during their 6th annual heritage awards ceremony.  According to the nomination requirements the Legacy Award "recognizes an individual or group who continues or preserves a traditional craft or livelihood—a craftsperson, waterman, farmer, quilter, musician, boat builder, etc."

Click here to read an article from the Capital on the Heritage Awards Ceremony and all of the award winners.

Congratulations Dr. Gaither!

Dr. Gaither on Community Quilting Projects

Last week Dr. Gaither received the Legacy Award from the Four Rivers Heritage Area based on a nomination I submitted on her work with the community with a special focus on the J2WH project. As I wrote the nomination, I went through old emails dating back to the very beginning of the J2WH project when we had only just agreed to display the quilt and host quilting sessions. As I read those emails, I came across the following passage Dr. Gaither wrote in one of the emails on why she is doing so much community quilting work. In light of the upcoming Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt public quilting sessions beginning this week, I thought I would share a part of that email.

I wanted to share the communal activity of the quilting process, as I did for the other quilts in the series, with those in my multiple communities. There is great joy, celebration, storytelling, and reflection that occurs when multiple storytellers come together in this very accessible creative process. I believe that each of us has a story that only we can tell and NEEDS telling. What greater time than the present to stop and reflect on this moment in time and record a permanent response to leave for the "generation not yet born." It is my hope that in sharing the process with my communities, this will give them cause to reflect on or to continue to reflect on their place in history, important people, places, and events that have helped to shape their lives and want to expressively respond in some creative manner. My format is documentary story quilts; others might write poetry, create a video, sculpt - wherever their reflections and artistic thoughts take them.

The Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt is truly a community effort that will incoporate many different groups through the images on the quilt, the stories collected, the people participating in the sessions, and those who simply come to see the quilt. During the J2WH community quilting sessions that took place in December 2008 and January 2009, nearly 500 people participated in the creation of that magnificent artwork. From the early feedback we are receiving, it appears the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilting sessions will be even larger.

We are very excited for the next two weeks and look forward to sharing the quilt. Please come and join us for a truly unforgettable experience.

Community Quilting

As the date of the first public quilting session for the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt moves closer (next Thursday, 11/12 at the Bates Legacy Center from 10:30am-1:00pm), I am starting to feel quite a bit of excitement about this project. The quilt is coming together beautifully with changes and new objects and images appearing every day. As with J2WH and all of Dr. Gaither's other quilts, I have already had an incident of seeing something on the quilt for the first time even though it has been there all along.

Also like J2WH, there is a frantic energy wrapped up in this piece with many different hands coming together to ready the quilt for its public outings and tour schedule. With the first exhibition opening of the tour occurring in a little over a month, Dr. Gaither is understandably busy and working at the speed of light it seems to get everything completed. I have even gotten wrapped up in this frantic work, finding myself actually quilting on Friday evening when I went to her workspace to get photos of the quilt for publicity. My camera battery decided to be uncooperative and the next thing I knew I was standing next to Dr. Gaither as she was showing me how to stitch into place some of the fabric along the border of the quilt. To understand how bizarre this experience is, I should probably mention that Dr. Gaither commented several times that she wanted a camera to document this occasion and that she couldn't believe I was actually quilting. In my defense, I did quilt on J2WH. I added stitches to the center section to help secure it during the quilting session at the Bates Legacy Center.

I hope you join us at one of the public quilting sessions in the next few weeks. We want to have as many people share their experiences of the Chesapeake Bay. You don't have to be a waterman to participate. The quilt is designed to encompass all experiences on the Chesapeake. Come share your experience with us and help create a work of art that will be shared throughout the nation for years to come.

Sneak Peek of the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake Quilt

Check out the image below for a sneak peek of Dr. Gaither's latest work, Black Watermen of the Chesapeake. This quilt is the newest installment of the American Series and features the people, places, and communities associated with Maryland's African American watermen.

The image below was taken nearly three weeks ago and the quilt has changed dramatically since then, but I wanted to share this work in progress to encourage as many people as possible to come join in the public quilting sessions next month. Dates, times, and locations of the quilting sessions may be found to the right of this posting.

New American Series Quilt & Public Quilting Sessions!!!

While the blog has been silent for the past few weeks, it is only a sign that much work has been going on behind the scenes. Dr. Gaither has been busily working on the latest addition to the American Series entitled Black Watermen of the Chesapeake. The quilt documents the lives of the African American men and women involved in Maryland's maritime occupations.

I have seen the quilt twice in the past few months and can say it is amazing. I will post pictures in the next day or so. When the quilt is photographed, the images end up looking like a 3-D map of the Chesapeake Bay. This quilt has the same multi-layered border as the other American Series quilts, with some additions to make it a bit more nautical. As the quilt comes together, images of people and places will be added throughout to tell the story of the watermen.

Just as J2WH was a race to the finish to get it completed before going on display, work on the Black Watermen of the Chesapeake quilt is moving along at an accelerated rate. It must be finished in time to go to Hartford, CT for the opening of a new exhibit featuring the American Series on 15 December 2009. With that being said, many people are hard at work to help Dr. Gaither complete this quilt.

Another great aspect the new quilt shares with J2WH is that Dr. Gaither is opening up the quilt for the public to add their stitches and messages. This will occur at 4 public quilting sessions in November in Annapolis, Shady Side, and Grasonville, MD. Anyone who would like to add a message, share a story or image of a member of their family who was/is a black waterman or involved in the maritime industry, or just help add a few stitches to the quilt is invited to participate. If anyone has pictures of watermen, please feel free to bring them to one of the quilting sessions for possible inclusion on the quilt.

The locations of the four quilting sessions are listed below. All of the events are free and open to members of the public of all ages. Please come and join us for this great project.

Thursday, November 12, 2009
10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Bates Legacy Center
1101 Smithville St.
Annapolis, MD 21401

Saturday, November 14, 2009
10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Banneker-Douglass Museum
84 Franklin St.
Annapolis, MD 21401

Friday, November 20, 2009
2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Meredith's Seafood & Carry Out
3227 Main St.
Grasonville, MD 21638

Saturday, November 21, 2009
10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Captain Salem Avery Museum
1418 East West Shady Side Rd.
Shady Side, MD 20764

For more information, please contact the Banneker-Douglass Museum at BDMPrograms@goci.state.md.us or 410.216.6186.

Farewell, What's Next, and Above All Else - Thank You!

J2WH was deinstalled this morning and what a sigh-worthy moment it was. When Dr. Gaither and one of her students, Sarah, arrived at BDM this morning to take the quilt down we all took a moment to reflect on the departure of the quilt and the many events that have taken place along its journey thus far. I asked Dr. Gaither to talk about the process of creating the quilt and how it came to be at the Banneker-Douglass Museum on film partially so that we would have a record of the exhibit but also to help reflect on a fantastic and inspiring exhibition. As Dr. Gaither spoke about the journey, I couldn't help but reflect on the many amazing stories and events I was witness to during this exhibition. Watching people come in only to stop talking and stare at the quilt or exclaim "wow," reading the comments in the book accompanying the quilt in the museum, sharing the story of the quilt and watching the many visitors get excited and ask questions, looking at the statistics for this blog as they climbed higher and higher with hits coming in from more and more areas throughout the globe, and helping to share this fabulous artwork with so many people it is little wonder why I am sad to see J2WH leave.

As for what is next, J2WH is going in for "repairs." Repairs isn't really the right word. A tune up perhaps if I am going to stick with car terminology. Dr. Gaither will be working with several folks to tighten up loose stitches, more firmly secure the rod pockets that held the quilt onto the mounting rod, and fix a few things on the body of the quilt as well as work to get out all of the dust the fabric picked up while hanging on the brick wall. If you are wondering why they would need to work on the rod pockets since it was hung for several months, this picture should help explain why. Yes those are staple removers in their hands. In order to help secure the quilt to the rod, the pockets were literally stapled to the wooden pole just in case some of the pockets didn't hold against the weight of the extra embellishments from the quilting workshops.

As the previous posting announces, J2WH will be packing up and going on tour beginning in December of this year. The quilt will go with the other quilts in the American Series for a city-wide quilt exhibition in Hartford, Connecticut. If you live in the area, be sure to stay tuned for more details on how you can see the quilts and participate in one of Dr. Gaither's workshops.

If you would like to get involved in Dr. Gaither's latest quilt, here is your chance. Dr. Gaither is currently working on the final installment to the American Series focusing on the black watermen of the Chesapeake. Dr. Gaither will open this quilt to the general public to add their own stitches just as she did for J2WH. There will be a quilting session here at the Banneker-Douglass Museum on 14 November and at the Captain Salem Avery House in Shady Side, MD on 21 November. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

For my last "what's next" segment, I want to let you know that the blog will continue and follow J2WH as it goes out on tour around the country. Please come back and read about its progress as well as find out more information on some of Dr. Gaither's other works. For an extra special treat, be on the look out for a possible posting from Dr. Gaither herself. While the previous posting was written in her name, it was a group effort to try to teach her how to blog. I have given her a few weeks to practice before I ask her to do a posting completely on her own. I guess this is my own way of teasing her as she teased me in the days leading up to the start of the J2WH exhibition about handing her more work to do.

Finally I would like to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who came out to add their stitches to the quilt, to those who came to view the quilt, to those who participated in the workshops, to those who read this blog, to those who shared the story of J2WH. The past 10 months have been a gratifying and humbling experience for everyone involved in this project and we are profoundly grateful. I especially want to thank Dr. Gaither for all that she has done on behalf of, well, everyone listed above. Without your inspiration, talent, boundless energy, generosity, and spirit none of this would have ever happened in the first place. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to make our own mark on this important time in America's history. We now send this quilt on knowing that many others around the world will be able to share in the amazing journey we have been privileged to be a part of over the past 10 months.

Genevieve Kaplan & Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither

Thank You!

J2WH Starts its Journey

As the image above indicates, the Journey to the White House quilt is finally leaving the Banneker-Douglass Museum and hitting the road. We have been promising for several months information about taking the quilt on tour and we are now able to release the details. The upcoming tour dates and cities are as follows:

15 December 2009 - 15 February 2010
Multiple venues
Hartford, Connecticut

3 March 2010 - 6 June 2010
Reginald F. Lewis Museum
Baltimore, MD

Details are being worked out for Milwaukee, WI and locations in California. Look for more information here as we finalize the details for these venues and others.

If you are interested in bringing the quilt to your area, please contact us at ObamaCommunityQuilt@gmail.com. We would like to see the quilt go to as many locations as possible to encourage more and more people to celebrate the important people, places, and events in their own journey.

The Last Day!!!

Today is the last day you can see J2WH while it is on display at the Banneker-Douglass Museum. The museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Come and see it before it leaves!