Family Quilt: Fiber Arts, silk screen, hand coloring

Second Grade
Teacher Partners: Mrs. Cantz, Ms. Tiaa Rienvald
Collaborator: The Fabric Workshop and Museum
Teaching Artist: Carol Royer

	A student's quilt (detail).

How might a family quilt become a community quilt? The rich tradition of African American quilting inspired this exploration of family heroes and heroines. A reading of the story Tar Beach by Faith Ringold set students on a journey of self-reflection, as each student drew images of themselves and their family members for this community quilt. The students also studied quilt motifs, which then inspired their own imaginative symbols. In this project, an exercise in self-identification as a means toward exploring a concept; heroism and an art tradition; quilting sews commonalities together as it mirrors the diverse symbolic and figurative images of a community.