Mama’s Birthday Tree Quilt
- Cotton
-
95.5 x 70 in
(242.57 x 177.8 cm)
- Dorothy Vance
This large quilt was made as a present for Dorothy's mother on her 90th birthday. In preparing for this quilt Dorothy sent small pieces of colored fabric to family members and friends across the country, asked them to sign their pieces in ball-point pen and return them. (Her grandson, Garrett, at age two was too young to write, so he signed his piece with the outline of his hand.) She then stitched the signatures in place, hemmed the pieces in various shapes (including circles, flowers, leaves and hearts), and stitched them onto the family tree, a plant potted in a Hills Brothers Coffee can. (Hills Brothers was the family coffee of choice while Dorothy was growing up in Pueblo, Colorado.) The tree has some inhabitants: a ladybug, a cat, a bird, and is that an iguana up there on the right? The ultimate significance of the zaftig blithe spirit hovering over the whole floral scene has been left to the viewer's imagination.
Technique: whole cloth with borders, hand stitched, appliqued, embroidered, tied
Culture: America
Geographic Location: North America, California
Credit Line: Gift of Vance Family Trust
- Subject Matter: Art Quilt
- Created: 1993
- Inventory Number: 2008.393.005