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Bellefonte Museum for
Families of Centre County Museum home | Current schedule | Past exhibits
Exhibit dates: September 27 through December 20, 2009
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Works in the exhibition:
Pennsylvania and
environs appliqué artists: Panama, Kuna Indians appliqué work by several Kuna community members Benin (Africa), Fon Tribal Community appliqué work by artist, Y. Brice Special appreciation extended to Peggy Sloves and Maya Spence for lending art to the show and to the artists who loaned their works.
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The exhibition is partially funded by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Borough of Bellefonte. Accompanying programs will include craft classes for children and adults and on site activities for families visiting the show. “A World of Stitches: appliqué art from Benin, Panama and Pennsylvania” is a show of the particular craft of appliqué and related needlework from three very different cultures. The variety of design, motif and theme afford contrast, whereas the basic craft demonstrates the universality of appliqué. The works in the exhibition are original creations by the artists and include images from the natural world, cultural themes, and symbols from holidays and celebrations. Appliqué needlework is an international craft; from early American homes to tribal ceremonies, appliqué has been around a long time and is still very popular. Evidence of clothing decorated with pieces of cloth to form designs has been found in the tombs of persons from ancient cultures. Appliqué designs on quilts were very popular in the USA during the 18th and 19th centuries. In our country, women have been the appliqué artists and quilters, but in other cultures men created the textiles and made the textile crafts. This continues to be true in Benin (Africa), one of the three countries featured in the exhibition. In Panama, also featured in this show, women are the textile artists. Their designs are made using many layers of fabric. It is assumed that appliqué owes part of its origin to supply. When fabrics were all made by hand on simple looms or imported at great expense, every remnant of fabric was valuable. The exhibition includes examples of appliqué work on decorative pieces and useful objects including coverlets, wall hangings, patches for quilt making, flags and clothing. Appliqué, which is a French term, is a type of decorative needlework that involves cutting pieces of one fabric and sewing or otherwise applying them to the surface of another fabric. An image or design is obtained by superposing patches of colored fabrics on a basic fabric. The edges of the patches are sewn in some form of stitch either by hand or machine. Appliqué creations may have embroidery work or additional decorations like ribbons, sequins or even mirror work. By exhibiting examples from Benin (Africa), Panama and our own community, we demonstrate a common style of craft and suggest possible origins of craftwork and the shared creativity of people from a wide variety of cultures and traditions. The exhibition curator is Patricia House.
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