Quilting a History with Marion Coleman

I am Marion Coleman I was born in Wichita Falls Texas and I live in Castro Valley California I am an Emmy a national heritage fellow quilting has allowed me to go places meet people and do things that I could not have imagined as a 10 year old or 20 year old for that matter I'm from a family of quilters but I never really picked it up until I was an adult my great-aunt who lived to be a hundred and six took me under her wing she still until her dying day would talk to me about quilting the african-american tradition is certainly an old one that has its genesis in practicality recycling materials making bed wear and I certainly started that way it's always a thrill to think about the ancestors and what they've been doing and it gives us the courage to think that we can do it too I do a lot of stitching I'm a machine quilter although I do some hand work I often write words in my quilts or symbols or things that kind of help help the store because there's a multiple layer I like for them to see it and then I also like for people to be drawn into it to see what else they can find I just like for it to be a surprise the obvious and the mysterious at the same time because a lot of my quilts have people in them there are a number of stages sometimes I will make a transparency I will print an image on and then I use it to project them to my wall so that I can make it any size that I want to and I make a pattern very much like when you make in a block pattern and then I fill it in and I make it as I go she is absolutely the most outstanding quilter as one who has sewn all my life quilting has become my passion Marian has enabled me to recognize that whatever I quilt I own it it's my imagination that goes into it I'm always interested in presenting the human side and these quilts and it's important to me to get out in the community and spread it around Marian Coleman's significance to California's traditional arts has been singular she's been instrumental in taking quilts and textile arts directly to neighborhoods to bring youth together community groups together there is a great power in being able to tell your story as she's so exemplifies through her narrative work we've had the great pleasure of working with Marian Coleman and being able to support her as a master artist her imagination coupled with her social consciousness is what makes Marian extremely important to California and beyond thinking about it is the longest process people often say how long does it take you to make a quilt I said once I get started on it it may not take that long but it's thinking about it composing it and getting it together that's what takes the time so there's actually saying what I wanted to say Marian is a true gift to us with our latest quilt show neighborhoods coming together quilts around Oakland she allowed us to share the gifts of african-american quilters in the past in the present and to inspire our young people to move the art further into the future receiving the National Endowment for the Arts fellowship means an acknowledgement of the body work that I've created through time my connection with other quilters locally and across the nation my connection with community members young and old and it is the highest honor I could have ever received and I am thrilled to be a fellow you

Channel: Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Views: 9,544

Rating: 4.9575973 out of 5

Keywords: Marion Coleman, quilting, African American, black, ACTA, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Lily Kharrazi, Castro Valley, quilts, black history, NEA, NHF, National Heritage Fellow

Id: g0T63u3iytM

Length: 4min 57sec (297 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 13 2019

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Show Notes:

In 2018, Bay Area master artist Marion Coleman was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the nation's highest honor for folk and traditional arts. In this video, Marion shares the history and practice of African-American quilting with ACTA's Special Projects Manager Lily Kharrazi. Raised in a family of quilters, Marion now uses the art form to tell stories of African-American history and culture, social justice, and womanhood. The cultural art of quilting that has been handed down for generations empowers Marion to share her distinctive way of looking at the world through color and pattern.

The NEA National Heritage Fellowship is the highest form of recognition for the folk and traditional arts by the United States government. Learn more: arts.gov/honors/heritage

Video produced by Sara Aguilar in association with the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and the National Council for Traditional Arts for the National Endowment for the Arts.