Barack Obama Quilt Q.S.O.S.

transcript

The Alliance for American Quilts Presents

Quilters’ S.O.S. - Save Our Stories:The Barack Obama Quilt Project

Interviews with quiltmakers who have made quilts inspired by President Barack Obama

Throughout the presidential campaign, I kept reading stories and seeing more and more

images of quilts inspired by Barack Obama. Wanting to capture this moment in our history, I

began interviewing those quiltmakers for Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories, an oral history

project of the Alliance for American Quilts. More than 50 interviews have been added to the

more than 900 interviews in the project.

All the quilts and the stories behind them are a unique expression of the maker’s impression of

the “Obama phenomenon.” Now that Obama is President, these quilts have become even more

significant. I did not have any real plan other than satisfying my curiosity when I began the

interviews. The quiltmakers represent a board spectrum of political views, you will find avid

Obama supporters, Hilary supporters and stanch Republicans. Their skills range from beginner

to professional. Participants include those from two exhibits, “Quilts for Obama: An Exhibit

Celebration of our 44th President” and “President Obama: A Celebration in Art Quilts,” in the

greater Washington, D.C. area around the inauguration and beyond.

Many of the quiltmakers drew upon the iconography of the campaign. Others took the literal

image of Obama a step further and used elements of culture and Pop Art in their quilts, while

others simply did a literal interpretation. The themes of family, patriotism, Africa, and hope

were also popular. I want to thank all the quiltmakers who shared so openly their thoughts and

experiences in the interviews. This “feminine medium” continues to take ordinary materials to

create something of great meaning and to provide us with an important glimpse of our history.

Karen MusgraveVolunteer and Co-ChairQuilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our StoriesThe Alliance for American Quilts

The quilts in this publication are listed in order of the date of their maker’s Quilters’ S.O.S. -Save Our Stories interview.

Interviewee: Susan Walen

Title of quilt: “Dear Mr. Obama…”

Location: Bethesda, MarylandDate: 2008-12-09

Click here to read the interview

Interviewee: Diana Bracy

Title of quilt: “Living the Dream”

Location: Las Vagas, NevadaDate: 2008-12-09

Interviewee: Susan Shie Title of Quilt:

“The Potluck/ World: Card #21 in The Kitchen Tarot”

Location: Wooster, OhioDate: 2008-12-15

Interviewee: Bonnie Smith

Title of quilt: “Obama in Blue”Location: San Jose, California

Date: 2008-12-15

Interviewee: Susan Shie Title of Quilt:

“The Potluck/ World: Card #21 in The Kitchen Tarot”

Location: Wooster, OhioDate: 2008-12-15

Interviewee: Jeanette Thompson

Title of quilt: “Obama Equals Hope”Location: Chicago, Illinois

Date: 2008-12-16

Interviewee: Theresa Shellcroft

Title of quilt: “It is Written in the Stars, We the People...”

Location: Victorville, CaliforniaDate: 2008-12-29

Interviewee: Debra Gabel

Title of quilt: “Obama: It’s a NEW Day”Location: Clarksville, Maryland

Date: 2009-01-09

Interviewee: Edna Patterson-Petty

Title of quilt: “Road to Redemption”

Location: East St. Louis, IllinoisDate: 2009-01-11

Interviewee: Sherry Shine

Title of quilt: “The 44th”Location: East Orange, New Jersey

Date: 2009-01-12

Interviewee: Wen Redmond

Title of quilt: “Yes! We Can”

Location: Strafford, New HampshireDate: 2009-01-13

Interviewee: Shawn Dubin

Title of quilt: “Obama: Red and Blue States Merging into Glorious Purple”Location: Berkeley, California

Date: 2009-01-13

Interviewee: Connie Condrell

Title of quilt: “Light at the End of the Tunnel”

Location: Round Hill, VirginiaDate: 2009-01-16

Interviewee: Carole Lyles Shaw

Title of quilt: “War and Freedom: African Americans Veterans Hail the Commander-in-Chief, #2”

Location: Columbia, MarylandDate: 2009-01-18

Interviewee: Valerie White

Title of quilt: “Great Expectations”

Location: Louisville, KentuckyDate: 2009-01-19

Interviewee: Lisa Shepard Stewart

Title of quilt: “Fiber Artists for Obama: Fist Bump”Location: Rahway, New Jersey

Date: 2009-01-20

Interviewee: Jackie Campbell

Title of quilt: “Whatever You Want To Be”

Location: Washington, D.C.Date: 2009-01-21

Interviewee: Sherry Boram

Title of quilt: “DAWN”

Location: Pendleton, IndianaDate: 2009-01-23

Interviewee: Eileen Doughty

Title of quilt: “Freedom’s Box”

Location: Vienna, VirginiaDate: 2009-01-23

Interviewee: Catherine Lamkin

Title of quilt: “Change”

Location: Charleston, South CarolinaDate: 2009-01-23

Interviewee: Cookie Washington

Title of quilt: “The Hope of the New Day Begun”

Interviewee: Deb Cashatt

Title of quilt: “The Picture is Only Half the Story”

Location: Cameron Park, CaliforniaDate: 2009-01-26

Interviewee: Kris Sazaki

Title of quilt: “The Picture is Only Half the Story”Detail view shown

Location: Cameron Park, CaliforniaDate: 2009-01-26

Interviewee: Betty Colburn

Title of quilt: “Obama Drafted for NBA”

Location: Portland, OregonDate: 2009-01-26

Interviewee: Carolyn Crump

Title of quilt: “From Vision to Victory”

Location: Houston, TexasDate: 2009-01-27

Interviewee: Stephanie Grissom

Title of quilt: “American Renaissance”

Location: Markeville, IndianaDate: 2009-01-28

Interviewee: Sheila Kramer

Title of quilt: “44 - A Happy Number”

Location: Rockville, MarylandDate: 2009-01-29

Interviewee: Jayne Gaskins

Title of quilt: “The Intersection of Main Street and Wall Street”

Location: Fernandina Beach, FloridaDate: 2009-01-30

Interviewee: Jeanne Marklin

Title of quilt: “Lift Every Voice and Sing for Obama”

Location: Williamstown, MassachusettsDate: 2009-02-03

Interviewee: Carol Krueger

Title of quilt: “That Won”

Location: Louisville, ColoradoDate: 2009-02-04

Interviewee: Asake Denise Foye Jones

Title of quilt: “The Sunshine of My Life”

Location: Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaDate: 2009-02-04

Interviewee: Elizabeth Warner

Title of quilt: “Together We Can Bridge the Divide”

Location: Simsbury, ConnecticutDate: 2009-02-06

Interviewee: Joy-Lily

Title of quilt: “Help, Hope and Hallelujah”

Location: San Francisco, CaliforniaDate: 2009-02-06

Interviewee: Sandra Hankins

Title of quilt: “Everybody’s All American”

Location: Temecula, CaliforniaDate: 2009-02-11

Interviewee: Suanne Reed

Title of quilt: “A Place For Him Too”

Location: Naperville, IllinoisDate: 2009-02-11

Interviewee: Michelle Flamer

Title of quilt: “Next”

Location: Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaDate: 2009-02-11

Interviewee: Peg Keeney

Title of quilt: “We the People Together We Can”

Location: Tucson, ArizonaDate: 2009-02-12

Interviewee: Charlene Hughes

Title of quilt: “KAPA APANA”

Location: Honolulu, HawaiiDate: 2009-02-12

Interviewee: Maria Shell

Title of quilt: “Colors Unfurled AKA If Betsy Ross Had My Stash”

Location: Anchorage, AlaskaDate: 2009-02-18

Interviewee: Vivian Milholen

Title of quilt: “44 Equals Change”

Location: South Riding, VirginiaDate: 2009-02-19

Interviewee: Carol Beck

Title of quilt: “A Dream Realized”

Location: Durham, North CarolinaDate: 2009-02-20

Interviewee: Adriene Cruz

Title of quilt: “Warrior of Light Shield for Obama”

Location: Portland, OregonDate: 2009-02-23

Interviewee: Sauda Zahra

Title of quilt: “Keepers of Your Destiny”

Interviewee: Ann Anastastio

Title of quilt: “New Mexico Support Obama”

Location: Santa Fe, New MexicoDate: 2009-02-26

Interviewee: Marjorie Diggs Freeman

Title of quilt: “Yes We Can and In My Lifetime”

Interviewee: Marlene O’Bryant-Seabrook

Title of quilt: “They Paved the Way”

Interviewee: Chris Gilman

Title of quilt: “Folk Art for Today”

Location: Wenatchee, WashingtonDate: 2009-03-09

Interviewee: Lavialle Campbell

Title of quilt: “Obama Bucks”

Location: Studio City, CaliforniaDate: 2009-03-09

Interviewee: Ellaree Pray

Title of quilt: “Change of Allegiance”

Location: Piscataway, New JerseyDate: 2009-03-11

Interviewee: Martha Gilbert

Title of quilt: “You Dig?”

Location: Elliott City, MarylandDate: 2009-03-16

Interviewee: Louisa L. Smith

Title of quilt: “Yes We Can”

Location: Loveland, ColoradoDate: 2009-03-26

Interviewee: Juanita Salvador-Burris

Title of quilt: “The Extraordinary and Improbable Journey of Barack Obama”

Location: Chicago, IllinoisDate: 2009-03-28

Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories (Q.S.O.S.) is a grassroots oral history project of the Alliance for American Quilts.

Q.S.O.S. preserves the stories of today’s quiltmakers from all over the US and abroad. The project is archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

The Alliance for American Quilts, a national nonprofit organi-zation, supports and develops projects to document, preserve,

and share the history of quilts and quiltmakers. The AAQ brings together groups and individuals from the creative, scholarly and

business worlds of quiltmaking to advance the recognition of quilts and their makers in American culture.

Visit www.AllianceforAmericanQuilts.org/qsosto browse all 900+ Q.S.O.S. interviews and find out how you can become an AAQ member and a Q.S.O.S. volunteer interviewer.

Barack Obama Quilt Q.S.O.S.

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