‘Blanket Statements’

Date:

Angelina College Gallery to Host Artist Brown in March Exhibition

Angelina College will host artist Kendra Brown’s “Blanket Statements” exhibition in a gallery scheduled to run from March 6 through April 11 in the Angelina Center for the Arts Gallery on the AC campus.

An artist’s reception will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7 inside the ACA foyer.

Brown’s unique talents and vision will highlight the place of what would seem like a simple quilt as it exists within American life. Using various media forms – including a “combination of photography, watercolor, and screen printing techniques” – Brown in an artist’s statement said it is her “aim to illuminate quilt narrative and history in pieces that combine aspects of the original quilts with my own artwork.”

Drawing inspiration from quilts passed down through her family as heirlooms, Brown notes how “Early American families considered quilts precious, existing beyond just functional blankets” and states “Looking at the history of quilts has helped me appreciate the uniqueness of the ones within my own family.

“This historical craft displayed not only a gesture of hospitality but also the efforts of the maker.”

FULL ARTIST’S STATEMENT FROM KENDRA BROWN:

Early American families considered quilts precious, existing beyond just functional blankets. This historical craft displayed not only a gesture of hospitality but also the efforts of the maker. Families used them for anything from survival, evident through the block patterns used in the underground railroad; relationships, expressed through community friendship quilt patterns, wedding dowry quilts decorated with double wedding band patterns, or burial quilts; fundraising, such as barn or school print patterns; political movements, seen in the drunkards’ path pattern during the prohibition periods; to even purely art quilts in later years. Quilt block patterns provide evidence of why each quilt was made and allow the finished creations to preserve these moments of history through their blanket statements.

I consider these aspects as I make my work, letting them seep into the familial narratives I create. The inspiration comes from family quilts I inherited from grandparents and the nostalgic flora associated with them. Their beautiful designs drew me to them and stirred several questions: Who made them? When were they made? What makes these patterns important? This examination led me to expand my quilting knowledge and stitch together missing parts in my family’s history while reflecting it in my own ongoing art narrative. In my process of gathering information, I have discovered some to be feed sack quilts and friendship quilts, dating them roughly around the 1950s when my grandparents moved from Arkansas away from the majority of their family and previous community. I find value preserving this cultural experience in my work as I discover more about this art form and add to its story.

Looking at the history of quilts has helped me appreciate the uniqueness of the ones within my own family. Through a combination of photography, watercolor, and screen printing techniques, I aim to illuminate quilt narrative and history in pieces that combine aspects of the original quilts with my own artwork. The superposition of geometric quilt patterns reflects the layers of family history behind the quilt making process, while their banded nature is reminiscent of quilts being displayed in groups using standing racks. Using a combination of physical, nostalgic and modern mediums (screen printing, watercolor, film, digital photography), allows me to incorporate my own creative talents to those of previous generations. Additionally, the nature of these mediums incorporates their own form of layering, whether it is chemically overlaying images on film or using multiple colors inked over one another with screens, printers, and paint, essentially creating my own blanket statements.

Gary Stallard
Sports Information Director Gary Stallard, who also serves as a Liberal Arts Instructor, begins his eleventh season with Angelina College. Following a career as a U.S. Marine, Stallard completed his bachelor’s degree at Stephen F. Austin University, where he majored in English and Journalism. For more than 16 years, he has worked as a sports writer/columnist/photographer for the Lufkin Daily News; he continues to contribute free-lance articles on occasion. Stallard has won several awards for writing, including the Golden Hoops Award for basketball writing in 2003, Regional Sports Writer of the Year in 2004, and the Texas Press Association’s first-place award for column writing in 2007 and in 2014. He has also done basketball, football and baseball radio and live streaming play-by- play and color commentary for an ESPN affiliate. Currently Stallard serves as play-by-play broadcaster for AC basketball, baseball and softball games. Prior to arriving at Angelina College, Stallard taught English at Lufkin High School for four years. He currently teaches Developmental Writing classes at AC. He and his wife Susan live in Lufkin.

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

Texas A&M School of Nursing Wins Collaborative $2.28 Million Grant Addressing Maternal Mortality, Morbidity

CHAMPions will support new mothers in underserved areas with...

Minor Sting Operation

In an effort to decrease the dangers and consequences...

Angelina College Athletics Weekly Update

This week in AC Athletics featured plenty of action...

A Permanent Seat to the Game

Roadrunner Baseball Pays Tribute to Former Manager RayburnA Permanent...