Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail in Upstate, SC, Adds New Quilt Blocks

#242 A-D & #243 Citizens of Westminster Project

The City of Westminster is an attractive historic community with lots of southern charm. Strolling down Main Street notice the many hand painted quilt blocks that line the street. The newest additions are the eight new quilt blocks in the downtown area. Four of the quilt blocks are located in the historic Depot parking lot; these 2ft. x 2ft. blocks are replicas of quilts made by local residents. The other four 1ft x 1ft blocks are located on power boxes on East Main Street.

Quilt #242 A: Claudia’s Star
The South Carolina Star is the creation of Claudia Spearman. The pattern comes from The Quilter’s Cache by Marcia Hohn. Claudia is a longtime resident of Westminster. We’re proud to include her quilt. Claudia plans to make a pillow from her quilt block, and her mother will hand quilt the piece.

Quilt #242 B: Denise’s Design
Denise McCormick is an avid quilter and already has two UHQT quilt blocks in town. This quilt is a Sassafras Lane design. Check out her other blocks—one on the depot and one across from the water tower. Although not a native of Westminster, Denise and her husband have lived here for many years and are very active in the town. They love this area and are proud to call it home.

Quilt #242 C: Paige’s Star
Paige Price, also a lifelong resident of Westminster, likes to quilt when she can work it into her busy schedule with the school system. The design on her quilt block is a pattern called Lindy’s Star by Linda Hayes.

Quilt #242 D: Rebecca’s Star
Also a lifelong resident, Rebecca’s Star is part of a quilt Beckie DeFoor finished several years ago. Bright, vivid colors are the hallmark of this quilt. Now retired from the school system, ‘Beckie’ spends lots of time at her sewing machine. She is also very active in the painting of the quilt blocks with the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail.

Quilt #243
The four 1ft. x 1ft. quilt blocks on Main Street were the inspiration of Sandy Brockington. She thought the power boxes on Main Street were unattractive and organized a group to commission the UHQT to paint quilt blocks for them. These ‘flowers’ are part of a quilt entitled, “The Garden Club” from Smith Street Designs. The quilter, Beckie DeFoor is proud to have her quilt represented.

Local residents including residents Kathy Barker, Sandy Brockington, Beckie DeFoor, Denise McCormick, Kathy Smith, and Mildred Spearman who helped the artists on the quilt trail paint these beautiful quilt blocks. The citizens of Westminster contributed to the funding to support this project.

There are currently 144 quilts on the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail in Oconee County. Westminster is proud to have 24 of them within the town limits on their walking/driving trail. In addition, another 13 quilt blocks are sprinkled throughout the Westminster area.

For additional information on the City of Westminster, Oconee County Oconee County and latest updates and interactive map visit (www.uhqt.org).

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HUB-BUB Artists Create Mosaic Portrait of Home in Spartanburg, SC

HUB-BUB, a division of Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg, SC, announces its Artists-in-Residence Public Art Project around the theme of “Home.” Marisa Adesman and Ambrin Ling will create over 100 small paintings for a single series that pictures the many, diverse visions of home as contributed by individual community members in the Spartanburg area.

Ambrin Ling a recent graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago says, “The motivation behind this project was that we wanted to use painting as a way to connect with individual Spartanburg residents and to learn about its identity as lived by members of different communities.”

Between January and July, the resident artists at the Creative Placemaking Studio which is located inside Chapman Cultural Center, will engage the community of Spartanburg County with a series of prompts around the theme of “Home.” The project will focus on encouraging the community to envision the individual’s notions of home as a space for defining their lived-experience in Spartanburg. In other words, this project seeks to answer to the question: What does home look like to me?

Marisa Adesman, from New York, is a recent graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. “In the process of making this work, we hope to foster empathetic connections between community members by allowing people to actually see the ways in which individual lives differ and intersect in an overall image of life in Spartanburg,” says Marisa about the project.

“A Mosaic Portrait of Spartanburg” will result in a gallery exhibition where all of the paintings will be on display to the public at the Artist Guild Gallery, from June 1-30, 2019. During the opening reception of the exhibit, Ambrin and Marisa will give a talk about the project, their process, and the outcomes. By interweaving multiple narratives, this project will not only help foster empathy between community members, it will both refine and complicate our shared understanding of Spartanburg as home.

The artists are encouraging the entire community to participate in the project. The public can participate in the following ways:

E-mail (eKocher@spartanarts.org) with an image or a story of how you see your individual home

Stop by the Creative Placemaking Studio during open studio hours and chat with the artists

Visit the HUB BUB Website (www.hub-bub.com) or Facebook Page @hubbubsc to learn more about events happening in your neighborhood.

HUB-BUB is an artist-in-residence program hosted by the Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg, SC, designed to provide time and space for emerging artists to live free and create. Two residencies will be offered to studio artists for 11-months, from September 2018 – July 2019, during which the artists will receive a monthly stipend, studio space, and housing with utilities paid. During their residency, artists are expected to hold regularly scheduled open studio hours for 15 hours each week during which they will be available to discuss their work and their process with the public. Visit (www.hub-bub.com).

Our mission is to provide cultural leadership for Greater Spartanburg by developing, strengthening, and promoting the scope, excellence and educational role of the arts, humanities and sciences, and to further their significance in the life of our community and all of its citizens. Visit our website at (https://www.chapmanculturalcenter.org/) to learn more.

West Main Artists Co-op in Spartanburg, SC, Receives 2018 ‘Business Supporter of the Year’ Award from SC Art Education Association

West Main Artists Co-op in Spartanburg, SC, received the 2018 “Business Supporter of the Year” award from the South Carolina Art Education Association. The award was presented to Co-op Chairperson Beth Regula on Dec. 1, 2018, in Greenville by Cindy Riddle, the Association’s President-Elect and Assistant Superintendent of Visual & Performing Arts for Spartanburg School District 1.

“On behalf of West Main Artists Co-op, I want to thank everyone who has worked to make this recognition possible,” Regula said. “I want to especially thank Jane Nodine and Susanne Gunter for taking the initiative to write the letters of recommendation. Most importantly, I want to thank the member artists of West Main Artists Co-op because they are the ones who are out in the community and here in our studios and galleries finding creative ways for the Co-op to be involved and relevant. There is indeed a business side to art, and West Main Artists Co-op works very hard to be an active – and creative – member of the business community.”

In her letter of support, Distinguished Professor Emerita of the University of South Carolina Upstate Nodine said: “USC Upstate Art has maintained studio space at WMAC and offered that as an annual award to a deserving student. We have sponsored and partnered with WMAC in workshops and group exhibitions, and USC Upstate students have worked at the Co-op in internships that earn them academic credit and give them valuable field experience.”

Dr. Gunter, the chair for Art and Design at Converse College, said in her letter, “WMAC is a true partner to area schools, colleges, and universities. This fall, students in the Converse Arts Management program will be working to help with the first annual multi-state juried exhibition, providing students with a unique opportunity to assist with all levels of administrative tasks to put on a major exhibition. WMAC provides ‘work residencies’ to help struggling artists to provide a studio and membership. This is critical to the success of many young artist, in particular.”

South Carolina Art Education Foundation (Association) is a chapter of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), which advances visual arts education to fulfill human potential and promote global understanding. NAEA is dedicated to providing you with connectivity, resources, and opportunities to enrich your classroom, enhance your career, and inspire your creativity. Connect to a worldwide network of like-minded artists and educators representing K-12 art educators and administrators, college and university professors, preservice students studying art education, researchers and scholars, museum educators, teaching artists, and more.

The mission of West Main Artists Cooperative is to create a community of artists wherein members mentor and support one another; to provide affordable studio, display, and performance space to established and emerging artists living in and around Spartanburg, South Carolina; and to provide the public with opportunities to view original art and to interact with the artists.

To learn more about WMAC, please visit online at (www.WestMainArtists.org).

Greenville Center for Creative Arts in Greenville, SC, Calls for Exhibition Proposals – Deadline is Jan. 11, 2019

Greenville Center for Creative Arts in Greenville, SC, invites established and emerging artists (ages 18+) to submit proposals for solo or group exhibitions for the 2020/2021 exhibition calendar. The GCCA Main Gallery provides approximately 4,000 square feet of exhibition space and features the work of local, regional, national, and international artists from all disciplines in 6 shows per year. All mediums will be considered for exhibition.

DEADLINE FOR EXHIBITION PROPOSALS: JANUARY 11, 2019

Exhibition proposals will be reviewed and scored by the GCCA Exhibition Committee using the following criteria:

Work reflects consistency of quality
Work reflects clear objectives and a strong overall concept or theme
Work represents GCCA’s mission to enrich the cultural fabric of the community through visual arts promotion, education, and inspiration
Only original artwork created and executed by the applicant will be considered for exhibition
Submission Requirements:

Artist Statement or Exhibition Description
Artist Bio
CV or Resume
6 – 8 images of work
$30 application fee submitted electronically with application form.

CLICK HERE to submit a solo or group exhibition proposal to GCCA.

Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail in Upstate, SC, Adds New Quilts to Its Trail

#240 Stash from the Past

The Diamond W Farm in SE Anderson County at 352 George Brock Road is a century old homestead. In the 1920’s, the farm was purchased by Jasper Ashley, whose family maintained the house and outbuildings until the 1970’s. Jasper’s children, Gary and Millie – together with her husband- farmed the land until Jasper’s death in 1948. The land then passed to Millie and then eventually to her son, Pascal Brock. Millie and her husband passed in the early 1970’s.

Pascal chose to rent the farm to Merle and Grace Hershberger in 1978. They have lived there for 40 years where they raised two children and provided a home for 32 foster children. On December 17, 2012, Austin Wood purchased the farm from Pascal Brock. The Hershbergers maintained a residence in the farmhouse. Merle passed in 2018, but Grace still lives there.

The small barn where the quilt block is displayed was used for storage of seed. Storage sheds on either side of the barn have been replaced and the barn itself refurbished. Conservation practices have been implemented on the farm to protect the environment and make the land more productive.

The quilt block was designed and sewn by Grace Hershberger. It features 4 separate blocks designed and sewn by Ms. Hershberger. Each block is framed by red and blue sashing and features the red, white and blue theme. Three of the blocks’ centers feature a small square surrounded by contrasting designs while the fourth block’s center is a diamond – again with contrasting designs on the red and blue fabric.

Grace has quilted much of her life and chose cheerful colors and designs which will contrast with the hundred+ year old barn and be visible for some distance.

# 241 Hummingbird

Serenity at Sunset, an alternative and holistic health service at 321 East Main Street in Pickens is the location of Hummingbird. Proprietress Lyn Hatton selected Hummingbird with its nature theme for inclusion in the Pickens Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail. It is a fitting choice for her business that aims to be “a place of serenity for all to enjoy.” Hummingbird is one of the Pickens area quilt blocks sponsored through a grant provided by the Pickens County A-tax Commission. The grant was secured by Kim Smagala of the Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce.

Left to right: Jere & Joy DuBois, Martha Parris, Cindy Blair, Sandy Thomas, Lynn Hatton, Kim Smagala.

Hummingbird is UHQT’s interpretation of quilter Joy DuBois’ jewel-toned wall hanging of a hummingbird in flight. Joy says she especially loves the tiny hummingbirds that are native to the Upstate and has multiple feeders on her property in Seneca. She wanted to make a quilt featuring the birds but was unsuccessful in finding a suitable pattern. While fabric shopping with her daughter she found a kit for this small quilt that included the appliqué pattern as well as the bright, jewel-toned batiks that make this such a vibrant, visually appealing quilt. The quilt is machine appliquéd and machine quilted. Joy has been quilting for at least thirty years. She is a member of Lake and Mountain Quilters Guild as well as Upcountry Quilters Guild. She is a talented, prolific quilter and a number of her quilts are represented on the Quilt Trail throughout Pickens and Oconee Counties.

For information about Pickens County visit (www.co.pickens.sc.us/) or Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce at (https://www.pickenschamberofcommerce.com).

For further info visit (www.UHQT.org).

Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail in Upstate, SC, Adds More to Its Quilt Trail

#224 OUT OF THE BOX

“Out of the Box”, located on the old Walhalla Depot at 211 South College Street in Walhalla, SC, is a “Giant Dahlia” quilt modeled after one made by master quilter Jenny Grobusky of Walhalla. The Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail sponsored this block and has donated it to the City of Walhalla in honor of Jenny Grobuski’s contributions to the upstate quilting community and to the communities of Oconee County.

Grobuski gave her version of this classic 20th century pattern an “out of the ordinary” twist by centering its dahlia medallion below, rather than on, the quilt’s mid-line—hence its name, Out of the Box. Jenny said she made this quilt for herself and wanted the entire dahlia to be on the middle of the bed instead of over the pillows where its symmetry would be distorted.

The Giant Dahlia quilt pattern was developed in America sometime in the early half of the 20th century. There are competing claims as to its original designer. One reference attributes the pattern to Hubert ver Mehren of Des Moines, Iowa. Beginning in the mid-20’s, his company called Home Arts Studio sold stamped textiles for embroidery and eventually sold patchwork and medallion quilt patterns. (http://willywonkyquilts.blogspot.com./2016/11/the-giant-dahlia.html). Quilt historian Ginny Beyer notes that the pattern was originally published in 1933 in the Des Moines Register. Finally, it has been suggested that the dahlia pattern may have been inspired by the designs in Rose windows found at the front of churches and cathedrals. (https://amishspirit.com/country-quilts/)

The Giant Dahlia is constructed of sixteen gently curving arcs radiating out from a small Dresden plate center. This complex pattern is not at all typical of traditional quilt piecing. There are no squares or triangles incorporated into the pattern. Instead, each arc is composed of distorted four-sided shapes that look a bit like misshapen squares someone tugged out of alignment. Each side of the shape is a slight convex or concave curve. As the dahlia grows out from the center, the pieces of the arc increase in size proportionally. Even the most experienced quilters find this pattern challenging. Extremely precise piecing is a necessity in order to create a truly spherical completed “dahlia.” Jenny machine pieced and machine quilted “Out of the Box”. This beautifully constructed quilt is a testimony to her exceptional skills as a quilter.

Grobuski is a prolific quilter and her work is distinguished by the vibrancy of its color. “Out of the Box” juxtaposes batiks in warm orange and red-orange against cool aqua, violet, and blue. The medallion is surrounded by a royal blue background and seems to glow as if it’s lit from within. “Out of the Box” won 2nd place in its category at the 2006 Lake and Mountain Quilters Guild show.

Born in Walhalla in 1923, Grobuski lives in the Walhalla community where she worked and raised her five children. Before taking up quilting in 1993, Jenny spent much of her life using her talents as a seamstress. She was instrumental in forming a quilting club in Walhalla called Stitchin’ Friends and was on the steering committee of the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail. She has been generous with her time and talents as demonstrated when she organized quilters in 2005 to make quilts for Hurricane Katrina victims. More than 200 quilts were donated to the relief effort.

Grobuski has been an active member of Lake and Mountain Quilters Guild. It is her unique, custom constructed quilt that covers a PT Cruiser outside each of LMQG’s quilt shows. She is a faithful member of St. Francis Catholic Church in Walhalla.

The City of Walhalla chose the old Walhalla Depot as the location for this block because of its historic significance to the city. The depot was built in 1887 by renowned Walhalla builder Otto Kaufmann, whose father John Kaufmann built St. John’s Lutheran Church. According to the Rev. George Shealy’s book Walhalla: The Garden of the Gods, the first train arrived at the new depot at 5 p.m. on November 14, 1887. It was located near the intersection of South Broad and College streets, where the Mountain Lakes Convention & Visitors Bureau and Walhalla Chamber of Commerce building stands today. The depot was given to the City of Walhalla by Norfolk-Southern Railroad Company in 1987 after they discontinued train service to Walhalla. The city moved it to its present site where it now serves as the focal point of the Walhalla Depot Park, also known as Kaufmann Square. For additional information about the Depot and Kaufmann Park visit (http://www.walhalladepot.com/).

#235 Fire and Ice

“Fire and Ice” is the first quilt block chosen by the Pickens County selection committee and financed by the Pickens County A-tax Commission grant to the Pickens County Area Chamber of Commerce. This multi-colored modern quilt graces the building of Domino’s Pizza at 102 East Main Street in downtown Pickens. Domino’s owner Scott Carrick fell in love with it and requested it for his location. The original quilt was made by Seneca quilter Libby Carter. She chose the quilt’s colors because they reminded her of beautiful Upstate South Carolina—the blues of our lakes and waters and the vivid oranges that represent the lovely fall foliage of the mountains. The quilt is primarily composed of batik fabrics. It was longarm quilted in the “Splashing” pattern by Libby’s friend, E. Ann Ewald of Dragonfly Designs. A version of this quilt was featured in the June 2008 edition of McCall’s Quilting. Libby’s placement of the orange batiks against the calmer blues creates a pleasing balance between energy and tranquility.

Carter has been quilting for approximately twenty years but has sewn in one form or another for much of her life. She considers herself a traditional quilter but enjoys all forms of quiltmaking and fabric craft. That is what inspired her to own a quilt shop with her sister for seven and a half years in Georgia before moving to South Carolina. Carter is a member of the Lake and Mountain Quilters Guild.

#236 Rhythm and Hues

“Rhythm and Hues” is located at 112 Main Street, next to the outdoor amphitheater on Rt.183 in downtown Pickens. It was funded by an A-tax grant written by Kim Smagala, director of the Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce. According to Kim, “Rhythm and Hues” was chosen because it captured the essence of the Pickens community with its outdoor musical amphitheater and its vibrant Young Appalachian Musicians Program.

“Rhythm and Hues” is the unique creation of art quilter Jean Wachs. This quilt was made in 2016 for the Lake & Mountain Quilters Guild Show whose theme was “Symphony of Quilts.” Wachs said music has always been an important part of her life. Since she played the guitar when she was younger, it seemed like the perfect subject for the show. She used a clip art image which she enlarged, then modified, adding vibrant color and design to portray the music she imagined coming from the guitar.

All of the fabrics used in the quilt were 100% cotton, either batiks or hand dyed. Each piece was fused in place, then appliqued and quilted using free motion on her domestic machine. She sculpted copper wire to form the bridge, rayon gimp thread for the strings and small metal hooks for the tuning pegs. Wachs’ strong color composition of red, blue, yellow and green imbue the quilt with intense energy. The colors practically dance from the quilt.

“Rhythm and Hues” won first place at the quilt show in the pictorial category. It was not listed as being for sale, but during the show a lady called Wachs, inquiring about purchasing it. She eventually sold it to the woman, following a commitment to exhibit it with the art group Thread Heads at the Belton Art Center a few months later.

Wachs began sewing when she was in high school but did not take up quilting until 2006. Although she has done some traditional quilting, art quilting for wall display is her passion. In recent years, her focus has been on portrait and pictorial compositions.

For further information call 864/723-6603 or visit (www.uhqt.org).

Hub City Empty Bowls’ Soup Day Takes Place in Spartanburg, SC – Sept. 29, 2018

The people have made pottery bowls all summer long. Now, Hub City Empty Bowls will host Soup Day on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018, at Indigo Hall in downtown Spartanburg, SC, and a great many needy people will be fed for months to come.

Annually, Soup Day is the culmination of many people’s creative and hard work during the summer, making hand-shaped clay pottery bowls that will be used to raise money for local citizens who are “food insecure,” which is generally defined as “not knowing if you’ll have the ways and means for your next meal.” In Spartanburg County, about 40,000 people are food insecure.

Hundreds of people turned out for Hub City Empty Bowls’s three bowl-making sessions during the summer, producing hundreds of unfinished bowls. The members of the lead agency Carolina Clay Artists repaired, touched up, painted, glazed, and fired the bowls, making them ready for people to donate $20 per bowl on Soup Day. In addition to getting a handmade pottery bowl to keep, patrons of Soup Day will also get to feast on about a dozen different soups that will be donated by the community’s finest restaurants. They will also get to bid on a silent auction, hear live music, and enjoy the fellowship of knowing they have done something that will improve the lives of others in Spartanburg. The money raised on Soup Day will be given to TOTAL Ministries, a faith-based agency in Spartanburg that helps local citizens faced with hard times. For each of the past two years, Carolina Clay Artists has donated more than $33,000 to TOTAL Ministries.

“This being Hub City Empty Bowls’s 10th anniversary, we are hoping for a historic turnout of people on Soup Day,” Chairman Bruce Bowyer said. “This is always the real test of people’s concern for others — to come out to Soup Day and get one or two or three or more bowls, and then enjoy themselves with a wonderful meal, music, and people who share their concern for others. Soup Day is so many things: heartwarming, creative, community minded, giving, grassroots, and most certainly fun. If you want to see how a little bit of effort can produce great results, come to Soup Day. It will change how you look and feel about those less fortunate.”

This year, the location of Soup Day will be in vibrant downtown Spartanburg at Indigo Hall, a special events venue. It will start at 11am and end at 4pm. The street address is 190 Ezell St. Ample parking for Soup Day has been secured by the organizers.

“We are very excited about our new location for Soup Day,” Bowyer said. “Everyone wants to be in downtown Spartanburg, and Indigo Hall is a wonderful space with lots of room for the bowls, the soup stations, the silent auction, and outdoor covered seating. I think people will really like this change. It will also be the location for a new pre-Soup Day celebration.

In preparation for Soup Day, TOTAL Ministries has secured soup and other food-related donations from the following restaurants and providers: Andre Nguyen, Hub City Co-op, Country Club of Spartanburg, Cribb’s Kitchen, Fatz Cafe, Garner’s Natural Foods, Gerhard’s Cafe, Lime Leaf, Carolina Country Club, Mon Amie, Moveable Feasts, Palmetto Palate, Renato’s In Centro, Southern BBQ, Sparks: Fire Inspired Grill, Sun King, II Samuels Restaurant, Le Spice Kitchen, Willy Taco, Delaney’s Irish Pub, Blue Moon Specialty Foods, The Beacon Drive Inn, Cakehead Bakery, LongHorn Steakhouse, Wade’s Restaurant, and Chick-fil-A.

The live music will be performed by David Giles and the RJ Rockers Orchestra (11am-1pm), Fayssoux McClean (1-2pm), and Roy McBee Smith (2-4pm).

The silent auction items will be fine art and other items donated by local artists, businesses, and concerned citizens.

The sponsors for the 2018 Hub City Empty Bowls campaign are JM Smith Corp., Allegra – Marketing • Print • Mail, Spartanburg Art Museum, West Main Artists Co-Op, Chris Williams, and Kohler.

“It takes a lot of community support to make Hub City Empty Bowls come together,” TOTAL Director Traci Kennedy said. “This is a truly grassroots fundraiser that is supported by some really great local businesses and individuals. We give them our sincere appreciation and want the community to know about their generosity.”

Hub City Empty Bowls is Spartanburg’s version of Empty Bowls, a worldwide fundraising effort that has hundreds of communities participating in similar but different ways and independently of each other. There is no global central control, administration, or oversight agency. Empty Bowls is a concept that normally inspires volunteer clay artists to make pottery bowls that are used to raised money to feed the needy in the local community. It is grassroots project that uses creativity to generate funds. Most Empty Bowls projects find ways to make pottery bowls and use them to host a fundraising event, such as Spartanburg’s Soup Day.

“And every day when you look in your kitchen cabinet for a bowl,” Bowyer said, “you’ll see your own personal Empty Bowl, and you’ll be reminded that someone out there is having a meal — just like you — because of you.”

For more information about Hub City Empty Bowls, please visit (www.HubCityEmptyBowls.com).

Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail in Upstate, SC, Expands Again

233 FLOWERS AMONG FRIENDS

Flowers Among Friends – a series of four small floral-themed quilt blocks – grace the front pillars of Westminster’s historic Moon’s Drug Store. Beckie Harper DeFoor, Kathy Collins Smith and Jerry Smith sponsored these lovely blocks to commemorate their lifelong friendship of fifty years. The blocks are reproductions of four quilt squares included in Beckie DeFoor’s original quilt of the same name, a quilt she made to celebrate their special friendship. Inspiration for Beckie’s quilt came from several small embroidery pieces included in Laura’s Fantasy Flowers. Local quilter and instructor Cheryl Keith edited and digitized the designs for computer assisted embroidery. The warm, sunny color scheme of oranges and yellow against a black background add of a touch of folk art to the facade of Moon’s Drug Store founded in 1901. The four blocks were painted by Beckie DeFoor, Kathy Smith, and Kathy and Jerry’s daughter Whitney Jones with the help of Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail’s Production Team.

Rebecca DeFoor with quilts

Kathy Smith and Rebecca DeFoor painting quilt blocks

Whitney Jones, Beckie DeFoor and Kathy Smith

223 DOUBLE WEDDING RING

The Nix family has lived in the Six Mile area for generations. The house and barn on the property now owned by Dean & Jennie Nix dates back to 1911. Dean’s grandfather was a blacksmith, and he and his wife, Clara had three sets of twins. James, their son, and his wife, Pauline bought the farm from his parents in 1950 and cared for Clara until her death.

The quilt dates back to the 1920s to 1930s, and was pieced and machine quilted, most likely by Bette Alexander, Pauline’s mother. The fabric used in the quilt is unusual for a Double Wedding Ring in that it consists of only two colors, red and grey. It appears to be of fabric referred to as Sea Island cotton, a fine cotton hand-spun and woven, the bright, red color most likely was hand-dyed as well. It is hand stitched on the finished quilt with threads taken from old flour sacks, proving not only the thriftiness of this family, but also how the art was handed down from generation to generation. It is believed that Pauline and her sisters were likely involved in learning how to quilt as children by hand stitching the flour sack threads!

Jennie and Dean Nix are now the owners and keepers of the family farm. The quilt is installed on the old barn, that can be seen across the farm’s field from the road. Jennie continues to carry on the rich tradition of quilting in the family and hopes to have one of her beautiful quilts transformed into a quilt block on the property soon.

The barn and painted quilt block are located at 1281 Mile Creek Road Six Mile, SC.

For further information visit (www.uhqt.org).

Leo Twiggs, Represented by Hampton III Gallery in Taylors, SC, Wins 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art

Orangeburg, SC, artist Leo Twiggs, represented by Hampton III Gallery in Taylors, SC, wins the1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art, sponsored by Society 1858 and the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC.

“Requiem for Mother Emanuel #5”, 2016, by Leo Twiggs; batik; 30 x 24 inches; courtesy of the artist.

Born in the Lowcountry town of St. Stephen, SC, in 1934, Leo Twiggs studied art at Claflin College in Orangeburg and went on to earn a Masters degree from New York University and a doctorate in art education from the University of Georgia. In 1964 he began his thirty-four year teaching career at South Carolina State University. A year later he began experimenting with batik, a wax-resist method of dyeing textiles. He was attracted to the medium for its rich tradition and improvisational nature.

Much of Twiggs’ work explores family history, cultural heritage, and how the past is manifest in contemporary life. His series titled “Requiem for Mother Emanuel” recently traveled throughout the southeast, earning acclaim as a powerful tribute to the nine church members slain during the horrific shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

A reception will be held for Twiggs at the Gibbes Museum of Art on Sept. 19, beginning at 7pm.

Hampton III Gallery is located at 3110 Wade Hampton Blvd., Suite 10, in Taylors, SC, 29687.

For further information call 864/268-2771.

Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail in Upstate, SC, Adds #222 Quilt Block to Trail

222 Birchwood Bear’s Paw

The Birchwood Center, off Highway 11 in the far northern part of the Pickens County, SC, was the recipient of a quilt block sponsored through the Pickens County ATAX Grant awarded to the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail.

The Birchwood Center for Art and Folk Life was founded in 2000 by Dot Jackson, Gayle Edwards, Tom Johnson, and Starkey Flythe to promote and enhance the study and awareness of the Arts and Humanities in this region. Their mission is to provide a free place to be used as a comfortable sanctuary or retreat to inspire creativity and enhance learning across the curriculum of Arts and Folk Life.  To this end, they have provided a variety of mostly free programs and activities to the public throughout the years. The Bear’s Paw block was placed on the Masters-Southerland House located on the Birchwood Center’s property in the mountains of northern Pickens County, SC, with Table Rock State Park as a backdrop.

The Bear’s Paw Quilt Block was chosen to represent the spirit and mission of the Birchwood Center. In the stories about the Underground Railroad, the Bear Paw was the symbol for a refuge for the slaves to find shelter, food, and safety. One of the founders, Dot Jackson, wrote a prize winning novel, Refuge. While the novel has nothing to do with the Birchwood Center, the title is a reminder of our mission and for the Bear’s Paw symbol on the Underground Railroad.

The Brown Bear is a native to this region and is a popular part of the local culture. In the Native American Spirit world and other mythology, the bear’s extreme power, size, courage, tenacity, confidence, and intelligence along with a touch of curiosity, mother-cub family connections, its gentle nature topped with a splash of cuteness has earned it the following title: The Great Protector and Defender of the peoples’ safety, and their freedom and resourcefulness to create a better life. The bear allows the people to be free to safely create a better life for themselves and their families. The Native Americans also believed that the bear was a messenger for dreams and visions. The Birchwood Board feels that all people who contribute positively to our history and the Arts share most of the bear’s characteristics.

Dot Jackson was a wonderful storyteller and told some wonderful tales about her bear encounters. Several tales were about a bear who loved snooping around at the Birchwood Center. We believe he just loved being around Dot. During the restoration of the Masters-Southerland House, Dot lived in a trailer on the property. After several sightings, that bear (or one bearing a striking resemblance) decided to snoop around under the trailer (called “Paradise” by Dot). It tore off some underpinning on the backside of Paradise and crawled in during the dead of the night. Dot woke to loud bumping noises and much shaking under her bedroom floor. This continued until he got settled in to rest. The bear must have decided that living close to Dot was a good thing. It bumped around under the floor anytime of the day or night. When was it going to come on in for a visit? Dot was concerned that the floor would collapse bringing down a wall. She never knew if that bear was lurking around outside. Dot was not sleeping well. The bear was happy. Dot was NOT. Somebody had to go! You know it was not going to be our feisty, fearless Dot. After a while, someone (maybe Dennis Chastain) volunteered to lure Dot’s bear out from his den under Paradise. He was taken to a more suitable home somewhere in the mountains. Dot was happy. The bear probably missed Dot.

One foggy morning at the Birchwood Center, Dot woke from a deep sleep in the comfort of Paradise to the sounds of loud grunting and other strange noises. She made her way to a front window to peer out in the direction of the noises but could see nothing unusual through the fog. When it got light enough, Dot came out to check out the area of the earlier noise. Well, she found a bear in her car and most of the contents thrown out onto the wet grass! Now, Dot was a lot like that Bear in that she was courageous, fearless, tenacious, and a protector (of her car) so she proceeded to try to get rid of her unwanted passenger. The intruder shared these traits so he was not moving out of her car. Dot was upset. The bear seemed pleased with himself. Since she was not supremely strong like the bear, Dot just went back into Paradise to call for help. In a few minutes she saw the bear slowly getting out of her car carrying the precious red bag that had gone with her everywhere for years. She was sorry to lose it but the bear looked so funny carrying that red bag slowly through the woods like he knew he had something important to take home. Dot could not help laughing at that memory even as she was looking at the mess he had made inside the car. Those paws could do some major damage!

The memories of Dot’s bear tales, along with the symbolism of the Bear, the popularity of this block in the local history, and with the original idea for the Birchwood Center, made choosing the Bear Paw a perfect choice. The Bear Paw Quilt Block represents the traditional quilt block and the colors chosen represent the new modern colors used today. Much of the material used in the block has light, softened dots in the background to represent our late Dot Jackson who was one of our cherished founders of the Birchwood Center.

The traditional Bear Paw with the modern, brightly colored materials comprised of contrasting muted backgrounds came together to make a beautiful quilt block for the Birchwood Center for the Arts and Folk Life. The square was created by Linda Blakeney, who met with the Birchwood’s Board of Directors to choose both the pattern and colors.

For further info call 864/723-6603 or visit (www.uhqt.org).