Upper Arlington community members will join together in the modern version of an old-fashioned sewing circle this fall and winter. About 50 art quilt panels, each representing various aspects of Upper Arlington are expected to be complete by Jan. 17 – in time for the annual State of the City address.
The U.A. Community Quilt Project started out as an art assignment at Upper Arlington High School, says Alicia McGinty, an art teacher at the school.
McGinty says she discussed the project with her colleagues as a potential service-learning opportunity.
“We started thinking about bigger ways to enhance the project,” she says. “This project will encourage families, school classes and neighborhood communities to work together to create a reflection of Upper Arlington that will reinforce the importance of community in our lives.”
McGinty and her fellow teachers want the project to be intergenerational – involving both students and community members of all ages – in hopes of building relationships and creating a sense of unity and empathy in Upper Arlington.
Preparations started earlier this year when McGinty’s students dyed and silkscreened designs onto fabric that will be used to make the quilt panels.
This fall, the students – and any interested community members – will create 12-inch by 18-inch art quilt panels that should have a theme that connects to or reflects the traditions of the Upper Arlington community.
“They will be using the raw-edge fusible appliqué method,” McGinty says. “Fusing is a technique in which a fusible product is applied to one side of the fabric with a hot iron, and then the fabric is cut into shapes or strips, and arranged and ironed onto a background. This method provides a level of freedom not found in more traditional methods.”
The project has gained a considerable amount of interest, she says. “It’s taken off to where a lot of (community) groups want to be a part of it.”
Community members have the opportunity to sign up for evening quilting classes in October through the Upper Arlington LifeLong Learning program. Community organizations interested in participating can also work on the project at their meeting locations while families can also work on the panels in their homes.
Although the panels will not be sewn together in a traditional quilt-style blanket, the quilts will be displayed together at the State of the City and at other locations such as the schools, library branches and municipal buildings.
“The idea is to have all these panels hang together in one big exhibition,” McGinty says.
McGinty hopes to see the project grow each year. The project is among the largest art initiatives the district has ever undertaken and the first to include involvement from all its schools, she says.
For more information, visit the U.A. Community Quilt Project Facebook page or contact McGinty at uacommunityquiltproject@gmail.com.
Brandon Klein is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
