The Patchwork of History
Loretta Pettway is a gifted storyteller. She tells stories about her life and the past in Gee's Bend, Alabama. But she doesn't use words to tell her stories; she uses fabric and thread.
Sewing Stories
Pettway is one of the many women of Gee's Bend who have sewn quilts. Their quilts tell stories of life in Gee's Bend. Gee's Bend is one of the poorest communities in the United States.
Pettway said that when she was a child her parents used torn boxes, newspapers, and catalogs to make walls in her house. Pictures of quilts on the walls inspired Pettway to sew her own quilts. "I couldn't make... pretty quilts," she said humbly about her efforts, "but it did me good to look at them."
Art experts say it does everyone good to look at Pettway's quilts. Her quilts are part of a collection of quilts from Gee's Bend that is being shown in museums across America. The quilts are also featured in books.
Pettway said that when she was a child her parents used torn boxes, newspapers, and catalogs to make walls in her house. Pictures of quilts on the walls inspired Pettway to sew her own quilts. "I couldn't make... pretty quilts," she said humbly about her efforts, "but it did me good to look at them."
Art experts say it does everyone good to look at Pettway's quilts. Her quilts are part of a collection of quilts from Gee's Bend that is being shown in museums across America. The quilts are also featured in books.
A Thread of the Past
Mark Pettway, a slave owner, moved to Gee's Bend from North Carolina nearly 160 years ago. He and his family made the long trip in wagons. He forced more than 100 of his slaves to make the journey on foot. Those slaves included Loretta Pettway's ancestors. In those days, slaves often took their owner's name.
The slave owner had wanted to leave a young slave named Saul Johnson behind. Refusing to be separated from her child, Saul's mother sewed some cloth around him and had the cloth packed into one of the wagons. Cloth like that would become pieces of Gee's Bend history. Those pieces of cloth would become art in the hands of the Gee's Bend quilters.
After slavery ended in 1865, most of the former slaves remained in the area. Their descendants still live there today. Their quilts show their colorful history.
The quilts allow all of us to learn from the people of Gee's Bend. "Quilting is the whole history of my family," said one resident and quilt maker.
The slave owner had wanted to leave a young slave named Saul Johnson behind. Refusing to be separated from her child, Saul's mother sewed some cloth around him and had the cloth packed into one of the wagons. Cloth like that would become pieces of Gee's Bend history. Those pieces of cloth would become art in the hands of the Gee's Bend quilters.
After slavery ended in 1865, most of the former slaves remained in the area. Their descendants still live there today. Their quilts show their colorful history.
The quilts allow all of us to learn from the people of Gee's Bend. "Quilting is the whole history of my family," said one resident and quilt maker.
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Article: Copyright © 2009 Weekly Reader Corporation. All rights reserved.
Weekly Reader is a registered trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation.
Used by permission.