"Graveyard Quilt"
Photo by Nancy Osborne, Community
Scholar
ABC Quilt Alley, Boyd County
Larger photo at
http://www.abcquiltalley.com
"Dresden Plate"
Photo by Ralph Tyree, Visual
Arts at the Market Artist
Clark County Quilt Trail
"Kentucky Star"
Photo by David Toczko, Visual Arts at the
Market Artist
Hardin County Clothesline of Quilts
"54’ 40” Or Fight"
Photo by Patricia Brock, Visual
Arts at the Market Artist
Grayson County Clothesline of
Quilts
"Star Variation"
Photo by Jaap van
der Oort, Visual Arts at the Market Artist
Buffalo Gals Quilt Trail, Scott
County
"Log Cabin Variation"
Photo by David Toczko,
Visual Arts at the Market Artist
Breckenridge County Quilt Trail
There is a
quality about quilts that evokes a feeling of comfort, of home and family.
Quilting is a tradition that thrives in Kentucky, not as a nostalgic reminder
of days gone by, but as a vibrant part of community life. Grandmothers still
sew quilts for grandchildren; quilters still get together to share patterns and
gossip; family members still cherish the quilts that were made for them by
loving hands. In the past, quilts might have been seen warming a bed, gracing a
couch or flapping on a clothesline, but with the advent of the Kentucky Quilt
Trail, images of quilts now blossom as bright patterns on the sides of
weathered barns and other buildings across the commonwealth.
The Quilt
Trail project began in Adams County, Ohio, when Donna Sue Groves, a field
representative for the Ohio Arts Council, decided that she wanted a quilt
square painted on her barn to honor her mother, a lifelong quilter. Donna Sue
shared her idea with friends in the community, who offered their help. They
decided that if they were going to paint one quilt square on a barn, they might
as well paint twenty and create a driving tour to attract tourists to their
rural community. The project was such a success that word of it traveled
quickly, and soon other communities were contacting Donna Sue asking if they
could join in the project. Donna Sue offered her enthusiastic support.
The Quilt Trail project has taken deep root in Kentucky and spread
quickly. The first square in Kentucky was painted and hung in Carter County by
local volunteers with support from the Gateway Resource Conservation and
Development Council. The project has spread as a grassroots movement with each
community introducing its own twist, painting quilt squares not only on barns,
but also on floodwalls, craft shops and restaurants. Volunteer leaders and
painters include extension agents, teachers, school children, senior citizens,
homemaking clubs and tourism committees. The local utility company often
provides a bucket truck and workers, who hang the quilts on barns, delighted to
be part of this heartwarming community project.
Many Kentucky literary
artists weave the imagery of quilts throughout their stories and poems as
symbols of family unity through hard times or as an expression of the
connection that Kentuckians feel to their home-place. Kentucky painters often
include quilts in their landscapes. The Kentucky Arts Council has created a
book, Kentucky Quilt Trails: Views and Voices,
combining stunning photographs of the Kentucky Quilt Trail with literary pieces
related to quilting. It features a Kentucky landscape painting as the cover.
This book not only documents the evolution of the Kentucky Quilt Trails, but
also highlights what the quilt symbolizes to our literary and visual artists.
Recipients of the Al Smith Fellowship Award, Professional Assistance Award and
photographers who are juried participants in the Visual Arts at the Market
program were asked to contribute works that tell this story. Community Scholars
certified by the Kentucky Folklife Program were also invited. Community
Scholars have collected and shared stories of the quilt patterns, the buildings
and the people that make up Kentucky's Quilt Trails. To learn more about the
book, click here.
 Kentucky Arts Council 500 Mero Street 21st Floor, Capital Plaza Tower Frankfort, KY 40601 502-564-3757 Toll Free: 888-833-2787 FAX: 502-564-2839 Page Updated: 04/22/2009 |