Debbie Caillet's Final Project

I am so imbedded in public education, especially elementary, that it is difficult for me to remember the art world outside my busy classroom. Having taught elementary art for twenty years, I have thought of nothing else in those quick years. My mind is so in tune with their thoughts, abilities, needs, and what they are capable of I seldom think of art on any other level. I guess you can say I have given my students every ounce of passion for the arts I possibly could share with them. So it seemed befitting to me to naturally include them in the process of my semester project. I value their expressive line, their spontaneity, and their unabashed approach to creating art. While I originally planned to focus on my first love: bookmaking, I was inspired by another culture’s art making and decided to marry two styles of art making together: Mud Cloths and Quilting

African Mud cloths are rich in tradition of the Malian culture of Africa. Bogolanfini is the correct term for mud dyed cloth. Essentially the men weave the fabric and the women dye the fabric in a bath of leaves to prep the fabric. Then a series of fermented mud layers are painted one at a time to create a pattern. The layers become darker and darker. The fabric is then washed and the opposite areas are bleached white. I discovered the men are the mud cloth makers but it is still mostly the women who make sure the tradition is handed down to their daughters and sons. There is something about this time honored craft that reminded me of the American tradition quilting. Early on quilting, Latin for stuffed sack, was a resourceful way to stay warm on chilly nights and it was not long before women put effort into designing blocks and became skilled craftsman. Quilting was then taught to the daughters and handed down to future generations becoming a family heirloom.

Both are similar in their use of fabric, creation of pattern and worked by hand, but I found a deeper connection after some research and reflection. Both fabrics’ similarities are parallel in time and place. I found the words protection, historical significance, community describing the foundation these two cultures shared with their fabrics. I wondered what the textiles of other cultures were. Did every culture place significance on a fabric and elevate it to the status of fine craft? I am reminded of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt who created many paintings representing the family cloth or quilt. Like the Malians who wore the cloth as protection when hunting, Klimt’s quilt represented a protection from sickness and death. Both cultures came to hold their fabrics with highest regard and used them as a symbol of status, skill, and eventually fine art. As time progressed, skilled artisans emerged combining colors and patterns for their inherent beauty creating a common visual language of design.

After studying mud cloths and the line designs and symbols of the Mali, my students chose to draw an African animal. They used many of the symbols and patterns used by the Malians. We used clay slip as mud and I added a little blue and black paint to give it a darker look. Using toothpicks and broken paintbrushes the students painted their designs on muslin fabric.  In the next phase, students discovered American quilt making through books, online photos, and PBS series on the Gee Bend quilters. I told my students that we would be creating a tufted quilt design using their mud cloths as the central theme and that I would quilt the border with my sewing machine. Our quilt would be a collaborative wall hanging.

I chose a tufted quilt design because I did not feel right sewing over their art on the muslin. First, we laid out each piece and worked together to choose the best place for each animal. I pinned each into a row and sewed the rows together. I selected a black fabric with a grey swirl pattern to give a little decoration since the muslin was so simple. I edged it in flat black. Quilting on my sewing machine at school is easier since it is a new machine with many features but since I am not a skilled quilter, I still had challenges because I was not quilting over the animals- just the border. I eventually got into a rhythm on the machine and although my stitches are not consistent I felt I did a decent job in all. It is a little wrinkled from taking it home to quilt. I am going to try to steam it carefully.  

Meaningful discussions between students about our journey in discovering, learning, and working together to create a communal work of art help them realize that not all art is singular in nature. Art can be valued, appreciated, created, and shared together.