“Common Sense & Pin Money: The Material Culture and Legacy of Lula Annie Butler 1909-2009” is a four-generation exhibition at the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore (FACES) located at 7 North 4th Street in Denton, MD. The exhibition runs through Nov. 14, 2015 and features quilts by matriarch Mrs. Butler, canvas-needle work of Edna Viola Butler, photography, poetry and mixed media paintings of Robin Caudell and ceramics, jewelry, and mixed-media paintings of Nicole Caudell. The exhibit is open to the public Thursday to Saturday from 12-4pm.
The late Mrs. Butler’s quilts are the exhibition’s focal point. Her “make do” ethos made a way out of no way decades before recycle, repurpose and green were hash tags. A lifelong Caroline County resident and domestic worker, her Preston household was outfitted with passed-down linens from family and employers as well as quilts, tablecloths, aprons, and pillows she created from fabric-sample books and fabric remnants obtained from the late Mrs. Sarah Covey, her longest employer, who operated a drapery and upholstery business in Federalsburg, Maryland.
Mrs. Butler’s artistic impulse –vibrant, improvisational and individually expressive in her way — is part of a rural Atlantic World continuum spanning from East Preston, Nova Scotia to Gee’s Bend, Alabama, all of which are rooted in African-weaving traditions. Like Harriet Ross Tubman, Mrs. Butler sold gingerbreads and quilts for income using skills she learned from her mother, Harriet Dyer Thomas, who learned from her mother Martha Adams Dyer, the earliest quilter, thus far, identified in this lineage of Eastern Shore women of African and Native American descent. Mrs. Butler made dozens if not hundreds of quilts to provide warmth for her family, friends and fellow congregants at Mt. Calvary Methodist Church in Preston.
Nova Scotia, the Eastern Shore and Gee’s Bend have isolative geographies. Preston and Gee’s Bend have approximately the same population but unlike the Alabama quilters’ collective and the African Nova Scotia Quilter’s Association, Mrs. Butler created her Chesapeake vernacular alone. Her voice, singing the old hymns, was the only one heard in her westward-facing bedroom on Newton Road as she sewed strips of cloth together at her teal-metal Singer sewing machine. This seer’s stitchery was a fabric scat embedded with a post-modern timeline of textile arts in the United States. The fabric also reveals popular motifs such as hunting dogs, waterfowl, Bicentennial, Wye Oak and Flying Cloud.
“Common Sense & Pin Money: The Material Culture and Legacy of Lula Annie Butler 1909-2009” is curated by Robin Caudell, and the quilts are drawn from her collection. The exhibition was made possible through the assistance and support of Mary Lou Beauharnois and Sue Minnie of the Champlain Valley Quilters Guild New York, Brenda LeClair of Northland Upholstery, Plattsburgh, New York; Vera Vivante of Montreal, Quebec, Canada; The Estate of Susan Barnes Crosland; Dr. Sylvie Beaudreau of SUNY Plattsburgh; Alice Green and Charles Touhey of the Paden Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color, Essex, New York. The Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore (FACES) is a program of the Caroline County Council of Arts with support from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.
Photos attached:
- Lula Annie Butler;
- Robin & Nicole Caudell;
- Common Sense & Pin Money Exhibit Quilt sample
FACES Class Information
Friday Night Teen Sew-In Club; Teen led sewing projects on the first Friday of every month from 6:00pm – 8:00pm; Advisor Lynn Davis; $20 annual dues; for ages 14-18. Group to determine sewing projects using donated supplies. Encouraged to bring your own sewing machine. Drop-ins welcome to observe. First Friday dates: September 4.
Sit & Sew at FACES; Instructor led sewing projects on the third Thursday of every month from 6:30pm – 9:00pm; Instructor Lynn Davis; $15/members, $20/non-members; for ages 16 and up; supplies and pizza included. Drop-ins welcome to observe.
- Thursday, September 17, Insulated Lunch Bag.
- Thursday, October 15, Casserole Carrier
Youth No Sew Fleece; Friday, September 18, 6:30-9:00pm; Instructor – Lynn Davis; $20; for ages 11 -14. This warm and cozy fleece throw requires no sewing skills. Instead, we will be cutting and tying the fabric together to make the fun fringe.
Stadium Quilt; Sundays September 20 & 27, 1-5pm; Instructor – Lynn Davis; $35/members, $40/non-members; for 16 and up. Show off your team spirit (or other favorite fabrics) by making this fast and fun lap quilt. It’s perfect for staying warm in or out of the stadium. This quilt uses an easy Fold and Sew method for making square-in-a-square blocks.
Jelly Roll Throw; Thursday, October 8, 6:30-9:00pm and Sunday, October 11, 10am-4pm; Instructor – Lynn Davis; $35 /members, $40/non-members; for 16 and up. Come out and learn a fast and fun way to make a quilted throw using the quilt as you go method. Fabric shops sell pre-cut jelly rolls, or you can make your own by cutting strips from your fabric stash. This makes a beautiful scrap quilt.
For more information and to register for classes visit www.fiberartscenter.com or contact [email protected].
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