Men Who Quilt

Do men approach quilt making differently than women do? Would a quilt look the same if made by different sexes? The Virginia Quilt Museum opens the exhibit MEN WHO QUILT on Sept. 2, which will run through Dec. 20, 2014. A large compilation of quilts - some by men, some by women - will explore that famous quote that men are from mars, women are from venus.

On Oct 25, the museum will host Jonathan Gregory, Asst. Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, NE. for a program analyzing whether men and women quilters are from different planets - or not. Drawing from his extensive study of farmer-engineer Ernest Haight, a prolific Nebraska quilt maker, and a survey of other men and women quilters, Gregory will provide his view of gender in quilt making.

MEN WHO QUILT includes quilt tops made by Fred Calland, a well-known personality on National Public Radio, which fill an entire gallery. Calland created only tops using his contemporary designs based on traditional quilt patterns. The exhibit is based on the book about his quilt tops “Not Another  Like It ...On the Block”  which was published by his sister Ann Calland after his death in 1999. With one exception, of the more than 100 tops he made, he was not interested in interrupting the flat surface and the solid colors of his tops with quilting lines. Yet his bold graphics and construction-destruction-reconstruction technique will amaze.

Examples of several contemporary quilts made by male Virginians will add to the curious examination. Just to compare, quilts by Anne Oliver will also be on display. This retrospective of Oliver’s quilts demonstrates her ability to find quilt designs in everyday life, especially architectural details.

  For further information about these exhibits and Jonathan Gregory’s lecture “A Disposition To Be Inventive,” see  www.vaquiltmuseum.org. The museum, located in Harrisonburg, VA, is open Tues.-Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm.