Now Showing: E Pluribus Unum II

Medicine Creek Lodge by Linda H. MacDonald

E Pluribus Unum II: Cultures in Cloth is now open for viewing in the Quiltart.com galleries.  A remarkable collection of art quilts, these works reflect the many cultures that comprise our nation, articulating our motto: E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One).

Imagine the journeys of the people whose stories are depicted in this exhibit. Whether they traveled the world or were native to these lands, each had personal trials to overcome in their path to America.

As you wander through our online gallery, consider E Pluribus Unum and how these simple words played a role in making this country the great republic that has offered refuge and prosperity to so many.

We are all individual in our beliefs, yet as one we understand that we are all human, that we can grow together under the liberties of our Constitution, that we all strive for the same goal, a better life for our children and our children’s children.

To schedule E Pluribus Unum II:  Cultures in Cloth at a venue near you, please visit About the Exhibit:  E Pluribus Unum II or write to culturalcloth@gmail.com.

Also available is the workshop, Cultural Cloth:  Exploring and Expressing Our Cultural Histories.

We would love to hear from you! Please return here after viewing the exhibit and share your thoughts, comments and EPU II experiences in the comment section below.  We each have our own ‘American’ story to tell.

Today We Celebrate!

Ability with Disability by Cathy Ortelle

We’ve imagined this day, when ANYONE can be President of the United States for some time.  I look at my grandchildren with sixteen cultures running through thier veins, and wonder at the many people of different colors that came together to create them.  I look at my family who are Catholic, Jewish, SDA, Baptist, Bhuddist and just plain spiritual, and thank God for this great country that allows us all to worship as we please.  And I look at the participants in my workshops, and the phenomenal work of the many artists of E Pluribus Unum II and marvel at the many cultures they have portrayed.

I am in awe . . . what a great day and grand country we live in!

God Bless America

To learn more about E Pluribus Unum II, please click on the links to the left.  To learn how E Pluribus Unum II and Cultural Cloth can be a part of your community’s diversity program, please email culturalcloth@gmail.com.

Carolina Mixed Media Shows Their Work in Raleigh, NC

Collages created in Cultural Cloth workshops are receiving enthusiastic responses. It was an honor to see the work of Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild (CMMAG) members displayed at the Art of the Carolinas 2008 event this weekend at the Hilton North in Raleigh, NC.

Hundreds of visitors were greeted with CC collage pieces at the CMMAG booth as they entered the venue. Responding with oohs and aahs, questions and comments, the visitor interest in the cultures depicted in the works clearly met the third goal of Cultural Cloth workshops: to bring the community into the discussion .

To view more finished Cultural Cloth fiber collage pieces, please click on the Cultural Cloth Gallery I page above. There you will find wonderful examples created in the workshop, along with the artist statements.

Please take a moment to write a response to the works, make a general comment or ask a question, and always feel free to write to directly to culturalcloth@gmail.com.

Welcome to Cultural Cloth

© Michelle Davis Petelinz 2008

Welcome to Cultural Cloth: Exploring and Expressing Our Cultural Histories. I hope you will return here again and again, as Cultural Cloth workshop participants share their work and experiences. We have plenty of space for comments, and welcome your input into the ongoing discussion of diversity in America.

Cultural Cloth, the workshop, utilizes fiber collage, also known as fabric collage, to entice group discussion. Fiber is present in every culture. We all feel fabric against our skin in clothing, and in our beds as we sleep. Fibers serves to frame the view out our windows and as a barrier between our feet and a cold floor. The touch of fiber is as natural as taking a breath, a breath that has been adorned with custom, tradition and imagination.

While creating the collage, group members share their thoughts and experiences of the effects of cultural diversity in their lives. The topics vary and are derived from the subjects being explored in the art.  Participants may talk about a personal experience, tell the immigration story of an ancestor, or the successes and failures of diversity in their community. Asking questions of each other, misconceptions and stereotypes are addressed in a non-threatening environment.

Through exhibiting the art work completed in the workshop, the conversation moves out of the workshop, into the community. When we are free to just talk about our experiences, we are free to change the way we think about race, ethnicity and multiculturalism right at home, in the communities we live and work in every day.

This past week, I had the great joy of sharing Cultural Cloth members of Carolina Mixed Media Artists Guild . Together, we learned a great deal about each other, and how we came to be American.

Eight members of the Carolina Mixed Media Artists Guild, some with no fiber experience at all, created fiber collages influenced by the The influences of Asia, The Netherlands, Native America, Wales, the Southwest, New Orleans, Mexico and Germany were clear during our meeting.

Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild Workshop

Looking around the table, I didn’t see a lot of difference in the faces of the participants. There were eight proud Americans, who valued their right to vote as dearly as their lives. Yet, listening to the discussion, these women couldn’t have been more diverse, each holding a distinct opinion on what it is to be part of ‘the ‘many’ who make up the ‘one’.

Experiences discussed ranged from the perception of ‘Southern’ intellect in other areas of the country, to the blended cultures of the ‘Bayou’.   Of importance to all was the rhetoric of the current election and how  all Americans are effected and distracted by it.

Food is an integral part of just about every culture. This group decided on a pot luck meal for lunch break with amazing dishes that reflected the cultures of the collages. Foods such as gumbo, sausage and sauerkraut, enchilada casserole and black-eyed peas are rarely seen on the same menu, but really do work well together. What a treat it was to share!

I hope you enjoy these examples of the work created in this workshop. To see all of the works, along with their statements, please be sure to attend the festivities of Art of the Carolinas 2008, November 14^th and 15^th, at Hilton North Raleigh, NC and visit the booth of Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild. To learn more about the event, please visit Jerry’s Artarama . For more information about the guild, please visit the Carolina Mixed Media Artists Guild.

Hope to see you there

Culturally Yours,

Ann Flaherty