New Hampshire was undergoing a movement in the early 1970s that had nothing to do with the social and political change most people associate with the time.

It was an art quilt movement. A new appreciation for the old craft of quilting was probably inspired initially by the bicentennial celebrations of many towns, but developed as an art form thanks to several major gallery exhibits. 

Wen Redmond has been a fiber artist since 1973, when she made her first intuitive pieced art quilt. But, for the first time, she recently found inspiration in politics.

The Rochester artist, who works from a studio in the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford, has a new piece in an exhibit titled “President Obama: A Celebration in Art Quilts.” It runs from Monday, Feb. 9, to Thursday, March 5, in the main gallery of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center in Silver Spring, Md.

“I’m not a political activist in any sense of the word,” Redmond said. “But I have strong beliefs.”

The art quilt, called “Yes! We Can!,” includes nine different portraits of President Barack Obama, digitally manipulated in various colors and printed on fabric. The colorfulness suggests the different ethnic backgrounds of the president and all U.S. citizens, Redmond said.

“It’s more about unity than political parties, more about every man than black or white,” she said. 

The center image is based on a technique Redmond pioneered for fabrics. While working on a collage, she discovered that layering silk organza with printed images on them creates a sort of three-dimensional look that changes depending on the viewer’s perspective. She calls the results “holographic images.”

The background of the quilt features black and white, stamp-like images of people from all over the world with cartoon bubbles saying “Yes, we can.” This is meant to demonstrate that everyone has a voice and that the whole world seems to be celebrating Obama’s recent election.

“I felt this celebratory attitude to embrace Obama and support him on his election and what he represents,” said Redmond. “That is change, which I feel we desperately need, and integrity and values.”

The conversation bubbles on the quilt are sewn together with red and blue thread, a reminder that the election crossed party lines, Redmond said. She is optimistic that politics will now focus on “what America needs” rather than divisive arguments.
Redmond says art itself is like a conversation. “You have an idea, then proceed with it and something happens,” she said. “It’s a conversation, almost, and when people see it they have something to say. It becomes an interactive thing.”

She was interviewed for a project called Quilters’ S.O.S.—Save Our Stories, which captures the voices and stories of quilt makers both living and past, for scholarship and exhibition in the American Folk Life Center at the Library of Congress.

Redmond has been featured widely in trade publications, including Surface Design Journal, New England Home Magazine, Art Quilt Elements 2008 Catalog, Niche magazine, Innovative Digital Fiber Images Book, Quilting Arts Magazine, Fiber Arts Magazine and International Quilters Magazine.

A member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen since 1993, she is juried in stitch and surface design. She is also a member of several other art associations. Her work can be seen nationwide, in galleries and collections.

Redmond said she has only made one quilt that was functional as opposed to an artwork, but she thought it was boring. For more information on the artist, visit www.wenredmond.com.