Columbia River Gorge Quilters Guild Featured at Southern Wasco County Library

The Columbia River Gorge Quilters Guild is coming on February 28, 2022 to hang their quilts in the Southern Wasco County Library where they will remain a feature for two months. The lobby of the Maupin Civic Center will be decorated as well, with umbrella quilts from Beyond the Block: Art Quilters of the Gorge. Details of the exhibits are described below, be sure to stop by and check it out!

“The people of Guatemala love color and art. Bold color is everywhere-in vivid murals and in rich symbolic designs and decorative trim covering the walls and buildings of their small villages. Their traditional costumes are created from a rainbow of handwoven textiles, embellished with bright embroidery that depicts the flowers, fruits, birds, and plants that surround them. In 2012, several members of the Columbia River Gorge Quilters’ Guild embarked on a textile-themed tour of Guatemala. They visited weaving cooperatives, textile shops and open air markets across the country. They took classes from local women who were masters at hand weaving, yarn dying, and embroidery. Returning home, they created these vibrant quilts from the materials they collected, using patterns inspired by their experience of these people, their culture, and their art.”

Umbrellas as Art in the Lobby: The members of Beyond the Block: Art Quilters of the Gorge wanted to create an engaging art exhibit from unexpected components constructed as unconventional quilts. They chose the umbrella. There’s plenty of design potential in eight divisions and it’s three dimensional. The project required the artists to do a little bit of engineering and a lot of problem solving to create this whimsical collection of quilted umbrellas.