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Valley Arts
May is Quilt Month in Berkeley Springs
By Jeanne Mozier
No signs are needed. Even casual passers-by can tell that Berkeley
Springs is Quilt Central in May.
A colorful card announces the annual Delectable Mountains Quilt Show at the Ice House. An even more colorful poster
is covered with nearly 50 images of quilt hangings that are part of the Yard Square Quilt Silent Auction. The quilts,
made and donated by guild members, measure 36 inches square -- a yard -- and hang in local businesses.
Another notice posts the weekend performance times for Piecework, staged readings at the Ice House of locally written
plays, each with a quilt as a central character. Guild member Jane Frenke aimed to put together local writers,
actors and quilters, with two performances of three one-act plays on Mothers Day weekend at the Ice House. Now
in its third year, Piecework is the newest addition to Quilt Month.
The free quilt show and sale opens with a public reception on Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. and quilts hang in the
Ice House gallery through June 7. Viewing hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Beginning May 22,
the gallery is also open on Fridays. On hand will be members of the guild wearing white gloves to protect the quilts,
ready to talk about patterns, colors and stitching.
The first Berkeley Springs quilt show was held in a church hall in1982 and remained a biennial event until 1997,
when it moved into the Morgan Arts Council's newly acquired Ice House. "It's been an annual event since then,"
said Frenke, a professional fabric artist.
Frenke believes that hanging quilts in a well-lit gallery space awakened guild members to the idea that their quilts
are art. "Quilts are not patchwork bed covers created from leftover fabric anymore," she said.
Quilting saw a major revival in 1976, when the U.S. Bicentennial celebration sparked an interest in traditional
arts and crafts. More than 30 years later, what visitors to the quilt show see is cutting edge fabric art produced
by guild members.
"This quilt group is very vibrant, a can-do group," said Frenke, whose outreach projects with the guild
include having items produced for sale at the show. "This year they're making fabric rope baskets," she
said.
The Yard Square Quilt Auction is another Frenke idea. Quilters complete a yard square wall hanging, to be displayed
in a local business. With a map of quilt locations, visitors can find all the hangings and bid in the stores or
online for as many quilts as they want. On the final day, the bids are totaled and the proceeds donated to a local
charity. Since it began in 2005 with 28 yard squares, the number of quilts produced has nearly doubled.
By April 17, all the yard square quilts will be hung. At the century-old Hunter's Hardware, two quilts always hang
in the window next to the pellet stoves. Community Garden Market reports, "We have a lot of people coming
in with the map who have never been in an organic food store." The library is another popular quilt location.
About 95 percent of the bids come in electronically from all over the country and begin as soon as quilts are posted
online -- even before they are hung around town. The auction finale is at the Ice House on Monday, May 25 from
4 to 5 p.m.
On Saturday, May 9 the show is at 7:30 p.m.; on Sunday it is at 3 p.m. Tickets are also chances on one of six yard
square quilts made by the quilt guild to match the plays.
For more information: www.macicehouse.org or delectablequilts@aol.com. |
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