Suzanah Furtick
New Orleans, Louisiana
Postage Stamp Quilt
Collectively in Vinegar's Shape 1 Residency, artists discussed questions such as: Whose story does my artwork tell? Whose story can my artwork tell? How do these stories need to be told?
A quilt can tell the story of a culture, a family, and history stitched together. As an artist, I seek to build upon this heritage of the American South-- from the quilt history of the Underground Railroad to the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama. Showing quilts on gallery walls is a statement of equality that gives voice to the rich histories from which I come.
By bringing quilts out of the home, and into an art space I hope to bring people together, to tap into shared memories, and to recognize that we are stitching history together now.
With elections close at hand the United States Postal Service will play an important role for many voters during this pandemic. This August I began hearing things in the news related to uncertainties with funding the United States Postal Service, and I thought, "what can I do about that?"
The postage Stamp Quilt reaches for a unifying thread and asks the question: how can we, as Americans, come together during this time of social distancing to support the United States Postal Service in a tangible way?
This project has two parts:
Fabric Quilt: I will put out a call on Instagram for participants to send in an 8.5" x 11" piece of blue and white medium-weight fabric (e.g. dress shirt material) to a designated United States Post Office Box. That fabric will be sewn into a quilt.
Paper Assemblage: The envelope, stamp, and letter artifacts that come with the fabric submissions, will become a paper assemblage that documents how the USPS plays a role in creating this work of art.
This is a story that we can tell together. I invite you to follow this project on Instagram @postagestampquilt