Patricia Ewer: How a Textile Conservator Came to Love the Quilt

Inherent in the study of historic and artistic quilts is an interest in their preservation and care. We all want our most beautiful and precious things to last forever. I came to the field of textile conservation from a fine arts and art history background. My first real position was conserving tapestries. Volumes have been written about their art historical significance, owners, countries of origin, manufacturers, materials and their legacies. I went form conservation position in a fine arts museum to a charming country conservation laboratory that at the time specialized in Americana, especially quilts. Little did I realize that the same study and analyses were being done on these objects; even more so. Conservators are fortunate in that we can contribute pertinent information to the existing body of knowledge of quilts and other textiles. Conservators in the course of their work thoroughly study and analyze their objects prior to treatment. Much information comes from the quilts’ construction, types of fabrics, their weave structure, types of threads and supplemental attachments. These data not only help the conservator prescribe a treatment but also aid the historic study and dating of many pieces. This information also allows the conservator to understand the mechanisms of degradation which affect future preventive care of the object. A newly immerging topic for the conservator is the analysis of new methods and modern materials for use in the creation and conservation of artifacts. This field is ever evolving and new methods are put forth all the time. Tapestries are still an important part of my work, but the quilt is always going to be more intimate and engaging.

Patricia Ewer is the principal of Textile Objects Conservation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a conservation professional with over 30 years of experience in treating textiles, managing, developing and staffing conservation projects. She has held conservation positions at Historic Royal Palaces (U.K.), Midwest Art Conservation Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Biltmore House (Asheville, North Carolina), Textile Conservation Laboratory at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine (New York, New York), and The Textile Conservation Workshop (South Salem, New York). She has been a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works since 1989. She is co-editor with Frances Lennard of the forthcoming book Textile Conservation: Advances in Practice. Ms. Ewer was recently a presenter at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Tapestry Conservation Symposium (December 2009).

Marsha MacDowell: The Quilt Index: Digging Into and Broadening Content, Current Challenges and Future Opportunities

Photo by Pearl Yee Wong

In October 2003, after years of discussion, planning, and testing, The Quilt Index (www.quiltindex.org) was officially launched as a collaboration of the Michigan State University Museum, The Alliance for American Quilts, and MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online. This new digital repository promised a centralized online tool for education, research, and public access. Originally the pilot repository provided searchable access to only 1800 records and images from four sample collections of state quilt documentation project records and museum quilt holdings. By the end of 2009, the Quilt Index holds 50,000 records drawn from public and private collections as well as digitized ephemera and key quilt history journals. These records are enhanced by essays, galleries, curriculum resources, and an array of contributor and user documents. The Index leadership team is now working with many individuals, organizations, and institutions, both in the U.S. and abroad to broaden the content and deepen the use of this incredible quilt history resource.

This presentation will use sample projects drawn heavily from those connected to the Great Lakes to illustrate the current challenges and future opportunities associated with the Quilt Index. This presentation will also invite ideas for future development.

Quilts: Collectors and Collecting

Join Patricia Cox Crews and panel members as they explore the impetus, the value, the excitement, and the responsibility of collecting quilts with five AQSG panel members. Lucinda Cawley and Debby Cooney join the panel to speak for the individual collector, Jane Lury and Xenia Cord for the dealer’s relationship to quilts and collectors, and Linda McShannock presents the museum world’s point of view. It will be a lively hour of conversation on a subject of interest to all quilt lovers.

Poster Session

AQSG is initiating a poster session at the 2010 Annual Seminar as a venue for presenting members’ ongoing research projects to fellow Seminar participants. View displays of a research question, methods, and preliminary results that invite dialog with colleagues.

Poster presenters will be present to discuss and field questions about their research with viewers for the entire session. Make time in your schedule to attend this exciting new event on Saturday afternoon.

Research Workshop

Moving Forward with Your Quilt Research

Have a great idea and don’t know where to begin your research? Searched the genealogy and don’t know what to do with it? Need some guidance to make sense of your data?

The Publications Committee will present brief topical discussions of research methods and paper preparation. Then we will divide into small groups to discuss your projects. Participants will come with a project in mind or underway and leave with renewed commitment and direction. Please join us on Friday afternoon.

Welcome Event

Plan on attending the Welcome Event on Thursday evening at the Sheraton Hotel from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. The 2010 Study Exhibit of 19th Century Star Quilts and the exhibit of quilts from the Hennepin History Center’s collection is open this evening for your enjoyment. Featured in the dining room are quilt turnings from the Winona County History Museum with Judy Bohm, curator at that Museum, and quilts from the collection of Joyce Aufderheide, an early quilt collector in Minnesota. The Aufderheide quilts, owned by her son, Jim Aufderheide are presented, with commentary by Pat Cox. These turnings will be repeated throughout the evening.

At 8:00pm, join the President of Minnesota Quilters for Anniversary cake and coffee in celebration of AQSG’s 30th Anniversary and a display of Helen Kelley’s quilts, narrated by her husband, Bill Kelley, and her daughter, Helen Johnson. Helen Kelley’s work is included in A Century of Quilts and she was inducted into the Quilter’s Hall of Fame in 2008. It’s a wonderful opportunity to greet old friends and experience an evening of quilts from the 19th to the 21st century. This event is sponsored by Minnesota Quilters.

Show & Tell

Make this Friday evening event special for all of us by sharing your quilts, antique or contemporary, and quilt related items. We will have time for stories and photographs, but we must limit power point presentations to 10 minutes.