Alice Williams - Quilter, a response

I was very moved by Alice Williams’s presentation on her personal history and quilt making. I very much enjoyed the process of listening to her explain her background and then link it to her quilting practice. I have always been quite interested in First Nations culture and found great value in having the opportunity to meet a practising First Nations artists.

Since my undergrad degree is in Art History, I was quite used to the format of the lecture on art and artefacts. While some of my peers found her lecture style to be bland and sterile, I enjoyed returning to my time as an art history student where sociology, cultural anthropology, critical and artistic practice are woven together. I felt that her lecture style spoke to another time, when storytelling was a vital component to the structure of cultural values.

I learned a great deal about her artwork, namely her integration of the medicine wheel, and her interpretation of that symbol. Having a common thread between works of art is central to many artists, what I liked about her integration of the medicine wheel was how it was never central to the design of the piece, meaning that there were more explicit elements for the eye to wander through, yet the wheel and its significance to the artist’s culture was never compromised.

I have been specially trained to listen to these types of lectures and to look at art and artefacts from many vantage points. I found it quite disconcerting and saddening in many ways, that some of my peers could not look past the format of the lecture to see the value not only in what was being said, but also in the method that it was being transmitted. I question their ability to inspire in their students the ability to look for meaning and importance in the events they witness.

Lastly, I found this lecture to be an excellent way of introducing the idea of quilts and their meaning and relevance to “story” cultures and material culture in general. I found that when I went to do my quilting piece I asked myself some interesting questions. What story does this piece tell? Who is it telling it to? Why am I telling this story? In the end my quilt piece became a story about two dolphins dancing in the starlit waves together. It is quite clear that they two dolphins enjoy each other’s company. A very good friend of mine is expecting her first child in May. It is my intent to embroider the details of her child’s birth onto the cloth and present it as a story of their love for their new child.