Kathleen Caraccio was born in the Bronx, New York in 1947. As a child, she was fluent in an “old world language” of needlework and manual dexterity, and remembers her parents’ support for her artistic inclinations as a kind of indulgence. In the 1960s, Caraccio’s artistic focus shifted to printmaking and works on paper, but she never lost her affinity for textiles.

The “Tucson Sector” encompasses most of the state of Arizona, including 262 miles of its border with Mexico. This territory, designated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is part of the Sonoran desert—an ecologically diverse, spectacular landscape of rough terrain and extreme conditions. Water sources are scarce. Temperatures frequently rise above 100 degrees and fall below freezing at night. Violence on both sides of the border—at the hands of “coyotes” (human smugglers), sex traffickers, and Border Patrol agents—is also a threat.

Throughout western India, people make quilts for practical reasons: to have something to sleep under, to hang in doorways, to augment dowries, to sell. They make quilts for personal reasons, as well: to document daily life, to offer as gifts, to signal group affiliation or individuality. The quilts in this exhibition were made by women and men from towns and villages across the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. These craftspeople come from varied geographic, economic, and social backgrounds, but all value quiltmaking for the creative outlet it provides.

Liberian quiltmaking is a transatlantic tradition. American immigrants, many of them freed slaves and free-born black people, first brought their sewing and quilting skills to West Africa in 1820. They continued to practice patchwork and appliqué as they settled and helped build what would become the country of Liberia, which declared its independence in 1847.

Valerie Goodwin is a mixed-media fiber artist whose background as an architect plays a key role in her work. Her quilts are inspired by real and imaginary maps of landscapes and cities. Her compositions work on a number of levels, from close up and far away, as if an aerial view. Surface detail is created using hand and machine stitching.

Stitched Textiles from West and Central Africa

"I am not a collector. I am a treasure hunter. A collector always wants to better a collection. I buy only what I like and for no other reason. Quilts look better when you have a lot of them."

Mark Dunn, president and owner of Moda Fabrics, began his career in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1966 as a third-generation thread and yarn sales representative. In 1985, he received the “Man of the Year” award for the sewing industry from the American Jewish Committee. Dunn attended the University of South Carolina but has lived in Dallas, Texas for the past 33 years. His love for the quilting industry plays out in his personal life as well as in business.

Laura Petrovich-Cheney processes events that wear down spirits and materials. Like the passage of time itself, natural disasters remind us of our vulnerability and the inevitability of loss. Petrovich-Cheney crystallizes and commemorates the collective trauma of natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey, and the fires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. In the aftermath of upheaval, she collects wooden debris: two-by-fours, strips of molding and trim, bits and pieces of boards that were once boxes or signs for family businesses, familiar brands, local institutions.

In 1941 Martha Ann Glenn was named Iowa’s Healthiest Girl Baby. Fanfare surrounded the prize, generating newspaper stories, congratulations from far-flung friends and relatives, and endorsement opportunities for Quaker Oats, Colonial Bread, and Meadow Gold Butter. Over the years, the line between memorabilia and actual memory grew fuzzy. Growing up amid the stories and images of herself as a champion, Martha thought of herself as fundamentally robust and resilient. She was always confident in her wherewithal to succeed.