ALTENBURG, Mo. — An award-winning “world-class” selection of 15 handcrafted quilts of varying dimensions, color schemes and patterns from the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, is on display at the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum in Altenburg.
Museum director Carla Jordan said Tuesday it’s the second time the venue has hosted the exhibit, “because you have to raise money to do it.”
“We had an anonymous donor who stepped forward because I requested to bring [the exhibit] here,” Jordan said, adding, “It was just time again.”
The Spring into Quilts exhibit is free for guests, Jordan said, which is not common practice in the world of quilt exhibits.
But that’s the museum’s duty, she said.
In order to host an exhibit, several qualifications must be met, Jordan said, including a climate-controlled space and adequate security.
“Our mission is to teach our Lutheran story and to preserve and document this history and create new experiences,” she said. “And hosting this exhibit is just another way that can be done.”
The quilts in the exhibit were selected specifically for Altenburg, she said.
“And I think that’s very special. It speaks to our relationship with the National Quilt Museum,” Jordan said.
The exhibit has no specific theme, but the quilts all have won awards, she said.
Standing before a 40-inch-by-81-inch, highly detailed, silk and cotton quilt crafted by Sue Benner of Dallas, Jordan described it as “stunning, gorgeous art.”
Incorporating commercial fabrics, found fabrics, recycled clothing and dye paint, Benner created her colorful masterpiece, “Cellular Structure VI (Stack of Six),” pieced and quilted by machine.
And even though the front is what draws the eye, the backside of a quilt also can be magnificent, according to Jordan and museum gift shop manager Carla Grebing.
“There’s the art museum way to look at things, and [there’s] the history museum way to look at things,” Jordan said. “Good art evokes an emotional response.”
Seeing photographs of quilts and seeing quilts in person are two different things, according to Jordan.
“These aren’t your grandma’s quilts,” Grebing said, referencing the unique, not-so-basic designs, appliqués and paints displayed.
But, Jordan said, the exhibit does feature some traditional quilts, created by young artists.
“Like an artist takes individual inks or paints, they took pieces of fabric,” Grebing added.
Marsha and Harry Kiefer of Cape Girardeau were in attendance Tuesday.
Marsha Kiefer said her favorite quilt was the 71-inch-by-74-inch hand- and machine-pieced and machine-quilted “Heliacal Rise,” by Laura Murray of Minneapolis.
“It’s extremely interesting, and the back is so very different,” Marsha Kiefer said of the rich yellows and circular, compass-themed design.
According to The National Quilt Museum’s website, the national museum has more than 600 quilts in its collection at 215 Jefferson St. in Paducah.
The exhibit will be on display 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through May 1.
jhartwig@semissourian.com
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