Woodland West is on the Map!

The Ogden Museum’s nine-year-old residency program, Artists and Sense of Place, places artists in schools to explore the history, identity and character of the students’ world. To prepare for the residency at Woodland West Elementary School, artist Natalie Keller Barnes first investigated the neighborhood in which the school is located. Realizing that she was unfamiliar with the location of the school, she relied on a map to guide her exploration. Ultimately, the map became the inspiration for the project with techniques from her non-traditional quilt-making Incorporated into the collaborative piece. Additionally, the artist’s concept of caring for our world by recycling found objects and discarded materials such as leftover Mardi Gras beads and other commonly used household items was integrated into the artwork.

On the first day of the residency, after identifying herself as a non-traditional quilt-maker, the artist showed students examples of traditional quilts and of her own work. Students then designed rectangular signature blocks used to create a border element in the final piece. They also traced, cut out and colored hand shapes to make the fringe of the quilt.

The next two days of the residency concentrated on constructing the quilt itself. Instead of traditional quilt squares, the artist created separate quilt sections by segmenting an enormous map of the area. Because of the map’s variations in line and color, each section became a beautiful abstract design of its own. Not until after students worked collaboratively to embellish the rectangles and the map reassembled, was the true beauty of the quilt realized.

Special thanks to the faculty and staff of Woodland West Elementary School, Peggy Rome, principal, and to Freddi W. Evans, Jefferson Parish Public School System Artist Facilitator. This project was supported by grants from the Maggie George Foundation.