East St. Louis quilter and fabric artist Edna J. Patterson-Petty responded to a short-order commission to craft her piece “Road to Redemption” for the upcoming Quilts for Obama exhibit at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
Curator Roland Freeman (founder of The Group for Cultural Documentation of D.C.) asked Carolyn Mazloomi (founder of Women of Color Quilt Network), who lives in Ohio, to call specific artists personally to ask if they would like to participate in this historical event.
“I was one of 44 quilters from across the country that received the honor of creating a quilt,” Patterson-Petty said. “We were given less than a month to bring this task to fruition.”
Her quilt design symbolizes Obama’s journey to the White House, the unity of his family and his mixed-race heritage, portrayed in a pattern of black and white hands.
Patterson-Petty is a lifelong resident of East Saint Louis. She is a graduate of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art/Fabric Design, and a Master of Art in Art Therapy. Her art has been published in numerous books and catalogues and displayed in a number of galleries and museums in the U.S and internationally and on television.
Quilts for Obama will be on display Jan. 11-Feb. 1 at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., 801 K Street, NW at Mount Vernon Square. For more information, visit www.historydc.org. For more information on the artist, visit fabricswork.com.
