Jet quilt takes off again at the AEAC

Feb 17, 2011

Photo: Kim Ondaatje and her “Jet” quilt

It is no wonder that the “Jet” quilt designed by renowned Canadian artist Kim Ondaatje is the first quilt you see as you enter the show “Collecting Stories: The Heritage Quilt Collection”. The show is now up and runs until July 17 at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre (AEAC) at Queen's University in Kingston.

Alicia Boutilier, who curated the show said, “I always knew that Kim's Jet quilt would go there. It was the first quilt in our collection and also was a part of the first-ever quilt show we put on here over 30 years ago, which I believe was the first-ever exhibition in Canada to show quilts as art.”

Ondaatje, who lives at Blue Roof farm in Bellrock just west of Verona, was a pioneer in bringing the heritage quilts of Eastern Ontario to the attention of the art-going public across the country. In 1974 she curated the show “Tradition + 1: Patchwork Quilts from South Eastern Ontario” after showing her collection of quilts to the then curator of the AEAC Frances K. Smith. The show included a film titled “Patchwork Quilts”, which was directed by Ondaatje and was about quilts she had collected or had made. The show toured across the country from coast to coast for two years, breaking records everywhere it showed.

She recalled her motivation for putting that show together and the momentum it gained. “One idea behind that first show was that art galleries can be rather intimidating. I thought, quilts are not the least bit intimidating, whereas abstract painting can be. I am also a specialist in Canadian literature and wanted to show how quilts also represent the experience of the early pioneers and contain in them symbols, everything from the log cabin to the court house steps,” she said.

Ondaatje's Jet quilt, which was made by Margaret MacLean, was designed in Kim's words “by applying those same ideas and by trying to show the jet as a symbol of the 20th century.”

The current show at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre is made up of over 20 quilts that span almost 200 years. Directly across from Kim's Jet is the oldest quilt in the show, the Fallowfield Quilt of 1820, created by an unknown maker in a central medallion style typical of the pre-industrial quilts that preceded the popular patchwork-styled quilts. Made of hand-woven linen and embroidered in ornate botanical flowers made from hand-dyed and hand-spun wools, the Fallowfield quilt is a fine example of the traditional Irish quilting that Irish immigrants brought to Canada.

Included in the collection is an Arden quilt titled Barn Raising Log Cabin made in 1900, a gorgeous example of a traditional Canadian patchwork quilt made with pierced velvet, gimp and silk where strips of fabrics or “logs” overlap one another, forming square blocks or “cabins” with a central red square symbolizing the hearth of home fire.

There is also a fine example of a crazy quilt from Pembroke that dates back to 1885. “Crazy” quilts were designed more as art than quilts to be slept under and their “crazy” asymmetrical lines were meant to imitate the crazed glazes in Japanese ceramics. Often made of colourful, lush fabrics, crazy quilts are best known for their personal expression where names and illustrations from current events of the times were often an integral part of their design.

Kim accompanied me through the show, sharing her in depth knowledge of the traditions of quilt making. Of the Bethlehem Star quilt made by Betsy Adams Dodge in 1875, Kim said, “Traditionally with these star quilts the quilter would often make one deliberate mistake in the design since they believed that only God could make anything perfect.”

I asked her which one she liked best- a silly question to ask an artist.” I like each one for different reasons. Every work of art is unique. And the amount of work in them is just incredible.”

For anyone who has a penchant for colour, abstract design, pioneer history and of course, quilts - this is a show definitely worth visiting. And also revisiting. On April 26 the quilts will rotate and a fresh new batch from the centre’s heritage quilt collection, which numbers over 65 will be hung. Kim's Jet quilt will remain on display until the show closes on July 17, 2011.

The Agnes Etherington Art Centre is located at Queens University in Kingston. For more information call 613-533-2190 or visit www.aeac.ca