While it may seem like quilting is just for grandmas, it has a long history all over the world and it’s a thriving art form today. Here in the Bay Area, the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland’s 80 members meets monthly to work on personal projects, as well as bigger art pieces.
They have exhibited at Oakland City Hall, San Francisco’s DeYoung Museum, and the National Quilt Museum in Kentucky. Guild president Marie de Porres Taylor takes us inside a guild meeting and tells us about the history of the group that started out first as a casual gathering and now is a powerhouse of art quilting.
"At our meetings it really is a joy to put down all electronics and to really focus on the handy arts, so to speak. Where we are using our hands and our minds in a different way . . . You are creating something that you can use or give away or whatever."
If you’re interested in attending a guild meeting, the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland will meet this Saturday, January 27, at 1 p.m. at the West Oakland Public Library.