What a treat! I got to visit the Textile Museum in D.C. last week while I was traveling on JDRF business. Those trips are usually very scheduled, but I flew in early and had a chance to explore before my first meeting. I did a quick internet search for quilts in D.C. and the link to the Textile Museum came up. I figured out the Metro route and headed over to explore.
In addition to a research library (which unfortunately wasn't open when I visited), there are two main exhibits. The first, titled simply 'Green: the Color and the Cause' had a mix of contemporary artists exploring those themes and historical pieces with explanations about how different cultures achieved the color green and what it represented. One of the contemporary artists who stood out to me was Maggy Rozycki Hiltner. I really enjoyed her piece, Hothouse Flowers, 2005 (pictured).
Picture
Hothouse Flowers by Maggy Rozycki Hiltner
Another artist I really liked was Justin Randolph Thompson. He built a palm tree using an old quilt top and other found objects. All the artists are on the Textile Museum website : You should explore it if you have time -- lots of great inspiration out there!

The second exhibit was 'Second Lives: the Age-old Art of Recycling Textiles.' I was fascinated to learn about many different historical and cultural approaches to 'up-cycling' textiles. There were some incredible pieces from India, Pakistan and Japan on display. In particular I was smitten with an Afgan quilt made from recycled clothing . I spent some time in their lovely garden as well. The museum in right in the middle of the Kalorama neighborhood just off Embassy Row.

Comments are closed.