Sharing My Love of Quilting, Again!

While in Japan, I was able to visit New International School where I had worked for four years. It was wonderful to spend time with my former boss, Steven Parr, to see other people with whom I had worked and to see so many great improvements. I was very impressed with the art teacher, Adam Hosmer, and as we talked, I was invited to share my love of quilting with the students. The school was beginning a new term with a change in timetabling so that the boys and girls in Upper and Secondary School were separated for art and gym so I had a nice long class with the girls. Only one of the students knew about quilting from her American grandmother who from the sounds of it is an avid quilter herself.

 I presented a Power Point on a brief “History of Quilting” and then moved into quilting today using some of the wonderful quilts from the Yokohama International Quilt Show to show the great variance in techniques and styles. With only one class, there was no time to actually get into sewing but Mr. Hosmer and I decided they could design a block cutting and pasting paper from the recycling bin. We also added some new origami paper into the mix. Using the idea of a crazy quilt, the girls designed their blocks around their own central motif. It was agreed that Mr. Hosmer would facilitate the completion of the blocks and the girls would decide how to arrange them into their wall quilt.

Here are some pictures of the girls’ blocks in progress:

 

 

This week I was very excited to hear from, Mr. Hosner, who wrote:

Thanks so much for your presentation and workshop last week. The students really enjoyed learning about quilts, and found the work to be exciting and challenging. One student has expressed an interest in making a quilt as her piece for the annual Artscape Exhibition. Here is an attached image of the final piece. We hope you like it!

Thanks again,

Adam

I love it! 

A special thanks to Steven Parr, Adam Hosmer and the girls of Upper School and Secondary, New International School in Tokyo for giving me this opportunity to share my love of quilting.

Note: Artscape is an annual event organized to showcase the art work of students from different international schools in Tokyo. it is always amazing to see the creative and skill displayed by the students.