The “Song Quilts” project visually interprets folk music from the American Appalachian tradition and the Russian Arctic. For this oral history project Eliza has interviewed women who share their stories and songs. From these field recordings she creates transcriptions with shape and color of the folksongs and transforms them into quilts. Quilted with a regional textile design, each quilt brings the person and the place into the room to recreate the spirit of the singer and pay homage to the textile traditions of their homes. The result is a synesthetic meditation on the power of women's voices and folk traditions across diverse peoples. A professional singer herself, Eliza will be sharing these songs with you, along with photographs and recordings of the women involved. Additionally, the lecture will address the creative process behind creating the Song Quilt series, how the hand-craft and music traditions of each region have influenced the project, and how we can add meaning to each stage of the quilting process.
