The Lancaster MOAH Cedar Arts Center and WEAD artist in residency project in Lancaster, CA, continues with community participation in papermaking workshops to create the quilt block for the Lancaster Eco-Quilt. The blocks are each 20 inches square and composed of 4 sheets of 8-1/2 x 11 inch pieces of paper.  Each sheet of paper has an image of a California golden poppy flower with a blue background. The borders of the quilt are 4 inches wide and made with a natural off-white paper pulp made from local plants mixed with some abaca. The yellow-orange poppy paper made from local plants mixed with some abaca and dyed with non-toxic liquid fiber reactive dye has seeds for California golden poppies and a mix of Southwest yellow wildflowers in it. The blue colored pulp made from recycled blue jeans and mixed with local plant pulps and dyed abaca pulp has seeds for California desert bluebells and a mix of Southwest blue flowers in it. The white borders have seeds for Baby’s Breath (small white flowers) and for Ivory Castle Poppies, a white poppy.

Here are some photos of making the Eco-Quilt squares. The design is made with stencils on the paper moulds, and we have 3 different design stencils. Each quilt block is unique as people decorated them in different ways and combined the three stencils in their own way. The public workshop on Saturday, Feb. 27 was a fun day of papermaking for the public to help create the quilt blocks for the Lancaster Eco-Quilt. We even had some parents and children come in to make some paper for the quilt squares.

many hands and girl helping to dry square IMG_3924 girl making poppy for quilt block IMG_3913 girl brushing edges for quilt block IMG_3903 Donnie and other participant make a quilt block IMG_3884 Donnie lifting up poppy mouldIMG_3883 workshop scene with Ronnie making square IMG_3874 Donnie making blue paper for quilt block IMG_3866 baby helping to pat paper dry IMG_3853 Anna couching last poppy for block IMG_3843 Candace and David putting on string IMG_3842 David and Candace couching for quilt block IMG_3830 workshop scene making blocks IMG_3812 participant laying on the string IMG_3799 Anna couching poppy IMG_3797 participants putting on string IMG_3782 Anna forming poppy IMG_3741 Candace helping to couch poppy square IMG_3738 particpant making blue with 2nd stencil IMG_3730 couching and laying out new interfacing in workshop IMG_3728 participant dipping into poppy vat IMG_3727 candace making blue for quilt block mixing dye IMG_3700 Jane blending pulp at workshop IMG_3686 laying out the quilt in Cedar ArtsIMG_3682 pulp painting on a square IMG_3669 putting inclusions on poppies in quilt block IMG_3641 Andi looking at quilt block being peeled off IMG_3577 Laurel couching quilt block IMG_3571 bobby and Jane with quilt square ready to hang and dry IMG_3564 Laurel and Anna looking at quilt square IMG_3560 Jane taking quilt block off interfacing IMG_3551 jane and angela looking at dried quilt block IMG_3537 taking square off interfacing IMG_3534 Angela looking at dried square IMG_3533 Jane and Angela look at Hull Park site IMG_3528 squares hanging on line & measuring them IMG_3371 putting snd layer on top to hold string IMG_3341 hanging finished square to dryIMG_3326 square ready to dry on line patting it dry IMG_3319 adding thread IMG_3305 square with white in middle IMG_3303 Jane with couched poppy on blue background for quilt block IMG_3297 couching gold poppyIMG_3294 couching blue paper IMG_3287

This coming Saturday, May 5, Jane will have a public workshop at Hull Park in Lancaster, at the site near the children’s play area where the Lancaster Eco-Quilt will be installed. Hull Park is located on West 30th Street and Avenue J-8 in Lancaster. Everyone is invited to come to Hull Park this Saturday March 5 from 11AM to 1 PM and 3PM to 5 PM for a public workshop to help make the headboard and footboard for the “flower bed” where the Lancaster Eco Quilt will be installed. The public installation ceremony for the Lancaster Eco-Quilt will be on Saturday, March 14, 2 – 4 PM at Hull Park in Lancaster, CA.

Check back here to see more photos and get updates on the progress of the Lancaster Eco-Quilt. The photos here are by Timothy S. Allen (http://allentimphotos2.wordpress.com).

Jane Ingram Allen’s month-long residency in Lancaster is sponsored by WEAD (Women Eco Artists Dialog: http://www.weadartists.com), and this is a project of the Lancaster Museum of Art & History, Cedar Center for the Arts, Lancaster, CA (www.lancastermoah.org ).