Jane Ingram Allen finished her artist in residency project in Lancaster, CA, on Saturday March 12, 2016, with the installation of the Lancaster Eco-Quilt.  This public art project was completed during Jane’s one month artist-in-residency at the Lancaster Museum of Art & History, Cedar Center for the Arts.lancaster eco quilt installed IMG_5555  lancaster eco quilt installed closer IMG_5573  lancaster eco quilt detail of installation IMG_5374

At a public ceremony on Saturday, local participants laid down the 20 squares of the handmade paper quilt created with community participation during the residency.  The Lancaster Eco-Quilt has seeds for wildflowers in the paper pulp and was placed on a prepared bed of soil.  A headboard and footboard of local willow branches was created by the artist with the help of local participants.  The quilt is in three colors and the gold poppy flowers in the quilt pattern have seeds for California poppies in the pulp.  In the blue parts of the quilt blocks there are seeds for California bluebells, and in the white parts there are seeds to grow white poppies and Baby’s Breath wildflowers.  Several children and families helped to install the Lancaster Eco-Quilt and stake down the handmade paper quilt with leaves from a dead Joshua Tree.  Here are some photos of the installation of the Lancaster Eco-Quilt.

lancaster eco quilt installing 3 IMG_5448 lancaster eco quilt installing 4IMG_5446 lancaster eco quilt installing 6 IMG_5433 lancaster eco quilt installing border IMG_5456 lancaster eco-quilt installers IMG_5503 lancaster eco-quilt installing 5 IMG_5475 lancaster eco-quilt installing border robert IMG_5415  Here’s a photo of all the volunteers who helped install the Lancaster Eco-Quilt.  Thank you everyone!lancaster eco quilt installation helpers IMG_5516

The Lancaster Eco-Quilt will continue on view at Hull Park in Lancaster, California.  Hull Park is located on West 20th Street near the intersection of Avenue L-8.   Over time the handmade paper will dissolve into mulch and the wildflower seeds sprout and grow to bloom in the quilt pattern.  Local people will send Jane photos of the changes over time to post on this Blog.  Here are some photos showing the quilt being installed and the finished installation on March 12.  The photos here are by Timothy S. Allen (http://allentimphotos2.wordpress.com

Jane’s residency in Lancaster was supported by WEAD (Women Eco-Artist Dialog (www.weadartists.org) and the Lancaster Museum of Art & History, Cedar Center for the Arts (www.lancastermoah.org)