The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History will conclude its Cultural Heritage Lecture Series of the spring season with native West Virginia quiltmaker Roberta Farmer on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 at 7 p.m., in the Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater at the Cultural Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. The program is free and open to the public.
In her talk, “ Pieces of the Past,” Farmer will disclose some of the historical aspects of the art of quilting, exploring its Middle Eastern and European origins and later American techniques and contributions to the art form. The presentation will include a display of quilts that helps define the patterns and styles used during important eras from 1800 to the present.
Farmer has been making quilts from a very early age. She attributes her love of the craft to her mother, a prolific quilter, who taught her the basic techniques of quilting and its importance in the lives of women.
Farmer, of Teays Valley, teaches quilting classes at the Craft Center at Cedar Lakes and in local quilt shops. She is a charter member of the Kanawha Valley Quilter’s Guild, and current member of the Quilt Lover’s Guild of Putnam County, New Corner’s Guild of Teays Valley and the West Virginia Quilters Guild. She served as an area coordinator for the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search, a volunteer coalition of West Virginia women interested in the history of quilts who travelled the state and registered more than 4,000 quilts made before 1940.
Farmer’s talk is timed to coincide with the annual Quilts and Wall Hangings juried exhibition which can be seen in the Cultural Center. Thirty-one quilts and 19 wall hangings, made by West Virginia quiltmakers, will be displayed on the marble walls of the Great Hall and in the Art Gallery.
For more information about the Cultural Heritage Lecture and Farmer’s talk, “Pieces of the Past,” call (304) 558-0162.
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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