Every year during Black History Month, Habitot families created a community quilt in the Art Studio. Here, we provide some ideas for your family to create a quilt together at home using common materials!
This activity is inspired by the narrative quilts of Faith Ringgold, which are an expression of her identity and her story. She was born at the tail end of the Harlem Renaissance, and was fresh out of art school during the civil rights movement. She combined European composition with her ancestral roots to talk about her life and the lives of those around her. Watch Ringgold tell her own story!
Talk about how you’ll decorate the patches together with your child. Ask, “Will each patch be different and unique? Will the patches tell a story or will they follow a theme when they’re all together on the base? Will they create a pattern on the quilt, or will they be placed randomly?”
The concept of themes might be abstract for children under 5. To help your child understand what a theme is and then help them come up with one, talk together about:
(Note: a theme or a story isn’t a must for this activity. You can both just decorate patches and fill up the quilt with colors and images.)
Invite your child to work on their own patches, or ask if they’d like you to work on them, too. (We encourage families to work together in this activity.) Talk out loud about your creative process, the colors you’re choosing, and how you’re decorating. Ask your child open-ended questions about their artistic process and what choices they’re making. Once decorated, place the patches somewhere flat to dry. Drying time depends on the patches’ material and what was used to decorate them.
Once dry, attach the decorated patches onto the base. Ask, “Where on the base would you like your patches to go?” How they are attached depends on their material and their weight. Patches made of paper can be attached using school glue, a glue stick, or tape loops. The school glue should also be ok for attaching the fabric patches.
