The Seminole Patchwork with Paper series is gliding along. Next session is this Saturday 1pm EST. The people who want to join in need to bring 6 strips, all three units wide, specifically, 3 red strips, 2 pink strips and 1 white strip, one sheet of black copy size paper if you have some, as well as all the tools that you brought to the first two sessions. If you need to catch up, here's the link to the Seminole Patchwork with Paper playlist.
To cut the paper strips you will need the FIRST page pdfs. You'll also need one copy of SECOND page lines to use during the workshop.
The zoom link will be https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73281685909?pwd=SUgwZGc2R096VndpSXpraVRPdURVUT09 Doors open at 12:53 pm, EST, ends promptly at 1:30.
People had some great questions this week, like, how about using graph paper instead of my PDF's? How about using a paper cutter instead of cutting by hand with my guide lines?
My general answer is do whatever works for you. There's more to it than that, though. Right now we're working with horizontal bands, making vertical cuts. Sessions 4-10 (if you stick around that long!) will be focusing more and more on diagonal lines, which will probably make the graph paper less useful. Also, when we start incorporating much thinner bands into the designs, the accuracy of a paper cutter may not work.
Using colorful index cards
In the spirit of NOT using my pdf guide lines, I noticed some pretty index cards on my shelves and used them to make the Session #2 pattern. No pdf's needed!
In a private email a question about cultural appropriation came up. This was a concern that I thought about and looked into before starting this series. An great article by Diane Helentjaris published in The Medium entitled Seminole Patchwork was particularly helpful. Two sentences stood out to me: " Cultural appropriation brings in the concept of lopsided power dynamic. Defined as "the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society."" Then, further down, Helentjaris writes, " Those creatives, crafters, quilters, and sewists inspired by Seminole patchwork who want to be fair to the originators of this lovely artwork are encouraged to acknowledge the Seminole role in creating it and be sensitive."
Further reading brought me to interviews with Jessica Osceola.
Here's a clip we looked at in the last session, featuring Jessica Osceola: https://youtu.be/TrjNZ_XEuXs?si=P1YFHGg-sOEsgCqF In an interview, she states "Learn about patchwork, Seminole history, and the patterns." Okay, I can do that. In fact, as soon as I started looking at these patterns carefully I wanted to find out all I could about the people that created them. I can't imagine not wanting to know more about how this amazing system of creating patterns developed. It seems to me that the people who are showing up to learn about this patterning are also keen to know the history that is embedded in the patterns. People are asking questions and sending me links.
There's two Pinterest boards that I have recently created.
The first Pinterest board is images of Seminole patchwork with fabric, so that we can see the traditional work.
The second pinterest board is the work being done in during these sessions of Seminole patchwork with paper. It's quite wonderful to see the ways this creative community is using paper with the traditional methods. I'm seeing fringing the paper, using printed cards with striking imagery as part of the pattern, using the same pattern in different scales, using papers that the maker has decorated themselves, offsetting patterns in unusual ways and playful arrangements of all sorts. People are already making choices hat are beyond what I could ever think up. So cool and exciting to see, which is also why it's so great to do this together, as a community. Just like how this way of working all started.
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