A quilt paying tribute to energy-saving lightbulbs sits, tiny lights glowing inside the pale fabric, on the wall of an exhibit room.
Multiple quilts hang along the walls of the MSU Museum, made of many materials using several techniques including patchwork, drawing, dyeing and photo transfer.
The MSU Museum is hosting an exhibit presenting work by members of the Studio Art Quilt Associates, or SAQA, an international non-profit organization across 31 countries.
The exhibit features intricate quilts crafted by members of SAQA. Quilts displayed in the exhibit depict individual stories inspired by world issues and environmental concerns.
Dubbed “Earth Stories,” the exhibit, which will be in the MSU Museum until Nov. 26, gives visitors the chance to view topics of humanity or scientific concern through the hanging quilts.
MSU Museum exhibitions manager Teresa Goforth said the exhibit combines art and science in a way that melds the two to create a new perspective for viewers.
“When we look at issues, one of the most important things is to communicate the need (for action),” Goforth said. “This is just another medium to communicate about these issues to the public.”
The exhibit contains quilts crafted by artists from 11 U.S. states and seven countries.
The locations around the world, ranging from Setagaya-Ku, Japan to Ramat Gan, Israel, were the inspiration for the topics the quilts embodied.
Marilyn M. Prucka, an artist hailing from Monroe, Mich., was inspired by her surroundings. Her quilt, entitled “Upstream Downstream,” depicted the River Raisin in Monroe County.
Another artist, Lynn Krawczyk from Plymouth, Mich., was inspired by her surroundings in different way and created a quilt called “Latte Landfill.” Her piece was inspired by her addiction and statistical evidence which finds 40 percent of landfill waste to be composed of paper products, most of those being disposable coffee cups.
“Earth Stories provides an opportunity to share a collection of contemporary quilts that reflect the power that this art form has to serve as a voice for expression and artist activism,” MSU Museum Curator of Cultural Heritage and exhibit organizer Mary Worrall said in a statement.
As a quilter, Plainwell resident Audrey Hart was drawn to the exhibit. She said she knew what it took to make the quilts and she appreciated the emphasis on world issues, especially those dealing with poverty in countries such as Africa.
Hart said she was touched by the quilts that dealt with humanity because there are a lot of things going on in the world that aren’t thought about until someone brings attention to them.
“These women have taken concerns or causes into their life and transformed them so others can see it and think about it,” Hart said.
