From the Scraps of My Life in the Mississippi Delta

Everyone loves to hear stories, and everyone loves the feel and the memories quilts and other homemade patchwork bring to mind. This combination of narrative and the nostalgia a patchwork coverlet evokes inspires people to talk about the quilts, dolls, and clothes their elders used to make for them. In her presentation, Dr. Coleman brings evokes these feelings in her audiences by choosing patchwork pieces that are relevant to the occasion and then telling the stories they pass on. Sometimes, Dr. Coleman presents in character. For example, if she is teaching Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” she may present in character as the protagonist Phoenix Jackson. In closing, Dr. Coleman always encourages audience members to consider the scraps of their own lives (old quilts and other coverlets, faded tee-shirts and jeans, worn shirts, skirts, and dresses) as materials that they can use to create their own meaningful patchworks. Dr. Coleman believes these recycled or re-purposed items can become priceless when they are recognized as part of the thread that runs through a family history. “With my scraps, I demonstrate the transformation between what they were and the art they have become,” says Dr. Coleman.

Speakers Expertise:

Dr. J. Janice Coleman is a professor of English at Alcorn State University, and she is also a quilter and a storyteller. She has developed her patchwork art exhibit over 30 years, featuring a vast array of quilts, cotton sacks, tote bags, and other sewn items. Her presentation includes an exhibit of pieces from her textile collection, which she chooses based on the event at which she is speaking. "I tell the stories that these items hold," she says, "choosing pieces for each event that are most relevant to the occasion and that will inspire engagement or interaction with the audience."