Shell Quilt: Piecing Memory through Quilting, Collage, and Printmaking

Shell Quilt is a mixed media quilt and accompanying book which collect an amalgamation of found, hand dyed, and printed fabric pieces. This project serves as a visual tether and inquiry into my late grandmother Sylvia’s life and a way of piecing together memories of my time with her. As a conceptual frame for my thesis project, Shell Quilt, I have looked to the process of femmage, a term initially coined by Miriam Schapiro and Melissa Meyer, which I interpret as a portmanteau of feminism and collage. Through the lens of femmage, I explore the processes of collage, quilting, and print mediums and processes, in the work of the Folly Cove Designers, as well as artists like Margaret Kilgallen, Hương Ngô, Kiki Smith, and Faith Ringgold.