“Stories Behind the Quilts” with Joe Cunningham from California, USA.
December 2024 Speaker –Joe Cunningham
We are excited to welcome Joe Cunningham as our December speaker. Joe Cunningham began making quilts professionally in 1979, after a ten-year career as a musician in Michigan. His early mentors were steeped in the history and traditions of quilts, leading Cunningham to a life of study in quilt history and a love of traditional technique. Over the years his quilts have evolved into a unique, personal style. His quilts are in the permanent collections of museums, as well as in numerous private collections. He has written widely on the subject and has appeared on the Peabody Award-winning PBS series "Craft in America," the HGTV series “Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson”, the PBS series “Sewing with Nancy” and on “The Quilt Show” with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. His ten books on quiltmaking include the first biography of a living quilter, the first book on men who make quilts (Men and the Art of Quiltmaking,) and a definitive book on marking quilts for quilting called Quilting with Style, published by AQS. His latest book is Man Made Quilts: Civil War to the Present, a catalogue for the show of the same name at the Shelburne Museum. Cunningham has lived and worked in San Francisco since 1993.
In his lecture, Stories Behind the Quilts, he will show some of his favorite quilts and tell the real stories about how they came to be made. Accidental cut? Check. Gifted fabric? Check. Memory quilt? Check. The whole story behind his quilts and how he made them is fun and highly informative. On his website, he says: “I make quilts to be positive existential objects, that will look and feel like something that can warm you against the coldness of the universe.” We look forward to hearing his stories behind the quilts, and seeing the quilts that bring warmth.
To explore about Joe Cunningham and his quilts, check out these links:
Website: Joe Cunningham Quilts
YouTube: Joe the Quilter Cunningham - YouTube
Facebook: @joethequiltercunningham
Instagram: @joethequilter