The Arvin Quilt Project

A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARTS COUNCIL OF KERN COUNTY AND THE CITY OF ARVIN

This project engaged local seniors and community members in the creation of quilted story cloths. Participants learned the art of quilt making and natural dye techniques to record and document the colors of the landscape and test toxic water. The quilted panels were displayed throughout the community to serve as markers in Arvin’s history and address immigration, labor, health, and the environmental issues. The quilted works conceived in this project will allow for a continuous weaving of the personal narratives that come together to form the whole, creating the history of place.

 

Arte de La Tercera Edad Art Collective Arvin, CA

THE PROGRAM

For nearly nine years local seniors, known as The Ladies, have participated in the De Colores Project as part of the project’s sewing circle. Many of the narrative works conceived throughout the project tell the collective story of these Arvin women, most of them immigrants, their lives, labor, families, and their connection to the land. Throughout the project they learned the fiber art techniques of embroidery, weaving, applique, quilting, and natural dye methods. Today they use the skills that they have gained to create blankets for local community members in need to offer warmth and comfort.

THE STUDIO

In the summer of 2017 the Senior Center in Arvin closed due to a loss of funding, this was devastating to the seniors in the community that depended on the services the center provided. As a direct response to the communities’ needs, the Arts Council of Kern and Michelle Glass worked with city officials to secure a studio space for The Ladies in the Arvin Community Center which has become a cultural hub. The Ladies named their newly formed art collective and studio, Arte de La Tercera Edad or Art of the Third Age, as a place for seniors to gather, remain active in the community, maintain a social connection, and provide an outlet where they can contribute creatively.

Sewing circle projects