By Jennifer L. Johnson
Published Thursday, December 17, 2009
DANIELSVILLE - Months after a fire ripped through the Georgia Theatre, Danielsville artist Jennifer Schildknecht had an idea that could bring together the memories people share of the destroyed landmark.
As workers are starting to rebuild the charred concert icon, Schildknecht wants Theatre fans to draw, paint or decoupage their memories of the music venue on a piece of fabric that will become part of a quilt.
Athens artist Jamie Calkin painted a picture of the Theatre with its marquee just as it appeared the day a fire gutted the building.
An Akron, Ohio, woman sent in two squares of blue and green hand-dyed fabric that were left over from a quilt she'd made R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe for his birthday.
Schildknecht printed a picture of Stipe on a swatch of canvas and sewed it to a piece of flashy fabric.
Schildknecht uses the blocks to show people that anything goes for the Phoenix Rising Georgia Theatre art quilt project.
Fire destroyed the interior of the building at North Lumpkin and West Clayton streets June 19, but owner Wilmot Greene has vowed to begin rebuilding early next year, even as supporters work to raise $1.5 million to make the music venue even better than before. (Greene, who also will spend insurance money on the project, has gone through the first steps of government approval and hopes to reopen by the end of next year.)
As local bands held benefit shows throughout the year, Schildknecht didn't see any visual artists raise money for rebuilding efforts, she said.
"Artists should be a part of this, too," Schildknecht said. "I could make this quilt myself, but that's not the idea - I really want this to be a community effort."
The quilt Schildknecht is building isn't a traditional patchwork quilt that grandma would make. Artists don't even have to sew to create a block.
"This is not going to be something you sleep under - it's going to hang on a wall as a tribute to the Theatre," she said. "When artists are involved, I don't like putting limitations on these things."
Each block must by 12x12 inches with a 1/2-inch space along all four edges that will allow it to be sewn into the quilt. Though the blocks should be fairly lightweight, anything goes.
The quilt - its size will depend on how many blocks people design and send in - will be as colorful and creative as the Theatre's long history.
Schildknecht would like to get two identical or similar blocks from each contributor so she can create one quilt to auction off and give proceeds to the restoration fund and another that would hang in the refurbished venue.
When the quilt will be completed depends on how soon the blocks start coming in.
Though Schildknecht only has five completed blocks, she's hoping that people will take a little time during the holidays and send in something for her to piece together.
Schildknecht - who is better known as Moon Mama - started the project in late September and had expected to get all the submissions by Oct. 23.
"If I had all the blocks together, I could put it together in a couple of days," she said. "All kinds of people promised (to send blocks) ... but I really don't have anything go work with."
The deadline for sending blocks to the artist has been extended to the end of the year, but that's really pushing it, Schildknecht says.
"This is the busiest time of the year, and no one really has a lot of time to do something like this, even if it only takes a little while," Schildknecht said. "People are busy."
Anyone can contribute to the quilt, including schoolchildren, and all types of fabric, paper, beads, ink or charms - anything reminiscent of the Theatre - can be used.
Bands might send in autographed T-shirts or posters that she could transform into blocks, Schildknecht said, or fans can glue photographs or ticket stubs onto fabric.
"I want to see big-name bands that have played there get off their butts and participate," Schildknecht said. "If I say I've got a block from R.E.M. or Widespread Panic, even if they just sign something or have someone else make it for them, it would be worth something to somebody in an auction."
For more information about contributing a block for the quilt, e-mail Jennifer Schildknecht at MoonMama61@aol.com or visit her blog at http://mamainthemoon.blogspot.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment