[MUSIC] Quilt making is probably the most important and most beloved part of Southern Folk Art. When we look at a quilt, we see a mix of both the craft and the art. A craft is a functional part of the South, and if a quilt is a good quilt, it is a quilt that will keep you warm on a cold night. It functions over your bed as a way to stay warm. But a good quilt is also a work of art. A good quilt maker puts colors together in ways that are exciting and beautiful. Two of the greatest quilt makers I ever knew were Amanda Gordon and Mary Gordon. Who would make string quilts, or strip quilts, which are connected to African textiles. And they would hang the quilt in a rack in Amanda Gordon's home, and would sit together and sew the patterns together in ways that are very beautiful. Here we can see Amanda Gordon and Mary Gordon together, working on a quilt. [MUSIC] Folk artists often find new designs in dreams and reshape cloth and clay as quilts and sculpture. Their art emerges from reused materials which decorate homes with bright colors and express a folk sense of beauty. This print and this print. And this here print. All over here is print. And you, how you, make it a little block, about right there. And sew them on, on and on. And then you have your quilt. >> Mm-hm, and the name of it is, what you might call it? >> Sting quilt. >> The name of it is string quilt. >> Mm-hm. >> We call it a scrap, scrap quilt. >> Well, my mama was quilting by herself and I was small. And I said, if you run the shell, I'll quilt. And I went there and quilt and she run it up, run the shell. You know, she take it right there and run it and bring it on up there and I, I quilt behind. She said, well I'm done with begging folks now to quilt, [LAUGH]. Oh, in summertime where all the women used to be together. >> Be quilting at night, have little lights to sit all over the quilt. >> Little tin lamp. >> Little tin lamp. And everybody sitting around and then we couldn't see how to thread the needle. They would get the children to come in. >> Mm-hm. >> Thread a needle for them, and then after a while they get up and go to eating, drinking, maybe have a little wine and everybody feel good and start to go back quilting again. >> Mm-hm. >> They'd have a good quilting like that at night. >> They get through quilting and then they go to rocking. [LAUGH]. >> [LAUGH]. [MUSIC]
