"Jean Ritchie": Quilt Art by Rebekka Seigel

Jean is the second woman I have chosen to represent in my series about inspiring women. Because the paper doll was such a favorite toy for me as a girl, I delight in making quilts that work just like paper dolls. I also find it interesting to tell someone’s story through the garments they wore for special moments in their lives. I chose to portray Jean as a child because I feel her whole life was formed by what she learned as a child in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Some of the words of Jean’s favorite songs are written on the quilt with garments that suggest something that those songs hold dear memories of. For instance, when she sang the Ballad of Fair Ellender as a child, she always thought of herself as Fair Ellender with long blond hair and flowing white gowns. Other songs evoke memories of being scared by her older brothers and sisters with songs and stories in the night or working in the field along side her father. Jean provided photographs of herself at various points in her life and these have been added to the quilt by way of Xerox transfers. The mountains are done in an old mountain traditional quilt making technique called string quilting. The only thing Jean asked me to put on the quilt was a dulcimer so there is one in each corner.