"Maya Angelou": Quilt Art by Rebekka Seigel

I have always wanted to honor Maya with a paper doll quilt because of her courageous life path and her devotion to art in so many different disciplines. Maya is a truth-teller who seeks to understand the deepest yearnings of the human heart and celebrates the beauty she finds in herself and the world around her.

Maya’s quilt is meant to evoke an African-American spontaneous quilt made from what the quiltmaker has on hand. It is bordered with Kente cloth from Africa both to symbolize her life in Africa and her heritage. Book jackets, a playbill and a video cover help spotlight various accomplishments in her life. The African masks, once again, symbolize her affinity for Africa and African art. The tag in the top left corner is meant to represent the tag attached to her arm when as a girl, she was sent by train from California to Arkansas to live with her grandmother.