QuiltArtz: Lesson Plan, Inspired Women of the Twentieth Century

Rebekka Seigel
Inspired Women of the Twentieth Century Study Guide

The Twentieth Century has been one in which thousands of gifted women in a multitude of disciplines have left an indelible mark on the world. The girls and boys of the twenty-first Century need to hear some of their stories. Limiting the number of women whose stories are told in this project was difficult but it is the hope of the artist that these 12 women might represent all the women who have made contributions to our culture that influence women today and will continue to influence the lives of our daughters and granddaughters into the new millennium.

The Nineteenth Century was one in which most women could be found only in the home, dominated by a male figure, be it husband or father. Women didn’t even have the right to vote in order to seek political changes in their lot. A few brave souls struggled to reach more of their potential through writing and teaching but they were often ostracized by the popular culture and treated as outsiders. This attitude carried over into the beginning of the Twentieth Century but the tide began to turn with the passage of the woman’s suffrage amendment to the Constitution in 1919, the “Flappers” of the Twenties and the exploits of daring women such as Amelia Earhart.

“Inspired Women of the Twentieth Century” presents a body of work by a quilt artist for the purpose of telling stories about the chosen women All of these quilts have a paper doll theme, highlighting the life stories of 12 inspiring women of the 20th Century to bring attention to the accomplishments of these women who have succeeded in breaking down gender barriers and stereotypes in their respective fields. Their stories are told in a unique manner through the garments they wore for defining moments in their lives or as a means of expressing who they are and the women appear on the quilts as “paper dolls” with their wardrobes consisting of tiny quilts attached to the main quilt so that the “dolls” can be dressed like a paper doll.

Rebekka Seigel’s interests in quilt making and in paper dolls are rooted in her earliest feminine perspective on the world. She learned to make quilts from her grandmother and the paper doll has become a recurring theme in her work over the past 25 years due to the passion she had for them as a girl. The combination of her adult passion for quilt making and her childhood pastime has resulted in a unique quilt form which she calls a “paper doll quilt”. These quilts invite interaction because they can be manipulated just like the paper dolls of her youth. The garments are tiny quilts themselves, attached to the main quilt, which can be manipulated to dress the doll.

It took 5 years for Rebekka to produce these quilts as the work of the hand is an important and essential part of their character and it is most time consuming. This is a major commitment to one idea and a body of work, but it is something that many artists choose to do in order to completely explore an idea that challenges and interests them.

Some of the women who are a part of this series are Ella Fitzgerald, Jean Ritchie, Babe Didrickson, Martha Graham, Eleanor Roosevelt, Louise Nevelson, Lucille Ball, Rachel Carson, Barbara Jordan and Margaret Mead.

This project is one which will bring the stories of women to a broad audience throughout Kentucky and the US through a medium, the quilt, which is uniquely feminine and in a form, the paper doll, which has a traditional connection to the fantasy play world of little girls.

NOTABLE QUOTES

“It’s not enough just to swing at the ball. You’ve got to loosen your girdle and really let her fly.” - Babe Didrikson

“Nothing is more revealing than movement”. - Martha Graham

“It’s not my job to look beautiful. It’s my job to look interesting.” - Martha Graham

“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

“I believe that whenever we destroy beauty, or substitute something man-made and artificial for a natural feature of the earth, we have retarded some part of man’s spiritual growth.” - Rachel Carson

“You've got to be able to love yourself - love yourself strongly - and not let anyone disabuse you of your self respect.” - Barbara Jordan

“We are diverse and yet we can be one. Each person must be willing to tolerate the other person in their differences and in their inner soul.” - Barbara Jordan

“Don’t have children unless you intend to make a job of it. Parenting requires self-sacrifice.” - Margaret Mead

“How I wish people could retain the indefinable urge for self expression that seems to be a child’s inheritance that so many of us shed for the material things in life.” - Louise Nevelson

“You see, you can buy the whole world and you are empty, but when you create the whole world, you are full.” - Louise Nevelson “No one can make you feel inferior without your own consent. - Eleanor Roosevelt

“Because of their agelong training in human relations - for that is what feminine intuition really is - woman have a special contributon to make to any group enterprise...” - Margaret Mead