we’re so excited to have quilts from Jenna Clark at the cottage. join us THIS FRIDAY 5/8 for HOME ONCE, a visual installation and musical performance from Jenna with collaborators Ryan Brown, Jasper Lee and Sam Herman. each quilts is based on stories of home from each collaborator, and those collaborators will accompany her musically in a thematic soundscape played live over the course of the night. expect 3-4 short sets of about 20 minutes scattered through the night. stay a little while, stay a long while, just be sure to stop by!
Friday, 6pm-8pm
@jennaalyseclark@sweetwreath@samherman87@_radryan
Hey folks! This is a very special one.
If you saw Frame of Connection last year then you have an idea of what this might be...
@jennaalyseclark has really outdone herself and will be premiering her larger-than-life work at Greensboro, AL art space @sumaccottage , with quilts & mixed media textiles based on stories of home from each of us in the group: Sam Herman, Jasper Lee and myself will accompany her musically in a thematic soundscape played live over the course of the night.
I think this must be experienced to be understood;
Don't miss it! It's always such a pleasure working with these folks and we can't wait to share this with you!
No cover. Friday, 6pm-8pm
@sweetwreath@samherman87
join us at Sumac Cottage on 5/8 for Home Once, a combined musical performance + visual installation from Jenna Clark, with collaborators Ryan Brown, Jasper Lee (@sweetwreath ) and Sam Herman (@irongiantbhm ). this body of work explores four stories centering on ideas of home, shelter, and places of belonging. the work highlights the fragmentation of interpersonal and communal relationships that occur from interacting through digital interfaces, by displaying different personal stories in both part and whole. These stories act as grounding orientations, abstracted reflections, and vignettes of place/landscape within North and Central Alabama. more details on the evening to come, but make your plans to join us in Greensboro!
We’re very excited to be presenting “Alabama Cotton and Bemis Bags: Pieced into Quilt History,” a lecture by historian Sarah Bliss Wright at Sumac Cottage on April 30 at 5:00. She will trace the evolution of cotton bags from a rural-household convenience, to a Depression Era necessity, to a wartime way of life, to an urban re-purposing fad.
Feedsack quilts represent the artistic expression of American women in a distinctive textile era, 1930‒1960, when such bed coverings were created from colorful, patterned fabrics that started out as feed or flour sacks. Many of these textile bags had their genesis in the cotton fields of Alabama because Bemis Bro. Bag Company, the largest textile bag manufacturer in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century, operated a cotton mill and bag plant in Bemiston, Alabama. Sumac Cottage will open at 5:00 with the lecture beginning around 5:15 with a reception to follow.
This event is free to all and is made possible by the Alabama Humanities Foundation through a Road Scholars grant. Sumac Cottage is located at 1107 South Street in downtown Greensboro, AL. E-mail questions to [email protected]
what a beautiful weekend @douglas_baulos and i had at @sumaccottage leading a 2 day wearable workshop with a group from 3 states who was totally willing to dive headfirst into anthotypes, cyanotypes, toned cyanotypes, indigo + natural dyes (all in one day!), before bringing them all together on garments on day two. here’s @clothandpaperarts ’ in-progress jacket. grateful for it all!
we had a great time in yesterday’s cyanotype workshop with @aaronsandershead . what a great group of folks! we dove deep into cyanotypes on paper and fabric, then went mad scientist and pushed our cyanotypes way beyond the typical color scheme, toning them with natural dyes. a great way to spend the day sinking into our surroundings and enjoying one of the sunniest days in recent memory. now for a little break as we get new windows installed in the back studio building! see y’all in april.
right before our very first event a few years ago, my sweet mom, Prissy, surprised me with a quilted version of the cottage, made up of layers and layers of dyed scraps from me, lace, and all kinds of fabrics. my whole life, my mom has fearlessly jumped into new creative territory—crochet, photography, quilting—i even remember seeing her quilling paper when i was a kid. people ask sometimes about my ideas or why i started the cottage, and the truth is i’ve always had a really great model in my parents for living creatively. i thought the quilt needed a permanent spot on the grid!
i’ve been having a blast deep diving and getting a little feral with cyanotypes, prepping for my workshop on 3/21 at @sumaccottage . there are two spots left if you want to join. in this bend-the-rules primer (my favorite kind of workshop!), we will learn the basics of cyanotype printing on fabric and paper, before moving on to explore toning our cyanotypes with natural dyes to push beyond the blue and white color scheme. you’ll leave with a stack of samples made in class and the abilities to continue your wild and wonderful cyanotyping at home. link in ☣️ for details.
see y’all TONIGHT for our sumac sundowner, featuring the work of Casey Roberts and a performance by Tim Higgins. reception starts at 6, music starts at 7. there will be sangria and poundcake—how else would you wanna spend your Friday the 13th in Hale?
we are so, soooooo lucky in Greensboro to still have a local, PRINT newspaper, The Greensboro Watchman, that helps keeps us connected + informed around here. Casey, our featured artist, has been writing a great “Cooking in the Black Belt” series that we’re kinda hooked on too. they’re always great about helping us get the word out about events here at the cottage. we can’t wait to see y’all friday night here in downtown Greensboro! reception starts at 6, music starts at 7.
stocking @sumaccottage full of new work for this friday’s sumac sundowner, featuring music from @realtimhiggins and beautiful new works from @briefcase1997 . things get going at 6 with music at 7. swipe for a new tote, iron on patches, my favorite Casey piece, and the first buds on the persimmon tree + fragrant sumac—spring is bringing me back to life more than ever this year. see y’all soon!
