"Greetings from Wooster." Full view and statement.
by Susan Shie Contact me
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"Greetings from Wooster" Full view. 2006 50"h x 75"w.
Begun Feb 17, 2006. Finished Mar 15, 2006. #317
(#7 in the Peace Cozy Series, after "Wilma (Peace Voodoo)".)
Whole cloth painting on fabric. Beginning design and colors airbrushed on, then airpen drawing and writing with fabric paint. Machine crazy grid quilted. One row of hand sewing inside edge of border. One Green Temple Buddha Boy bead. One Peace Cozy appliqué.
I made this piece for the Quilt Art email listserv's challenge about our hometowns - The Travel Challenge. There will soon be a page of all the art quilts made for this show online. Stay tuned.
Wooster, Ohio is one of those energy meridian intersections. The three main Native American trails in Ohio cross here, and Wooster was selected by the men who surveyed Ohio in the early 1800s, as the place they would live out their lives. We have the largest Amish population in the world in our county and the next one south of us (Wayne and Holmes Counties), and we're a Nuclear Free Zone. Less than 30,000 people live in Wooster, in the gently rolling farmland in the bottom left corner of Northeast Ohio. It's a really friendly and peaceful place to live and make ar!
Wooster was chosen as an All American City in 1975, and the first Christmas Tree in the Midwest was in Wooster. We were the world headquarters for Rubbermaid for over 50 years, and we still have many really cool industries. My favorite places in Wooster are shown in this piece, along with a map of downtown Wooster. My friend Early's antique mall, Uptown/Downtown; The Parlor; The Food Co-op; The Big Picture; The Art Center; our house; Laura's Shoe Store; Matsos' Greek Restaurant; The Courthouse; The College of Wooster; and former Rubbermaid. I wrote stories off the top of my head, about each place, and also about some of the adventures my family and I have had there. I threw in some Wooster history, too.
I guess of all of these, I'd always pick Wooster Natural Foods, which used to be called The Wooster Food Co-op, as my total favorite. I've been involved with it since its start in the late 60s, and have been on the council most of the time. Am now the council president, and my brother Jimmy has been the assistant manager since 1987. Over half of the food co-ops have faded away, but ours is going strong! You can get really good organic eggs, organic milk, local honey, and so many other good things there. I love the co-op!
I think my second favorite place is a tie between Matsos, The Parlor, Early's store, and the Art Center. I graduated from The College of Wooster in 1981, so that's right up there, too, and there are lots of places I love which didn't make it onto this piece, though some are on the map.
The OARDC Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center is here, along with The ATI Agricultural and Technical Institute, a part of The Ohio State University. Wayne County is called "Ohio's Foremost Agricultural Area," and everyone goes to the County Fair. Everyone! But I am so glad The College of Wooster is here, too, along with a nice mix of Unitarians and Quakers, to keep the liberal side of things alive.
I wrote a little book called My Own Private Wooster a few years ago, and made a quilt to go with it. It's a tour guide of Wooster, and I think this new quilt is another aspect of that book. I could make a big quilt about each one of so many places. There are tons of good stories about this town. Jimmy and I both grew up around here and know lots of wonderful folks. It's a place you don't get tired of.
Turtle Moon Studios: Outsider Art
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Susan Shie and James Acord
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