February Art Quilting, Reading, Cooking and Eating

Down here in the Mississippi Delta, February was wet and cold. Five events were the highlights of this month for me.

First, Emi and I spent the weekend of February 8-9 with my friend Debra. She had been working on a temporary assignment in Jackson, and this was her last weekend before heading back home to Maryland. Emi behaved herself that Sunday while we visited the Of Salt and Spirit, Black Quilters in the American South at the Mississippi Museum of Art. It was an amazing exhibit, and I am inspired more so to continue my own art quilting!

Even in the winter, you know you’re walking through and into a place of art.

The first pieces you saw as you entered the exhibit was a tribute to three local quilters and their work. Stephany Brown’s pieces really spoke to me (second photo).

And then there were the exhibit quilts! Dr. Sharbreon Plummer, the exhibit curator, wrote “We owe a thank you to the generations of women quilters, who were the earliest art teachers. Their sewing machines were metaphorical whiteboard, and the lessons that took place at their feet and across the frame planted seeds of joy, ingenuity, and self-determination.” Some of the quilts are below.

Part of the exhibit included Piece by Piece, community quilting bee section, where visitors could glue pieces of fabric on paper to create a community quilt. I added a piece.

The Tapestry of Gratitude, also, was a nice participatory activity in the exhibit. And indeed, I was grateful to experience the Of Salt and Spirit exhibit with a friend.

Later in the week, on February 13, there was a gorgeous full moon. I just love its luminescent glow over the water.

It’s amazing how the Universe works. After the quilt exhibit, I kept thinking about Stephany Brown. Low and behold I know her having met last fall at the MS Arts Commission conference! I must have been sending out vibrations because she sent me a text inviting me to her quilting bee workshop on February 16. It was freezing cold that day, but I went and loved it.

Yesterday, the Cookbook Club Sunday Dinner took place in my kitchen alone. I almost cancelled it. Instead, I decided to carry on. So much craziness is going on in the country that it’s got people coping the best they can. Maybe it was wrong of me to think that folks wouldn’t be interested in the event right now; however, it was good for my spirit to do it anyway. The featured book was Zora Neale Hurston on Florida Food – Recipes, Remedies & Simple Pleasures by Fred Opie. There are only 5 short chapters in the book, which capture Florida foodways based on how Zora Neale Hurston depicted them in her ethnographic research and writing. The first chapter, “A Hunk of Corn Bread,” was the inspiration for my Sunday dinner. With the last batch of thawed mashed sweet potatoes from my garden last season, I made a cast iron skillet of sweet potato cornbread along with a pot of red beans, and some thawed out turnip greens that Debra had gifted me. I was grateful for reading Dr. Opie’s book and my simple, scrumptious meal, if I must say so myself.

With gratitude and love, I’m closing out February.