|
Traveling NPS Quilt Exhibit
Contact: Jessica Ferracane, 808-985-6018 Hawaii National Park, HI – During March, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park will display 13 colorful art quilts created to celebrate the National Park Service centennial anniversary. The park quilts will be on exhibit in the Volcano House's Great Room, just off the lobby, starting Friday, March 4 through Sunday, March 27 (Easter). The public is invited to view the quilts at any time during those dates, before they are shipped to the Statue of Liberty National Monument in New York. There is no charge to view the quilt show, but park entrance fees apply. The quilts were created by Fiber Works, a group of textile artists from Nebraska's Lincoln-Omaha area. Inspired by the centennial of the National Park Service, the artists selected 13 national parks, including Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, which also turns 100 this year, as inspiration for a traveling collection of quilts. The quilts arrive in Hawai'i following their exhibit for Saguaro National Park in Arizona. 
Courtesy photo of quilter and retired chemist, Dorothy Heidemann-Nelson Dorothy Heidemann-Nelson, a retired chemist and lifelong quilter, created the vibrant quilt that represents Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, incorporating traditional Hawaiian kapa (bark cloth) created by kapa maker Joni Mae Makuakāne-Jarrell, who also serves as the park's Chief of Interpretation. Heidemann-Nelson used the gift of kapa to represent the volcanic birth of Hawai'i, and the culture of the islands. The lava on the left side of the quilt is a tough construction-industry material called Tyvek that she painted with acrylic art paint, then heat shrunk. The fern fronds depicted on the right side represent new life. The park will receive the imaginative quilt as a gift after the traveling exhibit ends in December. "I love doing both science and art, so you can see why choosing to do something for Hawai'i worked out to be a great fit for me," said Heidemann-Nelson. "I chose it because I thought it would be easy and colorful to make a quilt with a volcano on it, but the completed quilt evolved because of what I learned about the park and Hawaiian volcanoes," she said. Before joining the traveling NPS Quilt Exhibit, Heidemann-Nelson's art quilt took first place at the Nebraska State Fair in the original design class. It was also selected as Judge's Choice in the Seward, NE County Fair. The designs of the quilts, the schedule and locations of the exhibit, along with statements from the artists, can be viewed here. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park celebrates 100 years of connecting people to, and caring for, the extraordinary landscape, native plants and animals and Hawaiian culture linked with Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes. -NPS-
NPS Photo |
Last updated: February 25, 2016