Laura Petrovich-Cheney, the artist behind the “Memory and Material” display at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, will present a free and public lecture at 5:30 p.m. Oct 11. Two gallery talks and a wood quilt workshop will follow later in the week.
The quilt-like constructions in “Memory and Material” are made from wooden debris salvaged from disasters like Hurricane Sandy and the fires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The largest piece in the show, “Wellesley’s Star,” was made as a community partnership with Sprague Street Elementary School in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Students, teachers, local businesses and the fire department collected hundreds of pencils, and Petrovich-Cheney worked with parents, teachers and students to create six-by-six-inch “quilt blocks.”
Trained as a sculptor, Petrovich-Cheney’s work is in numerous public and private collections. She was awarded a 2017 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Petrovich-Cheney will also host two gallery talks at 11 a.m. Oct. 12 and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m Oct. 13, as well as a wood quilt workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 13. The workshop fee is $60 for the general public and $45 for museum members, which includes the cost of materials. Those interested in attending can reserve a spot at the quilt museum website.
