UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 22, Page 12
March 5, 1992
Artist's quilts express her talent and personal concerns

     At any moment, a person may discover a creative talent that
could become a pleasurable hobby or even erupt into a passion that
inspires thousands of others.
     For Alison Goss, interest in craft activities started in the
late 1970s when she stopped teaching to be home with her two young
children. Today, she is a full-time contemporary quilt artist.
     Goss lives in Hockessin when she is not traveling across the
country to teach and lecture at quilting shows, conferences and
guilds.
     She will be appearing closer to home when she speaks Tuesday,
March 10, at 100 Kirkbride Hall as a part of the University's sixth
annual Women's History Month film series. After the screening of
the documentary film Hearts and Hands, Goss will show slides of her
work and exhibit some sample quilts and clothes she has made.
     Goss has won many awards for her quilts, including Best Wall
Quilt Award at the American Quilters' Society Show in Kentucky in
April, and has been featured in American Quilter and Quilting
Today.
     She has made over 100 quilts, along with numerous patchwork
pillows, vests, dresses and jackets. Her quilts have been exhibited
at museums across the country and many are used as decorations in
her home.
     Straying from the tradition of sewing by hand, Goss takes
advantage of today's technologically advanced machinery to make her
quilts. "People used to think that the only good quilts were
handmade," she said. "Now, there's room for every approach."
     She may take from six weeks to six months to make a quilt.
     Goss' quilts are not only a product of her artistic talent but
also a way of expressing her personal concerns. Besides making
quilts, she was active in a women's voting organization and worked
to increase awareness of environmental issues when she lived in
California.
     "Distant Thunder," a hanging wall quilt, is made in a
mirror-image perspective, combining pink, blue and purple tye-died
pastels surrounding a series of pyramids converging at the center.
Goss said she was inspired by the beauty of the deserts in the
Southwest and the Native American way of living in harmony with the
land.
     "It is very empowering to create," Goss said, adding that it
has been rewarding to express her personal concerns while meeting
other talented artists all over the country.
     The documentary Hearts and Hands shows how important
quiltmaking has been to the history of American women as a means of
creative expression.
     Anne Boylan, professor of history at the University, said
women made quilts not only to keep their families warm but also to
express their artistic abilities. In the 19th century, women used
quilts to inscribe their responses to social, economic and
political issues of the times.
     Boylan, one of the organizers of the film series, said Hearts
and Hands has been presented before and was enjoyed by many
contemporary quilt artists, as well as by members of the University
community.
     Boylan said the films in the series are multicultural,
addressing both historical and contemporary issues. "The series has
become more and more popular each year," she added.
     Sponsors of the film public film series include the Black
American Studies Program, the Faculty Senate Committee on Cultural
Affairs and Public Events, the Office of Women's Affairs,
departments of History and Sociology and the Women's Studies
Interdisciplinary Program.
     For more information, call 831-8474 or 831-8063.
                                        - Karyn McCormack