{"id":95,"date":"2010-05-24T10:55:36","date_gmt":"2010-05-24T15:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/?p=95"},"modified":"2010-05-27T11:57:04","modified_gmt":"2010-05-27T16:57:04","slug":"to-appear-in-mammoth-tales-summer-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/?p=95","title":{"rendered":"to appear in Mammoth Tales, Summer 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Without further ado, I present an article I wrote for the quarterly publication of the Ice Age Trail Alliance, Mammoth Tales<\/em><\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Laura<\/p>\n

You might say that chemistry inspired the Giving Tree.<\/p>\n

A retired high school teacher, first of biology and then chemistry, quilter Louise Schotz was inspired to start quilting about eight years before her retirement, thanks to an art-science hybrid course she taught. She now teaches quilting and sewing classes out of her home studio in Irma, WI.
\nLouise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chemistry class encouraged students to explore the science behind art. They studied materials like paper, glass, and plastic. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Then we would do art projects,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she explained. Her students even worked with metals, doing welding.<\/p>\n

Louise enjoyed the format. She thought to herself, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI love these art projects. I wish I could do the art!\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Eventually, she learned to tell herself, as she told us, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You can!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Upon retirement, Louise signed up for art classes. She began collecting fabric and going to national quilt shows. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I discovered that quilting isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily making a quilt to put on your bed,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she remarked.<\/p>\n

The quilt that now hangs in the front lobby of the Ice Age Trail Alliance building is proof of that. This Giving Tree has a mission for the Ice Age Trail. It was designed to accommodate little additions: a leaf here, a few acorns there. Supporters of the Ice Age Trail can become a part of the Giving Tree by making a donation. Louise will embroider each name on the leaf, acorn, footprint, root, or knothole each sponsor has purchased. It will then be sewn onto the quilt \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a piece of art that is alive and growing.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am excited about the donor wall being a quilt because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a natural thing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Louise. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It feels like the Trail.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Louise constructed the quilt intentionally leaving the raw edges of the fabric visible. She remembered seeing another donor wall that was crafted out of metal with members\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 names emblazoned on identical metal leaves. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It just made me cringe,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wanted the edges to be soft.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

While it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an unconventional method for traditional quilting \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in a quilt show, such work would be criticized for looseness \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Louise feels it fits the spirit of the Trail.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Because I lived with Herb for 40 years, the quilt had to be like this,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.
\nIndeed, it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be the same quilt if it weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t for Louise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s husband, Herb. Herb has been involved with the Ice Age Trail for around 40 years, serving as either a chapter coordinator or a volunteer. When he guides hikes, Louise told us, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153people are always amazed at what he sees.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The Schotzes have had moments of artistic collaboration. For instance, when their neighbor, Becky, insisted, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gotta have a pond,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Louise and Herb had a great debate. There was no getting around the need for some water in the quilt, given the amount of water on and around the Ice Age Trail. But a pond of what color?<\/p>\n

Herb thought the water should be light blue. Louise wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so sure it shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be dark blue. A debate ensued. Eventually Herb just hopped in his truck and drove off.<\/p>\n

He hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t blown a fuse \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d gone to look at a pond. When he returned, he personally picked out the fabric \u00e2\u20ac\u201c dark blue \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for the water.<\/p>\n

Many of Louise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quilting students have gained insight from Herb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expertise. When artists have trouble depicting a natural object realistically, Herb takes them outside, challenges them to really look. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They come back in, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got it. He kind of teaches people how to see.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Louise included. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He helped me see trees\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all different. To me, it [the tree in the quilt] has the feel of a tree that might be out in the woods somewhere.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Without further ado, I present an article I wrote for the quarterly publication of the Ice Age Trail Alliance, Mammoth Tales.\u00c2\u00a0 Laura You might say that chemistry inspired the Giving Tree. A retired high school teacher, first of biology and then chemistry, quilter Louise Schotz was inspired to start quilting about eight years before her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ice-age-trail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98,"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions\/98"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mvsmadison.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}