Montgomery, Ala. – Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum is hosting the exhibit On the Move and Seven Deadly Sins: The Narrative Quilts of Yvonne Wells, Jan. 4 – March 31, 2007, in the Museum’s Exhibit Hall.

Mrs. Yvonne Wells is a teacher in the public school system of Tuscaloosa, Alabama; she is completely self-taught as a quilt maker and an artist. From her first efforts at quilt making in 1979, she moved rapidly in the direction of picture quilts and with that simple coverlet she embarked on a journey of discovery that has led to her international recognition as a folk artist. Mrs. Wells’ quilts are located in major quilt and folk art collections across the country and the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art. She was given a solo exhibition by the Huntsville Museum of Art and in 1998 she received the prestigious Alabama Arts Award and Visual Arts Craftsmen Award.  Her work has been exhibited in Japan and other countries of Asia and was included in a major exhibition of Alabama art in the summer of 2000 in the South of France. She was invited to present and discuss her quilts at the Museum of American Folk Art (New York) and was invited to show and discuss her work at the Hallmark Card Company, where three of her quilts were issued as greeting cards.

Yvonne’s hand stitched fabric constructions use rich symbolism and vivid colors to tell stories and often to offer succinct comments on social and political issues.  Without patterns or templates, armed only with fabrics and a pair of scissors, she cuts freehand the material required to construct the images. Each piece is sewn by hand using a wide range of fabric and other materials: buttons, zippers, tape measures and flags. She searches fabric stores, flea markets and trash piles for materials, and she has been known to barter with a student for the shirt he was wearing because it had a particular design she needed for a current piece.

The two most common subjects treated in her quilts are those based on Biblical texts and social/political themes, many of which focus on the Civil Rights struggle of her people in the South.  Her reflections on Civil Rights history in the South include such pieces as Attitude Adjustment (depicting the struggle to remove the Confederate Battle Flag Flying over the Alabama Capital), Nor Iron Bars a Cage and Portrait of a King (each telling part of the story of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King), and Feeding Time (white hands holding a black child above the mouth of a crocodile). Her pictures include symbolic images of lynching, of four girls killed in a church bombing, and vicious dogs attacking marchers. Yet these harsh statements are more than balanced by her positive outlook, humor and gentle observations.  Other themes show children playing, baseball games and Elvis. Each quilt is marked by at least one triangular piece of fabric sewn into the border. These she calls her “friends” and they represent the Trinity and her very strong faith. Purple fabric represents Christ. Yellow fabrics are very obvious, often depicting the sun and always representing hope. Braided white and black yarn depicts unity of the races. Flowers and butterflies often float across the surface of her pieces, and bright green seems to be new grass.

Yvonne Wells has found that fabrics are perfect materials and allow her the freedom to express many ideas. Her quilts have no consistent size, and some even appear to have an afterthought bulge on one edge. All her choices are made because, “It fits.” Her work is definitely about the South, but more importantly about her life, her experiences and her soul.

The Exhibition hall is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday and 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturday.   This event is free and open to the public.

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