Music
SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW
on
ROOTS AND WINGS:
A Millennium Challenge
Roots AND Wings: A Millennium Challenge, 47" x 55" [© 2000, Marlene O'Bryant-Seabrook]
Women all over the world have historically been socialized to have well-established roots. They are the nurturers who pass on the folkways of a culture. Often, they have only been identified as successful if they marry successful men and rear successful sons. Too many never realize that they have functional wings of their own. They are like the eaglet whose egg was hatched by a chicken---they spend a lifetime unaware that THEY, too, can fly.
Some women, who realize that their wings are more than ornamental, have sacrificed their roots. They disconnect from their elders, from making a difference in the lives of children - their own and/or those of others.
This quilt is my socio-political statement. I challenge women to retain their deep, nurturing roots AND spread the massive, powerful wings that will take them to unimaginable heights.
The rocks sewn on the quilt are symbolic. It may not be easy. You may, sometimes, have to travel a rocky road.
Take a leap of faith! Your wings will open instinctively as you begin to soar!
* "And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."
I chose Millennium 2000 fabric for the border and with access to the feathered fabric in several colors, I chose the blue for the wings.
* "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why, can't I?
Roots AND Wings: A Millennium Challenge was included in "Testimony Through Art: An International Exhibit in Conjunction With The World Court of Women Against War, for Peace". The Exhibition, curated by photojournalist, Roland Freeman, incorporated photographs, quilts, tapestries, paintings, drawings, poetry, and narratives from women and women's organizations representing 25 countries and 50 different ethnic groups. It reflected individual and collective artistic expressions which provided a powerful visual transcript of experiences from around the world and was another important source of documentation for the Court's work. Dates and venues were:
Republic of South Africa
March 3-April 13, 2001; The Castle of Good Hope Museum; Cape Town
May 2-June 30, 2001; The African Eye; Pretoria
Republic of Namibia
July 5-August 4, 2001; National Art Gallery of Namibia; Windhoek
Roots AND Wings: A Millennium Challenge is presently included in the Exhibition, "Quilting African American Women's History: Our Challenges, Creativity, and Champions" at the Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center of the Ohio Historical Society; Wilberforce, Ohio; March 8 - November 8, 2008
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*Lines from "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"--The Wizard of Oz
"Roots And Wings" is now available as a throw. For information on how you may own one, click here.