The Journal Quilt is the brainchild of Jeanne Williamson who, since 1999, has made an 8" x 10" quilt each week as a vehicle for artistic experimentation. She wrote about her endeavor on the QuiltArt on-line list, of which I am a member, following several posts about creating Journals. After much discussion - including "weekly" being too much of a committment, Karey Bresenhan (International Quilt Festival) introduced the first Journal Quilt Project in 2002. Each participant would create an 8 1/2" x 11" Quilt Page each month and select the four that they wanted to have exhibited during the International Quilt Festivals in Houston (Fall) and Chicago (Spring). While I did not want to commit to a monthly quilt, more than 900 artists from 13 countries participated during the next five years.

Karey decided that 2007 would be the final year for the Project and that it would be different from the other years. Instead of making multiple 8.5"x 11" QuiltPages, the 2007 requirement was ONE 17"x 22" piece. I COULD DO THAT!!!!!!

[© 2007, Marlene O'Bryant-Seabrook, "17" x 22"]

While I would debate about and experiment with techniques, I knew immediately what the format would be.

In 1996, my eldest son, Evans O’Bryant, III, wrote a poem, "Decades", which chronicled my life from the thirties to the nineties. It ends: "Marlene Linton O’Bryant - Seabrook, Who Do You Think You Are?" A few years later, I heard the lyrics of "We Are", written by Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, which answer that question for me and many others. These two writings provided the inspiration for the design of my 2007 Journal Quilt. I communicated with Dr. Barnwell, who holds a Ph.D. in Cranio-Facial Studies and is a member of the acclaimed a capella singing group, "Sweet Honey In the Rock". She graciously granted me permission to use her lyrics on my quilt.

The quilt incorporates a 1926 photo of my maternal grandparents, Fannie Rutherford Greenwood and Curtis Greenwood seated together, photos of them individually and the Ghanian Adinkra symbol, Gye Nyame (gee nyah MAY) which means "except for God", and is a symbolic reference to the omnipotence of the Supreme Deity.

Several different background colors were auditioned, but, I was always led back to green, a syllable of my grandparents’ surname. I purchased several green batiks that waited until I brought them home to say, "No!" Photos were inkjet printed on various fabrics, including Lutradur, before I decided on white cotton sateen. The printed photos and lyrics were fused and machine appliqued to a medium green batik. Gold iridescent Shiva Paintstik and a rubbing plate were used to create the "green wood" strips on both sides of the quilt. African bone beads with the Gye Nyame image and cowrie shells, used as currency in the purchase of ancestors from West Africa until the British ended their involvement in enslavement in 1807, were added as embellishment.

The lyrics of the first verse of "The Prayer" by Carole Sager & David Foster caused me to select it as the music for this page (Duet - Celine Dion/Andrea Bocelli).

I pray you'll be our eyes
and watch us where we go,
And help us to be wise
in times when we don't know.
Let this be our prayer,
when we lose our way
Lead us to the place,
guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.