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Star quilt artist featured at Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
An artist who's being featured in the Obama Presidential Center shared his creative secrets at Augustana Lutheran Church in Hyde Park. His name is Sunshine Joe because he infuses brilliant color in his work.
CHICAGO - An artist who's being featured in the Obama Presidential Center shared his creative secrets at Augustana Lutheran Church in Hyde Park.
His name is Sunshine Joe because he infuses brilliant color in his work.
What we know:
Sunshine Joe Mallard makes quilts.
He’s the rock star of the sewing circle because one of his creations will be displayed at the Barack Obama Presidential Center when it opens in Chicago.
Sunshine Joe said the honor is "A dream come true. When I created the quilt, I wanted to get it there but didn’t know how to get it there."
Typically, quilts contain family history, scraps from worn clothing, patched together to form a warm blanket.
Sunshine Joe’s quilts stitch together periods of history, in colors that attract and provoke. They include layers of embroidery thread and textiles, celebrating African American life, music and history.
"They provoke thought and as you look at it closer the colors grab attention, the words and messages draw you into it," Mallard said.
Every stitch is knotted by hand. Years of his determination are now making history.
Mallard said his technique is non-traditional.
"I don’t’ think anybody is taking a needle and thread to record history as it occurs," he said.