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The Gee’s Bend quilts are all beautiful and unique examples of formstorming – acts of creativity and visual thinking that result from challenging oneself to overcome basic design problems. By approaching these problems in unique and original ways, artists such as the Gee’s Bend quilters could create fantastic new designs. They were often limited in their artistic vision by the materials and experience they had on hand (being in an isolated community) but made up for it with sewing these creative design masterpieces found nowhere else in the world.

“Bricklayer” variation by Louisiana P. Bendolph, sewn from colored pieces of cotton. Currently exhibited in the High Museum of Art.

The quilt I chose is called “Bricklayer variation” by Lousiana P. Bendolph, a magnificent specimen of quilt featuring strong, bold colors and patterns. What initially caught my eye about this quilt was the lack of repeating patches as compared to the other examples – the lack of balance itself caught my eye. The different colors, patterns, and the vertical red stripe serve to make a unique and visually appealing asymmetry. I appreciate that the red stripe serves to break up the negative space in the dark part of this quilt, which keeps the quilt from becoming too skewed to one side. While rhythm can add visual interest to a design, the breaking of a rhythm can be just as or even more impactful. I am a believer that geometric designs work best for these kinds of quilts; looking back over the rest of the designs, quilts that expressed sharp edges, right angles and repetition often caught my eye over other, more organic designs. I think that this quilt is supposed to be representational in design, as by its title “Bricklayer variation” you can infer that the quilt depicts the literal act of bricklaying, as evidenced by the stacked red tiles. The various shapes come together as a whole to create a scene that is probably learned from our own experiences.

The quilts of Gee’s Bends have a lot of similar designs, most noticeably the log cabin and housetop, yet the diverse quilts they were able to make by simple variations creates interest. This log cabin design by Loretta Pettway is a great example of variation. Her piece

“Log Cabin”—Twenty-Block Sampler Variation by Loretta Pettway, 1958. Represents balance, pattern, and abstraction. 

creates a pattern of repeating log cabins, all different. Because the quilt has a pattern of repeating tiles, the piece comes off as very geometric. The log cabin is created by reflecting similar-sized strips of cloth into a square shape, all shapes of geometry. Along with this, the space in between each log cabin square is very uniform and mathematical. We can also see that the quilt is organic. The uneven siding, the left side in particular with its red strip of cloth, show that this was made by a human and gives a natural sense. The variation of sizing in each tile also demonstrates this organic feel. The artist creates balance by using the prior-mentioned uniform spacing. The blank space in between each tile is fairly similar and helps the audience understand what they are looking at.

The log cabin design in essence is representational because it was inspired by architecture. However, Loretta’s own choices for this design are purely abstract. The pattern she created with her own choices (of fabric, sizing, spacing) is not necessarily representational of any other object. This repetitive pattern is very similar to formstorming. It reminds me a lot of  “A plus” by Yiangxi Zhou on page 15 of Graphic Design: The New Basics. Loretta used formstorming in the sense that she tried to make as many different designs from the log cabin pattern as she could. She changed each square by changing fabric, orientation, and color combinations. You can see that she put each strip of cloth there intentionally, playing with the stereotypical log cabin design and how our mind sees color.

     Formstorming is the process of visually thinking, creators use this as a tool to put more depth into their designs when they are too basic. Through automatic, easily conceived notions, towards recognizable but subtle concepts, to results that showcase the creator’s originality. The quilt I chose to look at for this blog post demonstrates the process of formstorming.  In the description of the quilt titled “Blocks, Strips, Strings, And Half Squares” made by Mary Lee Bendolph, it explains how she was inspired by a “fine art” intaglio print she made herself during the two weeks she spent in Berkeley, California in the summer of 2005. She would take the prints she has already created and adapted one medium to another. Bendolph would take her original paintings and use other aesthetics she was introduced to while traveling or being introduced to other artwork to deepen her work.

“Blocks, Strips, Strings, And Half Squares” by Mary Lee Bendolph
2005, Cotton, 84 x 81 inches

In art balance allows our eyes to look at the piece as a whole, rather than being drawn to one particular aspect of a piece. While rhythm is a strong, simply repeated pattern. Bendolph’s created produces both balance and rhythm. The quilt is aesthetically pleasing due to her ability to balance everything out. Although there is contrast in the piece, the red color is equally placed within the quilt, balancing it out with the black and white color. Even though the red is bright and has the power to draw the eyes in, it does not. The rhythm in her piece shows through the repeated bold patterns she created, “Blacks, Strips, Strings, and Half Squares. In this piece, there are both geometric and organic shapes, since she used squares and make a new shape out of the squares. The pattern in the quilt is abstract, and it does not represent anything. It is simply just repeated geometric/organic shapes.

“Bricklayer” Variation created by Linda Diane Bennett c.1970. It is a part of the Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt exhibition.

According to the reading, Formstorming is the acts/works of visual thinking and the quilts that the women of the “Gee’s Bend Quilts” had created represent just that. Each women had created their quilts purely on experience, surroundings, and their motives in creating each quilt. In the documentary we learned about how each quilt held a unique, personal, and original direction for the purpose of creation.

The decided to choose a quilt creation by Linda Diane Bennett (c. 1970) “Bricklayer” Variation. Not only did Linda create her quilt in the form of formstorming but many of the other women did as well (maybe even would go a step further saying that all of the women had). The women had lived in a location that was isolated from a ton of different influences. Their influences were their experiences of poverty and their community, the influence of religion and soul, and even history (the Civil Rights Movement). They all created their quilts on the influence of their life stories. Linda’s quilt had balance with the placements of each rectangular shape by creating symmetry within the quilt even if each shade of blue is not like the other. The “beehive”/diamond shape that takes place within the quilt creates a geometric and straight forward pattern. The white shapes and blue, work well with one another but they work well with creating the balance and rhythm within the quilt creating consistency. I want to say that the quilt to me leans in both the abstract and representational concepts. Abstract in the sense of it is a geometric pattern with a variation of blues, but representational with the use of denim hat was used and the brick layering maybe creating it off of something in their home/something visually familiar in the Linda’s life.

This is a quilt called “Doves of the Window” by Creola Bennett Pettway. It was created using cotton and denim work clothes. This is an example of formstorming in how the artist used different combinations and arrangements of colors to bring out different parts of the pattern.

I selected the “Doves of the Window” quilt as my example of formstorming. In this quilt, you see repeating squares of the same pattern, but each square contains a different combination of colors. This shows the idea that formstorming is approaching the same prompt in several different ways, seeing how deep into your creative juices you can dive. Much lie the pattern project we just completed, this quilt shows the viewer how different colors interact when paired together. Each patch is unique, and each shows a different approach to the theme, doves in a window.

This quilt uses a fair amount of geometric, abstract and representation. Every piece used in the quilt is a geometric shape, either triangle or rectangle. These pieces form distinct squares, making it obvious where the pattern starts and ends. And, based on the title, it is both abstract and representational. We can deduce that it’s an abstract representation of doves in a window pane. The cross sections around the “circle” of color in each block seems to represent the panes of a window. And the found diamonds stitched together could bee seen as birds, with the outer two diamonds as the wings and the inner two diamonds as the tale. This is certainly an abstract depiction of doves in a window, but it can also be argued that it is representational, since it appears from the title that it does, in fact, represent a scene that the quiltmaker saw.

The quilt is also very balanced and rhythmic, in that it is equal on both sides of the quilt, which is a result of the heavy reliance on geometric forms.

The work of the Gee’s Bend women, much like this specific example, shows formstorming because there are many iterations of the same pattern, but with different colors, fabrics and approaches. This shows the artists experimenting with other forms to see what kind of quilt they could make.

The work of the Gee’s Bend women is an example of formstorming because it incorporates repetition that changes, and creates a way to view the base for exploration of unconventional design.

Log Cabin style quilt from Gee’s Bend resident Mary Elizabeth Kennedy; 1965. Found on Gee’s Bend Quilt 

For the quilt design I liked best, I’ve chosen the “Housetop -Single Block- Log Cabin Variation” created by Mary Kennedy in 1965. I like how the quilt contains both a light and a dark side, and the border contains contrasting colors. Even though the women have no formal training and very little schooling, they seemed to unconsciously understand a sort of sense of design and rhythm that has been incorporated into this quilt. It is also very geometric, since it is entirely made out of rectangles and two small squares in the middle. Knowing the history behind Gee’s Bend, this feels mostly unintentional. Though Kennedy says she does enjoy the Log Cabin structure, the women of the economically poor town were only able to use small scraps of clothing and other fabrics to create their designs, which were originally in order for survival and staying warm. The quilt also contains a nice set of balance, as the white and dark are almost perfectly divided down the middle. The quilt is also very abstract rather than representational. It contains no “real” areas to the design, though it could remind someone of the wood beams above an old log house. It is entirely made of shaky lines and the colors only have a mild cohesion. There is repetition, where Kennedy kept the geometric lines lined up, relative from the dark side to the light side. These women learned to quilt as it was passed down from mothers and grandmothers, and that shows in a powerful way through their work. The fraying edges of the overall quilt also show that the fabric they used was rough and old, making all of the designs even more powerful.

This quilt was created by Mary Lee Bendolph in 2002. Titled “Work-clothes quilt” it is made of denim and cotton. The quilt is 97 x 88 inches. Made for personal use from available “work-clothes” material.

I chose one of the Work-Clothes Quilt[s] by Mary Lee Bendolph. This quilt specifically stood out to me because of the rich blues contrasted with the bright red. It really looked like a piece of artwork to me. Formstorming is a process of deliberated thinking for designers to create new material that is unique and not carelessly created. The quilts of Gee’s Bend are a good example of formstorming because the women who created the pieces had no inspiration or influence from outside sources. They solely used their environment and imagination to create their dynamic pieces. With formstoring an important exercise for designers is to create many iterations of one subject. This is exactly what the women of Gee’s Bend did. Their medium is fabric to create quilts, but each quilt has a unique design; no two are alike. They were constantly in the creative process of designing new patterns even if they didn’t realize the art behind the pieces at the time.

The quilt incorporates balance because of its horizontal sections which anchor the piece. The differing sizes, shapes, and colors of the individual sections give the quilt a unique rhythm and make it visually interesting.

The quilt is more geometric rather than organic because of its straight-ish edges and right angles. There are very few curved shapes except for the small darker shapes scattered throughout the quilt. The flower pattern on a few of the sections is more organic; but overall the piece is geometric. In my opinion this quilt is more abstract. It doesn’t represent anything in the real world but is rather different squares and rectangles sewn together to create a cohesive piece. It creates an intriguing abstract pattern because of the different shapes, colors and materials.

The women of Gee’s Bend used the materials and inspiration around them at that moment in time to create the quilts we now see today. This idea of intimacy and personal daily work is in line with the idea of Dailies which, in formstorming, is a “daily creative act”. This daily, relevant and current work inspires the creators continuously. The quilts we see today are a physical piece of the past but also valuable and modern art pieces that we can still learn from.

“Formstorming” is about finding new ways to express familiar ideas through repetition that can change with each cycle, and time.  It also talks about templates to set a base for exploration, iteration, and design planning.  “Rhythm and Balance” talks about how these two concepts are in design and graphic design.  Balance in art, and in this case, design is what allows us to look at something and see it as a cohesive unit.  A lack of balance upsets how we view design and makes it so we kind of get stuck staring at something.  Visual balance is created when line weights, colors and shape sizes balance each other out.  Rhythm is made from the regular occurrence of beats, patterns, etc…  Graphic design relies on rhythm for animations, images, and books.  Asymmetry and symmetry both play into rhythm and balance where symmetry encompasses an entire image as left and right, or top and bottom are mirror images of the other half.  Asymmetry however is “active” and draws the eye more heavily in a specific direction or area, but visual counter weight in the “lighter” area still provides a kind of balance to images.  Asymmetry is also a little more organic because of how a design is laid out with objects in relation to one another and where the visual field ends.  Negative space is also a component of asymmetry that allows balance to exist even in an asymmetric image/design.

“Lazy Gal” by Loretta Pettway, c. 1965. Made of denim and cotton.

The women of Gee’s Bend had no formal training, just the knowledge and practices that were passed down from their mothers and grandmothers, and those who came before them back to the days of slavery.  There is no template that these women follow, aside from making it quilt-sized.  Their repetition comes from what inspires them as they create their quilts, whether it be physical structure, or just the emotion of living day-to-day lives.  I chose “Lazy Gal” by Loretta Pettway because it shows how well asymmetry can work in all types of art.  The two light blue lines and the thinner dark blue edge on the left side are counter-weighted by the thicker dark blue edge on the right.  I think that if the lighter blue stripes hadn’t been applied to the left side, then the quilt would look incomplete just because of the difference in left and right edge thickness and the way the left edge isn’t as straight as the right.  The lighter two stripes just make the quilt look complete despite the uneven balance of the left to right side.