Quilts on display through Monday
By SUSAN TAM Special to the Daily Press
NORTH OF WILSHIRE — A patchwork of expressions born from the tragedy of the terrorist attacks three years ago has surfaced in Santa Monica.
Shadowy faces emerge from the rubble of the twin towers depicted on Linda Greenberg Loper’s quilt, a detailed creation that was seven months in the making. The quilt, titled “And Our Flag was Still There” is on tour with a collection that will be in town until Monday.
In commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Beth Shir Sholom Synagogue is hosting an exhibit of the American Spirit Collection, a dozen quilts made by people from the United States and Singapore. The collection is touring throughout the United States but only has one scheduled stop in Los Angeles, said Sally Stewart, a spokeswoman for Beth Shir Sholom.
The pieces range from a pennant-sized flag to the centerpiece of the exhibit, “Ground Zero,” a quilt large enough to drape over a queen-sized bed that features the faces of 700 people who were killed in the World Trade Center.
Loper, from Northridge, said she heard about the project after she had been making her own quilt.
“Quilters do that to work through their emotions,” she said. “This was a way of working with my emotions, and the fact that I could share it with other people was just a plus.”
Part of that process included scouring the Newsday Web site for photos and profiles of the dead. Loper printed the images at home onto high-quality fabric that had been ironed and removed from freezer paper, and treated afterwards to prevent the ink from running, she said. Her quilt incorporates different aspects of scenes she had seen in the newspaper. Loper decided to incorporate people looking through shattered glass — an image she had seen in a photograph.
“I decided that person has to be a fireman, and (the quilt) has to be smoky and gray,” she said. Loper then added a steadfast flag, the only part of the quilt that is in full color.
“What it represents is that the flag was still there,” she said.
Some of the quilts are dedicated solely to the twin towers or commemorating victims. Others are connected more loosely to ideas, such as unity, tolerance or sadness.
Martha Green was in the process of making the quilt when the planes struck. She now describes her art as a quilt of circumstance, called the “Celestial Send- Off.”
“Along with the nation, I watched and waited,” she wrote. “I also sewed. My thoughts, prayers and emotions were mapped with ribbon, beads and thread.”
“As soon as you see it, for me, it brings me back... I think what was amazing about that day was that they attacked two symbols, but what was important for us was each individual person,” he said. “The American spirit is about the value of the individuals.”
The piece was designed by Jane Dodge, a teacher at the Singapore American School. Dodge’s 22 third-grade students, who are from all over the world, also made a quilt that is traveling with the exhibit.
Comess-Daniels said he stumbled upon the Web site a year ago and noted that the Sept. 11 anniversary for this year had not been booked. He immediately contacted organizers.
“We had to have it,” he said. “It definitely fits into this temple, the non-verbal part of us, our hearts. We try to do this kind of outreach all the time.
“It’s to allow the community to gather and meditate on these messages,” he added. “There is no vengeance. There is no anger... there is sadness here but the overwhelming message is peace.”
Hosting the American Spirit Collection and reflecting on the memory keeps it meaningful, Comess-Daniels said. As generations pass, people start losing sight of the emotional significance of the terrorist attacks.
“How long will it be before (Sept. 11, 2001) is (just) a Memorial Day sale? What does it mean when we can’t relate or respond anymore? This helps us remember,” he said.
Beth Shir Sholom has high hopes for their first artistic exhibit.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” Stewart said. “But we hope everyone who wants to see it will come. We hope that there’s a line out the door.”
Display of emotion The 12 quilts will travel together until June 30, 2005, when they will return to their makers.
The collection will next be in Sulphur Springs, Tex., then East Aurora, N.Y., before returning to Simi Valley, Calif., in the beginning of October.
The synagogue will hold a small multi-faith opening of the exhibit today at 11 a.m. The public also is invited to attend the temple’s Selichot program held in the hall where the quilts will be displayed. Selichot marks the beginning of the Jewish season of introspection and atonement, leading into the High Holy Days of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
The quilts will be on display from: Saturday, Sept. 11: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12: Noon – 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Beth Shir Sholom is located at 1827 California Ave. No reservations are necessary. The public is welcome to view the quilts on a first-come, first-served basis.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 11, 2004. Read the original PDF.