Follow along with me as I participate in the 2024 Save Your Story Challenge by Quilt Alliance. You can find all of my blog posts that are part of this challenge.
After completing the first two Save Your Story Challenges by Quilt Alliance, I was eager to see the topic for the next challenge. That challenge arrived via email on March 9.
Eek! This challenge sent a bit of a panic through me. I have been wanting to write an artist statement and bio, but I haven’t given myself the time or space to do so – I guess there is no time like the present!
I did attend Quilt Alliance’s “Quilters Take A Moment” webinar on October 12, 2023, when Heidi Parkes presented on Writing Artist’s Statements and Bios. I took three pages of notes during her talk! So for this month’s SYS Challenge, I’ll (attempt to) write a bio and statement relating to my recently-completed quilt collection, Stories from the South Atlantic Ocean, for an audience that does not know me and is not a group of scientists.
Artist Bio
Trained in the field of marine geology and geophysics, Laura Guertin has dedicated her career to not only teaching earth science to the students in her university classroom but sharing science with outside audiences. It was not until 2018 that she began merging her hobby of quilting with her science communication and outreach efforts and started on a pathway of quilting science stories. Laura looks to engage individuals in conversations around scientific topics such as oceanographic research and climate science solutions through quilts, including quilts in the format of data visualizations and gamified challenges to solve. Descriptions and images of Laura’s science storytelling through quilts are available at: https://journeysofdrg.org/category/sciquilts/
Artist Statement
After spending two months at sea on the scientific research vessel JOIDES Resolution in 2022, I knew there were several stories of ocean exploration I wanted to share through quilts. I have found quilts to be a valuable addition to my science communication toolkit, and I have seen my quilts be effective at drawing people into conversations around science. It was a challenge to determine which stories could be portrayed and would be of interest to non-oceanographers. I decided to create quilts that shared stories of living and working at sea. I generated nineteen quilts as part of my Stories from the South Atlantic Ocean collection as a nod to the nineteen windows across the bridge of the ship, providing nineteen views into our work. On each quilt, I included fabric that was manufactured in South Africa, the country my ship departed from and returned to. I utilized various quilting techniques and patterns, such as applique, Civil War potholder, and half square triangles. To provide deeper engagement for viewers, some of the quilts are data visualizations, while others are “gaminifed” and have puzzles to solve. My goal is that by using different approaches to telling these stories from sea, I will be able to invite a wide audience into discussions about oceanography and then sharing these stories with others.
I clearly have more work to do with developing an artist bio and statement, which will of course change depending upon the audience and quilt or quilts that will be shared in whatever venue. As I (hopefully) will increase the opportunities for sharing and disseminating my quilts, I will get more experience writing these statements and improving and strengthening my goal of sharing science stories.
Journeys of Dr. G 