The Great Stone Barn at Mt Lebanon Shaker Museum, NY, USA
I found this project very interesting. I didn't know anything about the Shakers. The 3 most interesting things to me were
1. they became Shakers because they shook about when they, as Quakers, were moved by the Spirit,
2. they championed gender and racial equality, and
3. they practiced celibacy (can you practice celibacy?).
In deference to their minimalist aesthetic, I decided to produce a simple image - simple in structure and colour. (I could have done with sewing at least 100 fewer weatherboards to keep the effort minimal as well!)
I draughted the image taken from https://www.shakermuseum.us/mount-lebanon/ on paper then drew it onto fabric. I saved myself the challenge of perspective by presenting it front on. I used Inktense pencils to darken the fabric where necessary.
I wrote along the bottom of the building and also on the back - mostly a quote. It reads as follows
The Great Stone Barn, Shaker Museum, Mt Lebanon
This project's brief was Shaker architecture. I chose to depict this richly colored, strong, functional building which can be visited at the Shaker Museum, Mt Lebanon. Mt Lebanon, founded in 1787, 'was the first official community organized by the Shakers.... It's community planning, architecture, commercial and industrial endeavors, as well as its spiritual practices, became models for the other Shaker villages... Within this central community, the Shakers developed their progressive ideas on gender quality, racial equality, pacifism, communal property, the value of labor, and sustainability. They also established the now famous... aesthetic of simplicity expressed in their... buildings....' www.shakermuseum.us
Lovely piece Amanda, and a good idea to tackle it straight on for simplicity - the Shakers would have approved. I'm glad to discover that you didn't know of them beforehand, great research and summary.
ReplyDeleteThank you for setting that theme :-)
DeleteVery impressive, Amanda, and who needs perspective? Love the fact that you added the text. Progressive ideas but I did read that they still had separate doors for men and for women entering the meeting house? There are also supposedly only two Shakers left today, a man and a woman, which makes me wonder at the purpose of celibacy... Hilary
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that the reason for celibacy was because Ann Lee, the founder of the American Shakers, had a horrendous time in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and rearing young children (she lost 4), and took this as a sign that sex was sinful. I also read that gender equality was a result of the fact that their founder, and later leader of the American Shakers, was indeed a female! But don't quote me on this info - I didn't read deeply and can't find the source. Celibacy did seem an illogical choice given how progressive they were in other ways.
DeleteGreat approach and result. Love all the text that you have included. I must admit I was not aware of their living conditions and found it interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love the simplicity of your piece but in keeping with the Shaker architecture and colours. It must have taken you a long time and a lot of patience to quilt all the lines in your piece. Well done on your research which was very interesting and informative and you have produced a really good piece depicting Shaker architecture and lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteGosh Amanda how did you manage to write in such small script? I love the colours you chose for the barn and the way you quilted it .I was also very interested to read about all your research on the Shakers .
ReplyDeleteA very lovely piece. I believe we visited the museum in the 80's when we lived in Connecticut, so it really speaks to me. The men and women used to line up on either side of the room for their services, but never touched each other. They had a very active recruitment policy in the orphanages in order to keep their order going! Their workmanship was exquisite and it's easy to understand why Shaker furniture and architecture is still so popular today.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your introduction, I have a better understanding of Shaker. The background sets off the red house, it's a very interesting piece.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful piece Amanda. Well depicted. Surely they realized that their community would die out..... !
ReplyDelete