Sewing Stories

Ella drops her chin and looks up from beneath her colorful hat with big, expressive eyes. Light plays across her gold glasses and she reveals just the hint of a smile. Who is the girl in the portrait on the cover? What is her story? 

The artist, Bisa Butler, knows that she can create a narrative in quilted portraits like this one by placing clues throughout the work. The materials an artist uses—from paint and clay to found objects and even food—inherently have meaning. Butler carefully selects colors and fabrics that hold symbolic meaning for each of her portraits, revealing details about her subjects—and herself.

A girl looks up from beneath a colorful hat. She wears gold glasses, and a hint of a smile. Who is the girl in the portrait on the cover? What is her story? 

Bisa Butler quilted the portrait out of fabric. She creates a narrative and places clues throughout the work. Her materials have meaning. Butler chooses fabrics in colors and patterns that are symbolic, which means they represent something about her subjects. 

Butler was born in 1973 and grew up in New Jersey. When she was a graduate student, her professors gave her an assignment to make a portrait. At the time, she was taking a fiber arts class, where she was experimenting with textiles and exploring processes like weaving, felting, and quilting. The artist decided to make a quilted portrait of her grandparents, above, based on a photo of them when they were young, right.

Butler selected fabrics from her grandmother’s fabric collection and quickly realized she could tell a story about her subjects through the patterns and colors she used. For example, Butler included black fabric with purple flowers on it to symbolize her grandmother’s name: Violette. 

The process of quilting itself is also significant. There is a long history of quilting among Black women in America. By using this art form, Butler acknowledges that tradition.

The artist started out making portraits of important people in her life, including her daughters, friends, and family. “My original goal for creating portraits was out of love,” Butler explains. Soon she realized she could make a bigger statement with her work.

Butler was born in 1973. She grew up in New Jersey. When she was in graduate school, her teacher gave her an assignment to make a portrait. She was also taking a fiber arts class. She learned about weaving, felting, and quilting. Butler made a quilted portrait of her grandparents, above. She based it on a photo of them when they were young, above right. 

Butler chose fabrics from her grandmother’s fabric collection. She realized she could tell a story about her grandparents with patterns and colors. For example, Butler included black fabric with purple flowers on it. It symbolizes her grandmother’s name: Violette. The art of quilting is also meaningful to Butler. She honors the history of Black women quilting in America.

Butler started out by making portraits of friends and family. “My original goal for creating portraits was out of love,” the artist explains. Soon she would communicate even bigger statements with her work.

Butler began experimenting with historical photographs from the National Archives, an administration in Washington, DC, that records documents for legal or historical reasons. These photos are meant to be historical records rather than formal, artistic portraits. In many cases, the image titles are simply descriptive, explaining where and when they were taken and what the subject is doing. 

For Butler, the images offer far more than a record of history. “I think about them like family members,” Butler explains. “If this was my little nephew, I’m trying to portray him as a person—not just a symbol of a child, but an individual child.” 

Like in the portrait of her grandparents, Butler continues to use fabrics and colors with meaning in each quilt she makes. Her 2019 To God and Truth, below, depicts the 1899 baseball team at Morris Brown College, the first Black higher educational institution in Georgia. One of the fabrics she incorporates is a pattern called the beehive. “I thought about a team and this hive having to work together,” the artist explains. “I’m using pattern to tell the story.”

Butler began creating quilts based on photos from the National Archives, which is a library of legal and historical documents in Washington DC. People usually don’t consider these records artistic. They often have simple titles describing where and when the photos were taken and what the people in them are doing. 

Butler thought there was more to the images. “I think about them like family members,” she explains. “If this was my little nephew, I’m trying to portray him as a person. Not just a symbol of a child, but an individual child.”

Butler continues to use fabrics and colors that are meaningful in each of her quilted works. In 2019, Butler made To God and Truth, below. It shows the 1899 baseball team at Morris Brown College, one of the first Black colleges in Georgia. One of the fabrics she uses has a pattern called the beehive. “I thought about a team and this hive having to work together,” the artist explains. “I’m using pattern to tell the story.”