MACON, Ga. – Professor of Communication and Theater Arts Marian Zielinski's quilt was selected for display at Quilt National '13, an international juried exhibition of innovative contemporary arts quilts. Her piece, titled “Goodnight Sweet Prince” was on display at the Dairy Barn in Athens, Ohio from May 25 until September 2.
Her late father inspired the design for her quilt. “I did preliminary sketches for this work nine years ago just after my father died from Alzheimer's disease,” Zielinkski said. “For years afterwards, the ravages of the disease and the photographs I took of him as he gradually slipped away framed all my thoughts of him. Over the years that have passed since those preliminary drawings, I've gradually reclaimed my memories of who he was. This work is my farewell to my dad.”
Zielinski's first quilt was used as a backdrop for a set in “Under Milk Wood,” in 1994. Although she enjoys quilting, she said she isn't drawn to the traditional aspects of the art. “I've never really done traditional quilting,” she said. “I'm more interested in combining dyeing, painting, drawing, printing, and stitching together in a single work.I also use a lot different materials and techniques in each of my works, some of which I also use in theatre design.”
Zielinski was hired at Mercer in 1982 as the set, costume and lighting designer and technical director for the theatre program. She started producing quilts in 2004, and has presented several conference papers about the arts around the world, including Germany, Japan, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Poland, British Columbia and Great Britain, as well as several cities in the United States.
Some of her quilts have been featured in publications including “1000 Artisan Textiles; the cover of “Communicology: The New Science of Embodied Discourse;” the journal “Fiber Art Now;” “Quilting Arts Magazine;” and “Quilt National 13: The Best in Contemporary Quilts.”
For more information about the exhibition, visit www.dairybarn.org/quilt.
