Deeds Not Words

cover Deeds Not Words

Deeds Not Words features art quilts that appeared in an exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The traveling, juried exhibition included twenty-nine award-winning quilt artists.

Over eighty years, women fought to gain the vote. The title of this book comes from Emmeline Pankhurst who in 1903 used the slogan "Deeds Not Words" for the Women's Social and Political Union. An accompanying essay addresses the history of the movement and another offers insight into the artists at work.

The book includes photos of early and history quilts that incorporated visual references to the movement.

Each quilt is presented with an artist's comment that explains the history behind her chosen theme and a brief bio of the artist. The quilts are presented in large photographs of the whole and in detail. The methods represented are diverse and represent each artist's unique style.

This is art that inspires and educates. From Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, I learned about Detroit suffragist Ethel Willimans Harkless and the racist element of the Sufferage movement. I had no idea that the FBI called Jane Addams "a most dangerous woman" because of her work as a social reformer, feminist, and pacifist. Addams won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Laura Wasilowski portraits Addams 'mug shots' in her quilt.

Read more about the artist on her quilt First Ladies 

In the Appendix, there is a list of all the women whose names appear in Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry's quilt First Ladies, women who were the first to accomplish what had only been done by men or who "moved equality forward for others." It is an impressive list! Also is a list of women featured on Sandoval's quilt of Africa-American Suffragists and Colored Women's Clubs.

Deeds Not Words will interest a wide range of readers and will spur an interest in learning more about these brave and inspiring women.

I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Sara Bard Field by Martha Wolfe

Nasty Women Keep Fighting by Sue Bleiweiss

about the authors:

Sandra Sider, a studio quilt artist since the 1980s, has led critique workshops for Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) since 2005. She holds an MA in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Between 2010 and 2013, Sider served as president of SAQA, and today she is editor of SAQA's Art Quilt Quarterly as well as curator of the Texas Quilt Museum. She has written or edited more than a dozen books concerning contemporary quilt art. www.sandrasider.com

Curator of the New England Quilt Museum, Pamela Weeks has been a quilter, fiber artist, quilt historian, and state-juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. For eight years she was the executive director of ABC Quilts, where the mission was to send handmade quilts to babies and young children born HIV-positive or drug affected, around the world. Weeks lives in New Hampshire.

Deeds Not Words 
by Sandra Sider and Pamela Weeks
Schiffer Publications
March 28, 2020
ISBN 9780764359170, 0764359177
96 pages, softcover
$19.99 USD