In honor of Black History Month I've decided to honor and pay homage to Ms. JOY.
Joy E. Johnson, Quilt Maker and Storyteller, has been making quilting most of her life. Ms. Joy teaches quilting, conducts workshops and lectures on the Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad. After experiencing a railroad trip by way of her quilts through storytelling, I realized there is so much to be learned from the two art forms. The work itself is a canvas of narrative stories all patched together to perfection. Each patch can represent entire chapters in history of the African and African American experience. I see her work as the construction of individual windows of a world the ancestors experienced in the form of stories to be passed on to generations still to come. Spending an evening with her was a delightful treat. I was amazed at her craftsmanship, no, more like blown away. Her quilts very colorful, creative and educational. Her quilts have been exhibited at the De Young Museum of San Francisco, CA, the Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton CA and various other venues throughout the Bay Area. She is a member of the Association of African American Quilters Guild in Oakland, CA.
Ms Joy loves all things quilting and updates her skill base by attending Quilt Conventions and taking classes. She has an extensive library of books devoted to quilting and assures that she can make anyone a quilter and recommends quilting as a form of meditation. She attributes quilting handwork with getting our foremothers through the storms of their lives.
Check out Ms. Joy
