Project Heritage Quilt

Author: Amy Tetterton, Mellon Research Fellow, Visual Arts Major

John Tyler Community College becoming Brightpoint / Virginia Commonwealth University

Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Helen Geranios, English Department, John Tyler Community College

• Project Heritage Quilt sprung from a myriad of ideas and reflection upon my maternal ancestral heritage and roots in southwest Virginia; it is dedicated to my grandmother, Dorcie June Short Mullins, “Mommy Dorcie;” I feel she is the epitome of Appalachian people, as a whole. Her sweet and humble spirit coupled with unending love and kindness, despite her often-difficult journey through this lifetime, stands as a testament and representation of the collective culture, in general.
• Preliminary and ongoing research has lent itself to theorization regarding the social, economic, and demographic challenges, both past and present; the combination of these vastly intertwining elements often serves as both blessing and curse to the marginalized people of Appalachia. From the coalfields came both success and oppression, deep-pocketed millionaires and disparaged families, corruption, and common decency -- the contradictory comparisons deliberate and poignant -- all existing simultaneously within the hills of this fabled land of black diamonds. 
• Due to the interdisciplinarity of the project, an extensive and detailed outline with loosely assumed timeline was created to ensure the project's completion for Mellon Research. Though the timeline has been revisited and revised, designs and original plans continually evolving throughout the process, Project Heritage Quilt's targeted completion remains on track. Many elements are presented in the e-folio as representations of the conceptualization, planning, process, research, and projected design completion. The project is intended to be one of many; plans are already in the works to continue to collaborate with the people of Appalachia to insightfully build a collection of quilts and stories. The representative artisanship will present and preserve our cultural heritage as well as peer into the role of arts and crafts in the revitalization of the region. This is a legacy-building incubator of both personal and community-based interest with targeted focus on our beloved homeland, Southwest Virginia.
• The following links tell the broader story of Project Heritage Quilt. A dedicated website, ProjectHeritageQuilt.com, was built to serve as a public-facing resource for those interested in participating by submitting an original piece. It also serves as the most accurate source of background, resources, and project-related building blocks to this multi-faceted endeavor. Links to media attention are also included below. This is our story; we collectively seek to preserve our heritage as it relates to us as a culture.