Dogwood Village Quilt Project Builds Skills and Connections
Dogwood Village recently held a reception in the lobby of its senior living facility to celebrate the completion of a months-long quilt project provided through the outreach program of The Arts Center In Orange. The project was led by textile artist Amanda Wagstaff.
From September to December, a core group of four residents completed a large star-patterned quilt. With assistance from Wagstaff and Dogwood Village employees, the participants worked together to choose fabrics and color-coordinate their individual quilt blocks. Other residents filtered in and out throughout the program, pitching in for the day or just enjoying watching the process unfold.
For Arts Center Executive Director Anna Pillow, who came up with the original concept for the project and reached out to Wagstaff, the idea was to give residents an opportunity to complete a work of art that would appeal to them while challenging them to learn a new skill. She also liked the idea of the intergenerational connections that would be made through the project.
“I thought it was really interesting, this idea of having somebody who is younger going into a place to talk to elders and creating that intergenerational link,” Pillow said.
She also talked about the value of creating a physical object based on a traditional skill that can be passed on through future generations.
“Quilting as a medium isn’t just about making blankets. It’s about passing things through time,” Pillow explained. “They last longer than the people who make them. I feel like in every stitch there’s a story. There’s a little bit of a person that gets carried through and that’s why I really want to keep people working with these traditional forms of arts and crafts.”
Wagstaff agreed that above and beyond the product itself, much of the value of the program ended up being the relationships that were formed through it, especially considering the isolation that many seniors faced throughout the pandemic.
“I think this is such a great project, especially in a place like Dogwood Village where they’ve been more isolated for two and a half years,” she said. “It was really good to just be able to go into that space and be with people. I do think it was something I was craving and maybe the residents, too.”
Dogwood Village Activities Coordinator Lisa Erb shared that volunteer projects like those offered by the Arts Center’s outreach program are critical to the overall health and wellbeing of the residents.
“They really help the psychosocial needs of the residents,” Erb said. “I think we forget because we’re in a nursing home and we may not be cooking our food or washing our car, but we’re still able to independently do a project and show an end result. That gives the residents something to be very proud of.”
The project also gave participants the chance to show off their unique creative skills. Wagstaff noted that although she technically led the program, the project was designed to be flexible and adapt based on input from the participants.
“I really didn’t want to dictate a design to them,” Wagstaff said. “The quilt comes together as a whole, but it really has the characteristics of each individual as a part of it.”
Frances Cox-Wince was one of the core group members involved in the project. She said that while “trying to sew the little squares” was challenging, she always looked forward to socializing with her fellow residents and Wagstaff each week, “just getting together, having fun and learning.”
Cox-Wince said that quilting project was one of the many ways in which Dogwood Village and community outreach have made her feel fulfilled and cared for.
“I enjoy being here and it’s really great—the people and the nurses. I feel like they’re all earth angels.”
For more information on the variety of outreach projects offered through The Arts Center In Orange, visit www.artscenterinorange.com/community-outreach-program. To learn more about artist Amanda Wagstaff, visit www.amandawagstaff.com.