I joined Barb Robson and Laurie
Swim to co-curate this show of
Polly’s personal collection of bed quilts, quilted wall hangings, woven
coverlets. The quilts and woven
coverlets are not all pristine; they have been put on beds, washed and used.
When faded and worn, quilts still hold the process of making and gain layers of
memories and stories.
Polly was on the leading edge of the quilting renaissance in the early 1970's when she was the first teacher to put together a workshop on a Sampler quilt. This led to one of the earliest Canadian quilting publications to be produced for the Nova Scotia Museum.
Polly is an esteemed member of the quilting and fibre arts community in Nova Scotia and was a founding member of the Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council. Her work was featured in Traditional Nova Scotian Double-Knitting Patterns by Janetta Dexter (1985 NSM Publication) and Head, Heart and Hands by Jim Lotz (1986 Braemar Pub), and Canadian Living Magazine, among other publications. Polly’s quilts and woven coverlets are a significant body of work and an important cultural contribution to Nova Scotia.
Every stitch in Polly’s quilts and every shuttle thrown in a woven cloth is a recorded moment in her life and a creative expression for her love of textiles. A life filled with the making of her hands, is a most abundant life indeed. We honour and celebrate the lifetime contribution and work of Polly Greene.
Photo credit: Kate Inglis
