"THE OPERA
QUILT"
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BY AMY STEWART
WINSOR
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I was commissioned by Capitol Broadcasting Company and the
A.J. Fletcher Foundation to create an art quilt for the
stairwell of the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theatre in
Raleigh, North Carolina.
Photo
The quilt is 10 feet 9 inches high and 7 feet 1 inch wide.
It took 540 hours to make. I delivered the finished
quilt in October 2002, and it was installed Jan, 2003.
The fifteen panels in the quilt contain images related to
opera. Thirteen panels are scenes from some of the
operas performed during the 53 years of the Grass Roots Opera
and National Opera Company, both founded by A.J. Fletcher.
The center panel is a fabric portrait of Fletcher, in costume
as Don Alfonso from "Cosi Fan Tutti".
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Detail
1 - Exterior photo of the A.J. Fletcher Opera
Theatre in Raleigh, NC. This is a new structure recently
attached to the east side of the old Memorial Auditorium. The
whole complex is called "BTI Center for the Performing
Arts".
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Detail
2 - Painting of A.J. Fletcher, founder of the
Fletcher Foundation
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Detail
3 - A.J. Fletcher's portrait done in fabric for the
center of the quilt.
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Detail
4 - "Hansel and Gretel" (full block)
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Detail
5 - detail shot of gingerbread house from "Hansel
and Gretel"
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Detail
6 - "Elixir of Love" (full block)
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Detail
7 - Bridge, horse and wagon detail from "Elixir
of Love" block
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Detail
8 - Top quarter of the quilt, "Carmen", "Amahl
and the Night Visitors", and "Barber of Seville"
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| Detail 9
- Detail of one of the Kings from "Amahl and the Night
Visitors" |
| Detail
10 - Detail from "Carmen" |
Detail
11 - Photograph of the house where the opera
costume shop was located for 53 years. This house is on the
corner of Morgan and Hillsborough Streets in Raleigh, NC.
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Detail
12 - The costume shop represented in fabric on the
opera quilt.
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Detail
13 - A photograph of the side of the Opera
Company's semi-truck.
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Detail
14 - My rendition in fabric of the truck logo.
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| Article about "The Opera Quilt"
on Capitol Broadcasting Company's website |
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SIZE: 10 feet 9 inches high, 7 feet
1 inch wide
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YEAR MADE: 2002
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FABRICS:commercial and hand-dyed cotton,
satin, tulle, lace, Pellon ThermoLam Plus batting
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THREADS:Cotton, Rayon
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TECHNIQUES:Fusible applique using Heat n Bond
Lite. Hand embroidery, machine piecing, machine quilting,
yarn couched onto the seamlines, three-dimensional clothing
on A.J. Fletcher portrait, silk ribbon embroidery. Ricky
Tims’ method of piped binding.
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EMBELLISHMENTS:Lace, yarn, brooch, silk ribbon
embroidery
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