“Peralta Quilt,” made by artist Ellen Oppenheimer with kindergarten students at Peralta Elementary School, installed at The Rockridge Branch Library, Oakland.  “In this quilt I let kindergarten students step in fabric paint and then walk on a piece of fabric,  When it was quilted the quilters wrote all sorts of appropriate words like 'dance', 'jump', 'squish', 'run,.  In this picture they wrote 'toes'.”—Ellen Oppenheimer

Over a three-year period, quilter Ellen Oppenheimer is working with primary grade students in 18 Oakland public elementary schools to create quilts for seven branches of the Oakland Public Library. The collaboration engages the quilter, the students, and children’s librarians from the participating neighborhood branch libraries. A librarian and Ms. Oppenheimer begin each quilt by visiting schools with a program of reading and storytelling. On subsequent visits, Ms. Oppenheimer creates quilt pieces with the children. The school community—teachers parents, and students—then come together to finish each quilt at a “quilting bee.” Members of East Bay Heritage Quilters, an organization of 500 members committed to promoting the art and craft of quilting, assist with the culminating bees. Once completes, the quilts are permanently installed in the branch libraries. The students who participate in the project are invited to visit their quilts in the libraries and receive a small reward—generally a bookmark or postcard—with an image of their quilt printed on it.

“Variable Stars” builds on outreach programs developed by the library system’s children’s librarians to Oakland students. Few Oakland elementary schools have libraries. Working together, the artist and librarians intend to strengthen bonds between the schools and their nearby libraries and for the children to build stronger, personal ties to their neighborhood libraries. The artist writes, “If a student makes a special quilt square which is assembled into a wonderful quilt, they are going to want to come visit their quilt in the library.”

[“Glenview Quilt,” tie dyed and sewn fabric by 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students with Ellen Oppenheimer, 72” x 72”, installed at Diamond Branch Library, Oakland, 2002]

Quilts tell stories visually, just as books tell them with language; and the project, which begins with reading and storytelling, makes use of quilts’ narrative dimensions in several ways. Quilts are made of a series of small units or pieces that are assembled into a pattern or order and create a whole, just as books are made of a series of word patterns that contribute to and build into a story. Being part of making a quilt invites a student to learn to recognize and understand pattern—an important aspect of learning to read.

Lead artist Ellen Oppenheimer has more than 25 years of experience as a quilter and is recognized as one of the most important contemporary quilt makers in the United States. In 1999 The International Quilt Association honored her work by including in the “Twentieth Century’s Best American Quilts.” In The Art Quilt Robert Shaw described her work as “labyrinthine quilts that play on the block concept of the Log Cabin to create overall compositions of astonishing linear complexity.” Ms. Oppenheimer’s work is well represented in museum and private collections. Both the Renwick and the American Craft Museum have important quilts by her in their collections as does the Oakland Museum of California. Ellen Oppenheimer has taught both ceramics and fabric arts in public school settings. She writes of this project, “Although working with students or working on public art projects is very demanding, I have found that it pushes my own work in new directions, giving me new ideas.”

The Oakland Public Library serves a population of 410,000 residents of Oakland, Emeryville, and Piedmont through its Main Library and 15 branches. The seven branch libraries participating in this project represent the city’s diverse neighborhoods. Four of the participating libraries are new or refurbished.

Ellen Oppenheimer

“Burbank Strip Quilts,” Tie dyed and sewn fabric by 2nd and 3rd grade Burbank Elementary School students with Ellen Oppenheimer, 59” x 59”, installed at Eastmont Branch Library, Oakland

Selected Shows

• “Quilts in Bloom,” Castle Gallery, Mainau, Germany (1999)
• “Contemporary Quilts: Ellen Oppenheimer,” Rasmussen Art Gallery, Pacific Union College, Angwin, California (1999)
• Contemporary Quilt Exhibition, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1999)
• “Visions” Museum of San Diego History, San Diego, California (1998, 1996, 1994, 1992)
• “Fantastic Fibers,” Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, Kentucky (1998)
• “QUILTS X 6,” Robert Allen Fine Art, San Francisco, California (1997)
• “The Renwick at 25,” The Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC, (1997)
• “On the Cutting Edge: Quilts from the Permanent Collection,” American Craft Museum, New York, New York (1997)
• One Person Show, the Gallery at Stevenson Union, Ashland, Oregon (1997)
• “Fabrications-Quilts for the Next Century,” Plaza Gallery, San Francisco, California (1996)
• “50th Anniversary: Faculty Invitational,” Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee (1995)
• “Out of the Ordinary,” Sun Gallery, Hayward, California (1995)
• “Quilt National,” Athens, Ohio, and touring show (1995, 1993, 1991, 1989, 1987, 1985, 1983)
• One person show, University of California, Santa Barbara, California (1994)
• Art Quilt International, Leone Nii Gallery, Mountain View, California (1993)
• “Quilt Festival 1993,” Pencil Points Ltd., Tokyo, Japan (1993)
• “Wild Women – Three California Fiber Artists,” American Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, California (1993)
• “Quilts: Out of the Mainstream, A National Invitational Show,” Shreveport, Louisiana (1992)
• “Quilts as a New Art Form II,” The Wetsman Collection, Birmingham, Michigan (1992)
• “Quilts,” Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, California (1991)
• “New Art Forms,” Katie Gingrass Gallery, Chicago, Illinois (1991)
• “Quilts re-de-fined,” The Sybaris Gallery, Detroit, Michigan (1990)
• “Connections,” American Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, California; and California Crafts Museum, San Francisco, California (1989)
• “Fiber National,” Adams Memorial Gallery, Dunkirk, New York (1989, 1988, 1987, 1986)
• “New Directions,” Sun Gallery, Hayward, California (1988)
• “Homage to the Quilt,” The American craft Museum, New York, New York (1987)
• “Paper Fiber X and IX,” Iowa City, Iowa (1987, 1986)
• “Fiber Structure National III,” Downey, California (1984)

Selected Awards

• Japan-U.S. Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts (2003)
• “Log Cabin Maze,” 20th Century’s 100 Best American Quilts (1999)
• California Arts Council Artist in Residence Grant (1998, 1999, 2000)
• Chenven Foundation Grant (1997)
• Quilts Japan Award, Nihon Vogue Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan (1996)
• Western States Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts Regional Fellowship for Visual Artists (1995)
• American Craft Council, Hines Competition, Semi-Finalist (1993)
• Domini McCarthy Memorial Award, Quilt National, Athens, Ohio (1993)
• People’s Choice Award, Fiber National (1988)

“Fruitvale Star Quilt,” painted fabric by 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade Fruitvale Elementary School students with Ellen Oppenheimer, 88” x 88”, 2001

Selected Professional Experience

• California Arts Council Artist-in-Residence in the Schools, Peralta Year Round School, Oakland, California (1999-2000)
• Workshop, River City Quilters, Sacramento, California (1999)
• California Arts Council Artist in Residence in the Schools, Dublin, California (1998, 1999)
• Workshop, Aquatic Park Preschool (1996-97)
• Neon Glass blower, Neon Neon, San Francisco, California (1983-1996)
• Workshop, Canyon Quilters, San Diego, California (1995)
• Workshop, Santa Barbara Quilters Guild, Santa Barbara, California (1994)
• Visiting Artist Workshop, San Luis Obispo Quilters Guild, Atascadero, California (1993)
• Lecture, Peninsula Quilters, San Mateo, California (1993)
• Faculty, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee (1992)
• Faculty, Quilt Surface Design Symposium, Columbus, Ohio (1992)
• Workshop, Front Range Quilters, Boulder, Colorado (1991)
• Board of Directors, California Crafts Museum, San Francisco, California (1990)
• Artist-in-Residence, Middlesex County Cultural Center and Heritage Commission, New Brunswick, New Jersey (1978)
• Apprenticeship with Karel Mikolas, Glass Artist and Sculptor on National Endowment for the Arts Grant (1976-77)
• Teaching and Studio Assistant in Glass, N.Y.S. College of Ceramics, Alfred, New York (1974-75)
• Teaching Assistant in Glass and Ceramics, Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont (1972-73)

Selected Collections

• Oakland Museum, Oakland, California
• American Craft Museum, New York, New York
• Arrowmont Permanent Collection, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• The Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• The White House, Washington, DC
• Pencil Points Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
• Kaiser Medical Center, San Mateo, California
• Claudia Chapline, Stinson Beach, California

“Redwood Star Quilt,” tie dyed and sewn fabric, 2nd and 3rd grade Redwood Elementary School students with Ellen Oppenheimer, 56” x 72”, Installed at Diamond Branch Library, Oakland, 2002