Artist’s Statement (quilt motifs are in parentheses)
First was the land and the water; trees, rivers, lakes, sky, and earth. The Native Americans (arrowheads in corners) learned from the environment how it could help them to survive. The Black Cherry (top border) provided medicine, the Paper Birch (right border) was a component of canoes, the Sugar Maple (bottom border) gave a sweet syrup, and ropes and mats could be made from the Basswood (left border).
When Europeans came to the new territory, the land and the Natives had much they could teach. But the land was cleared of forests (the leaves in the borders are insubstantial). The rivers (quilting) continue to run in their courses, but straight roads and furrowed fields predominated (log cabin blocks).
At the end of the twentieth century, we must remind ourselves of what our society is based on: those who came before, and our natural resources (note that the Wisconsin in the background is complete, being shaped also by the central sections of trees, grass, and cliffs).
(Lighthouse poised near the cliff:) We are on the brink of the new millennium and a new era for Wisconsin. We look ahead with exhilaration, finally using our knowledge and experiences from all Wisconsin’s peoples; using all our strengths and splendor for a bright, responsible future.
The scene is based on Outer Island Light in the Apostle Islands.
I personally owe a debt of gratitude to the state, having lived there until I was twenty-one.
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