Julie Floersch

Julie Floersch. Denim on denim.

Julie Floersch was one of the first people I contacted for this exhibition. I instantly fell in love with the insane detail and subtlety of these geometric pieces, with their awe-inspiring amounts of work and stunning origami-like patterns. The various shades of indigo repeated across the surface, fading in and out like the recycled jeans they are pieced from. SO, It is with sorrow that I announce she will no longer have work in the exhibition due to difficulties with international shipping. Her work will however still feature in the catalogue which is available from the gallery during the exhibition, and online SOON.


Julie Floersch. Denim Interwoven.

'This was the first quilt I ever made. It’s a 5,000+ piece quilt of insanity that I decided to entirely hand sew and hand quilt together. I thought it would only take me a few months to make from start to finish, but the pattern alone took me a month. I ended up taking it with me almost everywhere I went. It traveled with me on a West Coast road trip, on a plane for my first vacation overseas (turns out sewing needles & snippers aren’t a problem to get through security even in a post 9/11 world…), to the park, the beach (bad idea) and through three different apartments. I even made a little map of all the different places certain blocks were sewn. In case you were wondering, I loved every minute of making this quilt'.


Julie Floersch. Indigo Pillows.

Julie Floersch. Indigo curtains (front and back). 2008 / 60” x 96” / Madewell Commission.

All images courtesy of Julie Floersch.

The Quilts of Gee's Bend

It would be very hard not to mention these stunning quilts when compiling an exhibition of denim. While the quilters of Gee’s Bend in Southern Alabama have made many beautiful patterns and quilts, using whatever fabrics were available, the denim work-clothes quilts resonate with both a communal, historical moment and a local, specific story. Many of these women worked the cotton fields in the day, and gathered together to quilt in the evenings, using recycled clothing from the family and community, piecing together a means of surviving cold winters.

The town’s women developed a distinctive, bold and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional American (and African American) quilts, but with a geometric simplicity reminiscent of Modern art. The women of Gee’s Bend have passed their skills and aesthetic down through at least six generations to the present.


Loretta Pettway, born 1942. "Lazy Gal" -- "Bars," ca. 1965, denim and cotton, 80 x 69 inches.


Loretta Pettway, born 1942. "Logcabin" -- single-block "Courthouse Steps" variation (local name: "Bricklayer"), ca. 1970, denim.


Loretta Pettway, born 1942. String-pieced quilt 1963, cotton twill and synthetic material (men's clothing), 80 x 74 inches. In the early 1960s, Loretta Pettway fashioned three quilts from the same batch of men's clothing scraps.


Annie Mae Young, born 1928. Work-clothes quilt with centre medallion of corduroy strips, 1976. Denim, corduroy, synthetic blend, 108 x 77 inches.


Lucy Mooney, ca. 1880-1969. Blocks and strips work-clothes quilt, ca 1935, cotton, denim, wool.


Stella Pettway. Work Clothes Quilt.

'Reflections on the art of Gee's Bend' Jane Livingston, Tinwood Books, 2002.

These and more images can be viewed here. All images courtesy of Tinwood Media.