Laverne Brackens

Laverne Brackens (born 1927) is an American quilt maker and textile artist from Fairfield, Texas. Brackens is noted for her work in the tradition of African-American improvisational quilt making. In 2011 she was recognized with a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Biography

Brackens was born in 1927.[1] She grew up in Fairfield, Texas, the oldest daughter of eight children.[2] She learned quilt making from her mother, and whom she helped by tacking quilts.

Brackens married at age 18 and she and her husband shared eight children.[2] Brackens worked to support her family as a restaurant cook. Brackens did not start making quilts for herself until 1987, when she retired from her restaurant career after an accident with a food cart.[1][3]

Technique

Brackens is known for her use of color and distinctive shapes in her quilts, such as dogs, cowboy boots, and elephants.[1] She does not use patterns in her designs, instead improvising the design as she quilts.[4] Brackens has described the inspiration for her quilts as coming to her in her dreams.[3]

Brackens has taught her distinctive quilt making to her daughters and grandchildren.[1]

Honors

In 2011, the National Endowment for the Arts recognized Brackens with a National Heritage Fellowship for her craftwork.[1] That year, Michelle Obama commissioned Brackens to create a quilted shawl to be gifted to South Korea.[2][5]

Brackens quilts were collected in abundance by Eli Leon.[6][7] After Leon's death, more than 300 quilts by Brackens were donated from his collection to the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.[8][9]

Collections

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Laverne Brackens". www.arts.gov. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  2. ^ a b c Jones, DaLyah (2020-11-19). "Quilts of Color". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  3. ^ a b Bird, Tyson (2020-09-24). "How One Fairfield Woman is Keeping African American Quilting Traditions Alive". Texas Highways. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  4. ^ Staff, N. D. G. (2015-02-27). "Laverne Brackens is the focal point of interests born and raised in Fairfield, Texas". North Dallas Gazette. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  5. ^ "Reversible Shawl commissioned byFirst Lady, Michelle Obama as a present for the First Lady, Kim Yoon-Ok of Korea. | Collectors Weekly". www.collectorsweekly.com. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  6. ^ "Something Else to See: Improvisational Bordering Styles in African-American Quilts". UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center. 1997.
  7. ^ "The Radical Quilting of Rosie Lee Tompkins". The New York Times. 2020-06-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  8. ^ "A museum's new collection celebrates the art of African American quilting". Fast Company. October 30, 2019.
  9. ^ Goldstein, Caroline (2019-10-21). "With One Astonishing Gift, a Berkeley Art Museum Has Become an International Hub for African American Quilts—See Highlights Here". Artnet News. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  10. ^ "'Strip' | LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  11. ^ "Roman stripe medallion quilt". FAMSF. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
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