[PERMANENT] WGZM Exhibit
Sloveig Wells Katrina Recovery Quilts Collection
The quilts hanging in the main hall of our museum were made by one quilter, Solveig Wells. Mrs. Wells was an incredibly active quilted and member of our local quilting society, the Bay Oaks Quilters. After Hurricane Katrina struck our coast, Mrs. Wells salvaged fabric from the local devastation and, using these collected scraps, she crafted 55 unique quilts—her “Katrina Recovery Quilts”. Each of her quilts has its own meaningful story. When Mrs. Wells passed away in 2013, her husband wanted an appropriate place to display her work. Mr. Wells and his family decided to gift WGZM the entirety of her Katrina Quilt Series so we could make it a permanent part of our museum. We are honored to be able to display her amazing artistry and share her dedication to the art of quilting with all of you.
“When Hurricane Katrina hit Hancock County, Mississippi on August 29, 2005, she flooded and damaged Solveig Wells’ quilt fabrics. During debris clearing operations, some became buried on the beach in Bay St. Louis. In December 2005, Solveig returned from her other home in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Walking on the beach on January 6, 2006, Solveig recognized bits of her fabric sticking out of the sand. She pulled at the scraps and discovered a cache of about 15 yards of her fabric, some severely weathered and frayed, some ‘tie-dyed’ and some hardly affected. More fabric was found, still wet after four months, in a wheelbarrow and in a filing cabinet. Some fabric remained in the Poolhouse, her flooded Mississippi home, for the four months it took to gut and rebuild the house. Solveig and her wonderful friend Miss Ann recovered wet, damaged fabric from the ruins of Miss Ann's collectibles shop in Old Town Bay St Louis.
Solveig collected and washed these Katrina-affected fabrics, and began creating Katrina Recovery quilts. As she pieced together traditional quilting themes, she stitched together stories of Katrina’s force, the resolution shown by survivors, the generosity of thousands who came to help in the recovery, and the hope emerging from the chaos of Katrina.
Between January 6, 2006 and April 12, 2007, Solveig created the 55 quilts.”
(Excerpt taken from Mrs. Wells’ official website, http://www.solveigsquilts.com/.)
About Sloveig Wells
“Sloveig Wells was born on April 28, 1943 in Lienz, Austria. As a child, she immigrated to Canada, where she grew up in Creston, British Colombia”…Mrs. Wells was a seasoned traveler, having visited some 30 countries. “After her husband, David, retired, the couple divided their time between Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi—where Solveig flourished with both her artistic endeavors and her friendships. Solveig was many things throughout her life including teacher, volunteer, gardener, master composter, tuque maker, but most notably she was a quilter. She began her craft in the 1970's working mostly by hand, and rekindled her passion in the last two decades. Her work has won prizes in shows, and has been featured in quilting magazines. She belonged to several quilting guilds, and was known both for her prolific exacting work, and her willingness to share her knowledge and time. She had a particular fondness for batik fabrics and her favorite color was golden mossy green.
She was extremely resourceful and never let a scrap of anything go to waste, and could often be heard saying ‘waste not, want not.’”
Check out our temporary exhibit, “Quilt Tales: Stories Through Fabric”, inspired by Mrs. Wells’ quilt series.
