by Bea Peterson
On Saturday evening, March 1, Hoosac School unveiled eight 4×4 foot Barn Quilts created by some of its students. Many people turned out to see the exhibit of colorful quilts that will be displayed in White Creek, Hoosick and Hoosick Falls in the spring. The following is an article about the project written for the Hoosac School newspaper, The Owlet, by Julia Kopala ’16.
“Some people look at a large, blank wall and just see the side of a building. Others see a canvas waiting to be transformed. Hoosac’s own Mr. Jason Jansen is among the latter. A former resident artist at Cerridwen Farm in Poultney, VT, he has had a significant interest in barn quilting since 2009. Barn quilting, the practice of using the sides of barns or other buildings to display art, began in the midwest during the 20th century. There was a surge in interest over the last decade and a half as the tradition spread to almost every state in America as well as parts of Canada. Barn quilts are often linked together to form “Quilt Trails.” With the first official quilt trail beginning in Adams, Ohio, in 2001, they now exist in 43 U.S. states…
“Now teaching at Hoosac, Mr. Jansen has brought his enthusiasm for barn quilting to our campus. One of our second trimester electives, Barn Quilting, is co-taught by Mrs. Angela Kelly and Mr. Jansen. Mr. Jansen gives students a great deal of autonomy in designing their own quilts, but in order to maintain harmony with both the natural and social landscape, he has taken responsibility for the “color theory” of the designs. Likewise, Mrs. Kelly has assisted students with the geometric elements of their quilts.
Currently, there are seven students in the class. Each student starts with a 4×4 foot piece of plywood. He or she proceeds to prime the wood with a plain white primer. Then they must find ideas to inspire their barn quilt. Taking advantage of technology, Mr. Jansen has introduced an inspirational and crafty website, called “Pinterest,” to the students. This website allows them to search for designs from other users, share their ideas with each other and create a “board” of ideas from which to work. From these ideas, they can discover their own design. Then they sketch their traditional design freehand. After the sketch is completed, students prepare to paint. Most of the students go for traditional American colors (mustard yellow, barn red, navy blue). They then tape around the desired areas to paint. This process is probably the longest: taping and painting, re-taping and painting, etc. After some final touches and an examination by the teachers, the students’ masterpieces are completed!”