Originally Posted by Tricky
We have beeen travelling extensively in the US and Canada and many++++++barns have quilt blocks on them and the majority that I have seen have been painted right on the barn. I did see one that appeared to be on wood and then mounted on the barn.
Sorry, but you are mistaken. I've spent a couple of years documenting barn quilts--starting with the very first one and moving throughout the country. I haven't seen every one of the over 3000 quilts but have seen about 100 and been in contact with most of the 90 or so groups who create them.
It has been my responsibility to gather accurate information, as my book on the subject will be published by a university press.
There are a few places who paint them directly on barns--the original trail, in Adams County, OH (where the first ones were painted directly on barns), Monroe County and Miami County, Ohio, who hired professional muralists to paint theirs. A few of the first ones in Iowa (Grundy County) were also painted on the barn surface.
The remainder are painted--mostly on wood, a few on metal--and then hung. Perhaps you haven't gotten close enough to many of them to be able to tell. There are also a few places that use a photographic method to replicate quilts on canvas or other polymer materials.
I am not claiming that no individual barn owner hasn't individually painted a quilt directly on the barn, but to say that many or the majority have been created in this fashion is just not the case.
The danger and liability involved in painting directly on barns are both prohibitive. The reason so many school, 4-H and civic groups--even senior citizens--have been able to participate is that it is a safe and approachable project.
For more info, check my blog americanquilttrail.blogspot.com
(barnquilter provided this link earlier)
I'm so thrilled to see that quilters are becoming more and more interested in barn quilts!!