Originally Posted by Havplenty

Anna Williams is one African American (AA) quilter whose scrap quilts have influenced many a quilter. I adore her work and wished I coulda had an opportunity to meet her. She passed away a couple of years ago. Of course Gee's Bends but today their quilts, to me, would be considered "modern" or "improv" quilts with all of the negative space, free style layouts in them. And to think these women have been quilting for generations.

There are several African quilters on the web that use African fabric. I come from a long history of AA family quilters. A lot of the quilts made way back when by AA quilters were more likely scrap quilts using whatever fabrics were available to them.

I personally like to use a lot of African inspired and other ethnic fabrics in my quilts. I have purchased African and ethnic quilt fabrics from all over the globe. I just recently bought some Australian Aboriginal fabrics. Very ornate, colorful and expressive. But I think I enjoy these type of fabrics more not because I am African American but because they are more my aesthetic, Expressive. I love the rich patterns and colors of these fabrics. I designed clothes long before I became a quilter.

But I think at the heart of it all, we are all just quilters and our quilts express our visions as artists. There is definitely sites you can google to give you a glimpse and some history of AA quilters. I do plan to make a trip to Gee's Bend soon to hopefully meet some of those women. It should be very inspirational for me.

Here is a reference link to research also.