Jennifer Atkins Brown
Two new quilt squares on the EDEN – Rockingham County Quilt Trail represent the designer’s culture, background and love of community and country.
LaShawn Wilson’s great-grandmother is Half Native American and his 93-year-old grandmother is an artist. When Wilson and his wife Kiona decided to create a plaza for the trail, their cultural backgrounds played a big part in the design. .
“I’m Native American and African American, so I was thinking about myself and where I came from, and I wanted to express that,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s finished work, the 35th quilt square on the trail, features Native American and African American flags in the center with a symbol for the word Eden, the home of LaShawn Wilson. The square is on display at the Rockingham County Arts Festival Association at 301 Cherokee Camp Road in Leesville (Wentworth). The couple, who run the Vision and Opportunity Cultural Center for the Arts in downtown Draper, created the plaza last summer while leading FAFARC’s arts and diversity workshops. After a two-week workshop, the couple submitted this square to her FAFARC and exhibited it on the trail.
People are also reading…
RaShaun Wilson said: “It’s mind-boggling to see it at your final resting place.”
Each symbol, design, and color, such as the arrowheads depicted, has been purposefully chosen.
“Red, for example, represents the blood shed by our ancestors and paved the way for us today,” he said.
After moving from Stokesdale to Eden in 2020, Jessie Gunter came up with the idea to create Trail’s 36th Quilt Square. She was confined to her home during the coronavirus pandemic. She noticed and admired the quilt square she saw in her mountains, and one of her mother’s friends told her about her quilt trail in Rockingham County.
“I thought, ‘I have to get out of this house,'” Gunther said. “We drove and saw them all.”
Gunter incorporated quilt trail adventures into the homeschool curriculum for two middle school boys and asked them to write essays about what their squares looked like and meant.
“On that trip, I decided I wanted one (quilt square),” she said. “I love the sense of community that surrounds Rockingham County Quilt Square.”
Gunter, who also started fabric quilting during the pandemic, enrolled in an art square creation class at Walnut Cove and got to work creating his own artwork.
Rockingham County Quilt Square’s 36th quilt square is proudly displayed above the front porch of Gunter’s home at 308 Highland Drive in Eden, one block from the historic district of Eden. Gunther’s square is a star design using the colors red, white and blue.
“I love the result. I love my quilt club,” said Gunter.
Gunter says her kids now love looking for quilt squares wherever they go.
“It’s fun for them to find out,” she said.
Rockingham County Tourism is excited about the addition of two open spaces to the Rockingham County Quilt Trail.
The two plazas stand out from the other plazas on the trail and reflect the different cultures we have in our county,” said Rockingham County Economic Development, Small Business and Tourism Marketing Manager. One Tara Martin says: “The Rockingham County Quilt Trail is one of the best ways to experience all the great things Rockingham County has to offer, taking trail followers through all of the quaint towns and into the breathtaking countryside. It will take you through the road and into a unique shopping district.”
Launched in 2015, the Rockingham County Quilt Trail celebrates the county’s local agriculture, community artists and rich cultural heritage. Each quilt block on the trail has its own meaning and story.
Self-guided tours allow residents and visitors to experience the beautiful Rockingham County countryside, including historic tobacco barns, vineyards, farm stands and country stores along the way. The quilt squares are painted by local artists on 4′ x 4′ squares in a variety of mediums. Each square celebrates Rockingham County’s rich agricultural heritage.
.
