Quilt mural brought to life at night with lighting addition
WEST HARTFORD — The colorful outdoor quilt mural at the West Hartford Art League can now be seen in a “mysterious” new light after the installation of lights.
The “Improvisational Quilt” mural, composed of eight pieces, was designed by international quilt artist Edjohnetta Miller and painted by Brian Colbath, Lindaluz Carillo and Sarah Warda. With it’s illuminating additions, the collective art piece will be on full display at all hours of the day.
Miller admits that the light installation was long overdue and is excited the mural, commissioned by the art league in 2019, has become a nightly attraction.
“The lights, the lights the lights!” Miller said after visiting the piece herself. “It’s like ‘Look at me!’ I can see it during the daylight and I can look at it in the evening.”
For many years, Miller has created art using the historical techniques of improvisational quilting. Inspired by the style that she learned from her grandmother as a child and using an array of colorful fabrics, Miller crafts intricate patterns within her quilts.
As the muralists transferred four of Miller’s original quilts to the wall of the West Hartford Art League, she was delighted to see her work come to life in a new medium.
“They took every single inch of my quilt that I designed and every pattern that I did and placed it on that mural,” Miller said. With the installation of the solar lights, she believes “it just enhances the beauty of it even more.
“I found it stunning during the day. Having the lights on in the evening, it’s kind of mysterious, it kind of pops even more, it accentuates the patterns even more. It’s the unexpected,” she said.
The piece is visible along the building’s wall facing Buena Vista Road. Roxanne Stachelek, executive director of the league, says that the combination of the location and the glowing lights will help make Miller’s work more accessible to the public.
Guests can view Miller’s original quilts in the Saltbox Gallery at the West Hartford Art League, the West Hartford Public Library on South Main Street and at Charter Oak Elementary school.