From Grief to Repair
at the
National Wildlife
Visitors Center

“From Grief to Repair: Ecological Fiber Art” is an exhibit of work by Bowie, Maryland artist Heather Kerley. This thought-provoking art exhibition explores the profound impact of extinction on our planet while offering hope in the form of seeds for the future. The exhibition will run from September 28 to the end of October, 2024.

The centerpiece of this exhibit is a large redwork quilt depicting the 23 species the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed for delisting in 2021 due to extinction. Each block in the quilt is based on Kerley’s research and is drawn, embroidered, and quilted by hand. Each quilt block is a meditation on the void left by vanished beings and is emblematic of a larger story of change and loss. 

While grief is a necessary and natural response to the crisis we face, it is necessary to offer a window into a different possible world, a world of healing and repair. To this end, Kerley is also showing for the first time a series of regenerative fiber art pieces in counterpoint to the redwork quilt. These pieces, called “Seed Bank Quilts” are provisional in their construction and composed of found materials. Each small quilt preserves in its layers actual seeds from the native plants Kerley is nurturing in her suburban yard to support wildlife. These pieces speak to regeneration of life and how nothing in nature really ends but continues in an endless cycle.

By also celebrating life alongside loss, this evolving project taps into the historical healing role that quilts and fiber art have played in our culture. Further, it conveys a message about the resilience of the spark of life, if not its distinct manifestations in certain species.

Location:

Hollingsworth Art Gallery
National Wildlife Visitor Center
10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop
Laurel, MD 20708

Admission is Free and open to the public.