#sparkchamber 080221 — Pat Gorelangton
Putting the pieces together with love and wisdom to tell a bigger story is both the metaphor and the wondrous reality in the #sparkchamber today as we welcome quilter Pat Gorelangton. One of the islands’ most prolific makers of Hawaiian quilts, Pat took up quilting more than 35 years ago as an outlet to find peace and quiet in her otherwise hectic life of marriage, kids, and owning a business with her husband. After retirement, quilting took over. “I’m quilting eight to ten hours a day. It’s a passionate obsession or an obsessive passion. My husband is very patient.”
The art of quilt-making in Hawaii dates back to 1820, when Christian missionaries taught Hawaiian women to sew using fabric, thread, and steel needles. Legend has it that the first Hawaiian quilt design was serendipitous: A woman laid some fabric under a breadfruit tree and noted the shadows its broad, lobed leaves cast. She cut the design out of dark fabric and appliquéd it to a lighter backing. That story might be apocryphal, but it speaks to the motifs common to Hawaiian quilts: symmetrical patterns, especially of plants, that convey a connection to nature.
Pat studied with master quilter John Serrao, who encouraged her to create her own patterns. “In the old days, Hawaiian quilt patterns were guarded and passed down through families. These days, a quilter can buy patterns in craft stores or trace them for free at the Wai‘anae Public Library on Oahu.” [For those who are intrigued by the process, this is a great interview that includes some technical specifics behind the magic. ]
Since she started, Pat estimates that she’s made close to 150 quilts, and for the past 10 years or so, she has been accepting commissions. She recounts how the clients she’s met and the quilts she’s made for them all have unique stories that have brought out so many emotions during the process. “One of my favorite things to do is complete a quilt that was started by someone’s mother, grandmother, auntie, etc. It’s so fulfilling to bring a quilt “full circle” so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
While a handmade Hawaiian quilt is most definitely a work of art — hers have been exhibited at the Salon del Mobile in Milan, and are headed to Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum next year — Pat also believes that the life force and spirit [mana, in Hawaiian] is imbued by the quilter into the quilt — “I encourage my clients to use them.” And they even come a little broken in: Upon finishing a quilt, Pat spends a night sleeping under it “so that my mana can pass from me to the quilt and on to the owner. I learned about that tradition many years ago. It’s like the quilt giving you a hug.”
1.] Where do ideas come from?
Many of the patterns I’ve used for my quilts have been designed by John Serrao, a master design artist who sadly passed away a few years ago. As for my own designs, I find inspiration in the many plants growing in Hawaii, or in our culture and history.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
So many patterns, so little time. Each new quilt project presents its own challenges, and I enjoy figuring out how to bring the design to its best representation. Since I live in Hawaii, and many quilt patterns are nature-inspired, there is no lack of inspiration...I just have to take a walk outside.
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
I’m basically a night owl, but I quilt all day, every day. If I’m working on a commission, of course there is a time element … but I’m always quilting. I can’t not quilt. I only hope my body hangs in there for years to come. The internet and social media have led to almost all of my commissions … I’m very blessed.
4.] How do you know when you are done?
That’s easy … when I take the last stitch, the quilt is finished, the story is complete.
