The Gallery of Fine Art at Manhasset Secondary School is presenting Quilted Stories, an exhibit that features quilts by needle artist and Manhasset Middle School teacher Leslie Skolnik, that will be on display from Sept. 20 through the end of the year.
Skolnik has been making quilts for 30 years, almost as long as she has been teaching English at Manhasset Middle School. She considers herself a traditional quilter who is passionate about history, especially the history of quilt patterns and fabrics from the mid-1800s to 1945. Skolnik is a collector of “quilt blocks from the Civil War and quilt tops from the 1930s and 1940s” in need of restoration. In fact, she likes to mix old blocks she purchased at flea markets and antique stores with blocks made from reproduction fabrics.
For as long as she remembers, Skolnik has always been drawn to needle arts such as needlepoint and cross-stitch samplers. However, on a road trip through the Illinois and Ohio Amish countryside, Skolnik was inspired by the quilts she saw displayed on porch railings and clotheslines. Skolnik’s first quilts were inspired by the memory and spirit of authentic Amish designs such as Log Cabin Barn Raising and Trip Around the World. She attributes her love for handmade quilts to her grandfather, who used simple tools to build furniture and picture frames from barn wood and scavenged materials. She prefers to piece her quilts by hand or use her Singer Featherweight sewing machine, which is 63 years old. “Quilted Stories” is a collection of her Civil War-inspired quilts and the stories behind the making of each quilt.
The public is invited to a gala opening on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. in the Secondary School Auditorium Lobby. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.
