Weathered Shapes, Wooden Quilts Opensat Boston Children’s Museum
Artist Laura Petrovich-Cheney Combines Traditional Crafts of Wood Sculpture and Quilting to Create Novel Constructions That Inspire Resilience and Hope
BOSTON, MA—March 13, 2023 — Boston Children’s Museum recently opened Weathered Shapes, Wooden Quilts, an installation featuring artist Laura Petrovich-Cheney’s novel constructions that bring together the traditional crafts of wood sculpture and quilt making to show the potential of rebuilding and hope. Petrovich-Cheney repurposes wood collected after natural disasters and assembles the pieces into quilt-inspired sculptures, displaying the very personal impact of natural disasters and the potential for renewal.
Often given as gifts, or passed down through generations, quilts provide reminders of the past and people we love. What if that quilt was made from salvaged, reclaimed, and discarded materials like worn wooden planks, split doors, cracked cabinets, and warped boards, their history visible in the chipped colors, weathered shapes, and speckled nail holes? Quilts can also be a source of inspiration, as the maker can express creativity and artisanship in the unique designs of the quilt. It is often a patchwork of many different fabrics, colors, and textures, sometimes representing different aspects of the maker’s life and can serve as a reminder of the power of love and kindness.
“Laura Petrovich-Cheney’s unique wooden quilts are creative expressions of the potential for rebuilding and resilience,” said Senior Art Educator Sage Brousseau. “Her creations are not only works of beauty but offer comfort and hope, showing that the discarded and damaged can be restored in new and creative ways.”
This gallery exhibit comes to Boston Children’s Museum with an important message that at times of loss and change, these times can lead to moments of rebuilding, strength, hope, and the power of second chances. Children and families will enjoy hunting for their favorite shapes, patterns, and colors in the sculptures as well as discovering how an artist can repurpose recycled materials in new and interesting ways.
Born in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey, Laura now lives on the Northshore of Boston with her husband, two dogs, and cat. She earned an MS in Fashion Design from Drexel University and an MFA in Studio Arts from Moore College of Art and Design. She has been teaching as an elementary-level art teacher for more than 15 years, as well as presenting lectures and workshops to adults. Visit www.lauracheney.com for additional information about Laura.
Come experience the new Gallery exhibition and meet the artist, Laura Petrovich-Cheney, on Sunday, March 19 from 2:00-3:00pm.
Weathered Shapes, Wooden Quilts will be open through September 4, 2023.
For additional information, visit www.BostonChildrensMuseum.org
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The Museum is open Monday – Sunday through September 5 with two set daily time slots, 9:00am-12:00pm and 1:30-4:30pm. To reduce touchpoints and enable timed visits, all ticketing will be done online. Members must also make reservations online. There are a limited number of visitor reservations available for each time slot. Adults, $20, children (1-15) and senior citizens, $20; children under 12 months and Museum members are always free.