A Pictorial Doukhobor Quilt
A Pictorial History of Doukhobors in British Columbia ...
As one of our many inspirational projects, the idea to increase public awareness of the role of the Doukhobor pioneers in the local area, our group decided to create a “work of art” to depict the history of the B.C. Doukhobors through a Pictorial Quilt.
The first step was to collect historical photos of Doukhobor landmarks, personalities, settlements, etc. from the time the Doukhobor pioneers began arriving in the Kootenay Boundary region, about 1913. With the assistance of Kathy Verigin, graphic designer, we designed the layout of the 75 x 55 inch quilt and selected the appropriate photo content. To improve final reproduction, Kathy then sized and touched up some damaged photos during the scanning process. These scans were burned to a computer disc. Another volunteer, a local fibre artist, Mary Pozdnekoff, using the Photo Shop program, printed these images onto transfer paper and with a heat press transferred these photos to cloth. Then the sewing and quilting began.
To give special recognition to each photo, we applied a satin frame around each print and hand appliquéd each of the 24 frames on to a white damask background. To complete the elegance of the quilt, we applied satin borders and binding, gracing the top of the frame with hand quilted peace doves. Mary Pozdnekoff, a machine quilter, added depth and dimension to the finished project by stippling the damask background.
The other members of our group who were involved in this project were the Cultural Interpretive Society Executive: Lovette Nichvolodoff, Nell Plotnikoff, Louise Zaitsoff, Eileen Kooznetsoff; the quilters: Kay Trubetskoff, Pauline Weinert, Polly Podmorow, Val Samsonoff, Fran Lafreniere; other members: Irene Tamelin, Donna Arishenkoff, and Irene Malloff.
This quilt was made available for initial public viewing at the annual U.S.C.C. Union of Youth Festival May 18, 2002 in Brilliant. Through displays at other venues in the community, the ClS hopes that this “work of art” will increase public awareness of not only our cultural group whose mission is to preserve our heritage through arts and crafts, but also provide a greater understanding of our Doukhobor pioneers. We have thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, and wish to thank a private donor, June Veale, the Castlegar Arts Council and the Columbia Basin Trust for the financial assistance and support.
