What’s a land quilt?

Ever have fond memories of feeling wrapped safely in a quilt? We all love the feeling of comfort and safety that comes with quilts, blankets and the loving hands that made them. And the quilting bee, a community of women working their craft, is well known in our folklore.

Artists Tony Anella and Cara McCullogh of Albuquerque, New Mexico, have taken these ides of comfort, quilting, and community and applied them to ‘the land’.
“The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.” –Aldo Leopold
The result is what they call, a land quilt: an interesting idea that combines public art, community gathering, and ecological restoration.

Photograph by Robert Reck Photography

The land quilt attempts to create a small patch of temporary safety and security for life. On a barren stretch of land in New Mexico, the two friends held a quilting bee to create brightly colored square funnels; each of these funnels will channel precipitation onto balls that are made of native seeds, clay, and compost. They hope that their quilt will result in a small restorative patch of native plants.

This is only just the beginning. I hope that the artists and their collaborators will update us on the quilt’s success, perhaps provide some lessons-learned, and maybe a “how-to” for the DIY community. In the mean time, here is a time-lapse of the construction of the quilt, and be sure to check out their website.

Land Quilt from Land Quilt on Vimeo.