Rainbow Mountain Quilt Project Celebrates the Artist in Every Child

Seven Mixed-Media Quilts Create a Community Rainbow

One rainy September morning, Rainbow Mountain mom and fiber artist Jacqui Fehl woke up with a “big idea.” One that took last year’s Rainbow quilt project and multiplied it by seven.

“I wanted this year’s quilt project to be even bolder,” Jacqui shares. “I wanted to create a series of quilts that would include every child’s artwork and highlight our diverse and incredibly talented children and families.”

The seven mixed-media quilts are currently on display in the school’s multi-purpose room. Each quilt associates a particular grade level with a specific hue. When hung together, a rainbow emerges that reflects the artistic contributions of the entire school community from preschoolers through eighth graders, teachers and grandparents.

Two of the project’s parent coordinators are professional artists whose works have sold at the Grovewood Gallery, Bellagio, Constance Boutique and Heaven Rains Boys & Girls. Both agree that the final quilts went far beyond their expectations.

“I was so pleased with the teachers’ support, the children’s enthusiasm, and the incredible creativity that emerged,” Jacqui remarks. “I basically gave each class a color, a basket of art supplies, and told them to ‘go for it,’” she remembers. “What I was handed back, blew me away!”

The quilted wall hangings incorporate a variety of fiber art techniques including machine and hand quilting, knitting, felting, beadwork, fabric painting, clay sculpture, found art, and original poetry. One quilt even features a pair of hand-painted and embellished blue jeans.

Parent volunteers created the quilted and felted fabric backdrops for the children’s artwork. Jacqui and several other parents assembled the final quilts. Altogether, the seven quilts took 6 months to complete.

The finished quilts are as diverse as the students themselves. Quilt themes include a playful red-headed girl, a dog and butterflies, sunny affirmations, a three-dimensional tree, an Appalachian earth mother, blue jean art, and flower-power haiku.

The quilts will be auctioned off at Rainbow Mountain’s Spring Carnival on Saturday, April 26. Last year’s fiber art project raised $1,500. It is hoped that these quilts will raise even more money to support the school’s holistic and creative curriculum.

You can preview the quilts by clicking here.The carnival is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. on April 26 and is open to the public.