<I>Traveling On</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2009
name: label: Created by
content: Steven Garner, American
label: Created by
content: Vashon Kelly, American
label: Created by
content: Robert Mathews, American
label: Created by
content: Scott Meyers, American
label: Created by
content: Isaac Turner, American
label: Created by
content: Diego Zapata, American, died 2014
label: Subject of
content: Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, American, founded 1835
notes: label: Caption
content: The chain links name all the hospice volunteers from 1998 until the present. The links represent the interconnectedness of our role and commitment to the process.
label: Caption
content: The locks in the corners represent our unity and that our position in the circle is secure in love, peace and oneness.
label: Caption
content: The chain links with burgundy thread are the word “Butterfly” in 27 languages. We chose the butterfly because of its universal symbolism: the birth / life & death processes…the evolution of life – from light to life…and back to light & life eternal.
label: Caption
content: The great arch represents the “Final Threshold” – or when we make our journey to the “other side” - a crossing over.
label: Caption
content: The word “HOSPICE” is placed on the pillars as a symbol of stability and an erect structure of hope, love and compassion. It also affirms our motto. We created our own acronym and it means:
label: Caption
content: Helping Others Share their Pain Inside Correctional Environment.
label: Caption
content: The hearse is a funeral procession. The men walking behind are singing songs in honor of the deceased as they accompany him to the burial ground.
label: Caption
content: The symbol in the center of the arch is the LSP Hospice emblem. The hands symbolize compassion and one’s willingness to offer self in helping others. The hands emblem of the quilt and the binding which completes the edges are constructed from retired Hospice Volunteer T-shirts. The T-shirts were utilized as the center emblem and the outer binding to reflect the program’s origins and its current growth. The volunteers remain the program’s core as well as its periphery. The Monarch and Morpho butterflies were chosen because they are widely known.
label: Caption
content: All the quilters associated with the quilting shop responsible for this quilt are listed in the chain links on each side of the corner locks.
label: Description
content: A quilt (a) with bag (b) titled “Traveling On” created by Steven Garner, Vashon Kelly, Robert Matthews, Scott Meyers, Isaac Tuner, and Diego Zapata, prisoner-volunteers of the hospice center within Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly called “Angola." The pictorial quilt has one large, central design against a deep burgundy background and a yellow border with a black chain link design. The names of hospice volunteers from 1998 to 2008 are embroidered in yellow on the chains. A padlock appears at each corner. Just inside the border, across the top of the design is a large scroll embroidered with columns of names arranged by year. The central design depicts a funeral procession with a horse-drawn hearse carriage traveling through a large stone arch, followed by singing mourners. Each column of the arch reads [HOSPICE] in yellow and across the top is [EST. 1998 / N. BURL CAIN / WARDEN]. The hearse appears black entering the arch, while the horses on the other side are a ghostly white. Clasped hands holding a monarch butterfly are at the center, just below the top of the arch. Additional butterflies are embroidered around the hearse, starting small and black and becoming larger and more colorful as they ascend. Black silhouetted figures march behind the hearse, with musical notes above them. Along the bottom is a strip of green grass and yellow and white daisies. At each bottom corner is a fan design with the words “Hospice” and locations of the prison embroidered in burgundy.
label: Description
content: The back of the quilt has a burgundy floral pattern. The quilt is in a handsewn fabric bag (b). The bag is yellow satin and has two black strips of cloth sewn two it. It has two black buttons. The border of the bag is hemmed with black fabric.
place: label: Place made
content: West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Craftsmanship
label: Topic
content: Design
label: Topic
content: Funeral customs and rites
label: Topic
content: Health
label: Topic
content: Prisons
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
label: Classification
content: Textiles and Quilts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Lori Waselchuk
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2018.54.2ab
objectType: label: Type
content: quilts
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Steven Garner
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cotton and linen with batting and thread
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (2018.54.2a): 81 × 67 × 1/4 in. (205.7 × 170.2 × 0.6 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (2018.54.2b): 19 11/16 × 28 3/8 in. (50 × 72 cm)