The quilts of Catherine LaDu elevate beyond handicraft, and into art.
More than a dozen of LaDu’s works currently hang in the Jaffrey Civic Center, as part of a show on display through Sept. 3 titled “A Quilt Artist’s Manifesto: Celebration of Catherine LaDu.”
The show opened Aug. 4, on what would have been LaDu’s 99th birthday.
LaDu, a resident of RiverMead in Peterborough when she died in 2013, was a longtime summer resident of Jaffrey’s Lake Contoocook.
Her longtime friend Doris Titus was the one who introduced LaDu to Jaffrey, when she invited her and her husband to stay at the Tituses’ lake house. The LaDus fell so in love with the area over the short visit, they bought their own cabin next door.
LaDu was endlessly curious, Titus said, and was interested in fabric arts particularly, taking classes in sewing and weaving. Many of those arts she initially picked up from her, Titus said, but would then take the skill and run.
“She was always creative. She would take something, and elevate it to this extent,” Titus said, indicating the show of quilts on the walls of the Jaffrey Civic Center.
During her life, some of LaDu’s work has been sold by the League of New Hampshire Arts and Crafts, and has been included in textile art publications. Her love of quilting grew from a love of tapestry work, and it shows in the kinds of quilts she made.
Rather than geometric patterns, the quilts on display look more like wall art, featuring sometimes-whimsical depictions using a variety of quilting techniques.
Some are done in layers, with images printed or sewn onto tulle, giving the final image a three-dimensional affect. Others seem to be representations of rooms, rendered down to an impressionistic or cubist effect.
“Both visually and intellectually, these pieces have so many layers,” said Jaffrey Civic Center Executive Director Rebecca Fredrickson. “They cover social issues, environmental issues, terrorism – they tackle serious issues. It’s not something you would expect from a quilt show. It’s something that brings it out of the realm of handicraft, and into the world of fine art.”
Libby LaDu, Catherine’s daughter, said her mother was never very forthcoming about the inspirations behind her work.
“Usually, if you asked, she would just say that she was responding to something in a dream – she had very vivid dreams – or something personal that inspired her. She made a lot of quilts for particular people, so it could be something about them or their background that prompted her,” Libby LaDu said.
Her mother’s works often reference literature or other artists – she made quilts inspired by Greta Garbo and Georgia O’Keefe, and whole series inspired by the words of the Lewis Carroll poem “Jabberwocky.” Others have a darker tone, including one that depicts the aftermath of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
“Some of her work is foreboding, and I don’t think there was much of a logical process about what could give her inspiration,” Libby LaDu said. “She would get inspired by a vision, or something out of her dreams, something personal, or something literary. She would get intrigued by certain words.”
Doris Titus’ daughter, Elizabeth Titus, helped to curate the show from quilts given to her and her mother by LaDu’s daughters. She said despite the close family friendship, she had never seen the works before.
One of the recurring themes in LaDu’s quilts is hands and eyes.
“I think they were important to her in many different ways,” Elizabeth Titus said. “To see and to touch – they’re important senses.”
A portion of the sales of the quilts on display will be donated to local organizations, including the Contoocook Lake Association and the Jaffrey Civic Center.
The show is on display through Sept. 3 at the Jaffrey Civic Center. The show is open to the public for no cost.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.