By Clinton Martin
Not everyone comes to Lancaster by car. Lancaster has a small airport, with two airlines flying scheduled service in and out, but the majority of people who travel to and from Lancaster without an automobile are doing so by train. Lancaster’s Amtrak station is the second-busiest in Pennsylvania, behind only Philadelphia. This makes the train station both a practical logistical hub, but also a cultural centerpiece of the community as well. The building boasts beautiful architecture, outdoor public art installations, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the inside of the station hall is perhaps more interesting, as there is gallery space for local, revolving, art displays.
The current art initiative, “A Place for Every Piece: Lancaster’s Living Quilt,” showcases a colorful, full-size, quilt designed and constructed using nearly 700 pieces of individual fabric. This is a true “patchwork” quilt, with each piece donated by a local community member to be sewn into the finished quilt.
Local Lancaster artists Jill C. Good and Libby Modern envisioned the quilt as a collaborative effort from the Lancaster Community, celebrating Lancaster through the “pieces of our lives that matter most.” As each person donated their piece of fabric to them, they also received the story behind each scrap, some of which can be seen alongside the quilt in the Amtrak station’s display.
“This is my late husband’s shirt. It’s so easy to picture him wearing it, looking relaxed and handsome on a weekend morning.”
“From ages 4 through 26 I studied some form of martial arts. This one activity gave me a sense of belonging in the world… it is the most influential activity that directly connects to me as an artist.”
The pieces of fabric came from wedding dresses, favorite t-shirts, cherished heirlooms, and garments memorializing loved-ones.