Rating: 
Summary: A Communion of The Spirits is inspiring!
Review: African-American Quilters, Preservers and Their Stories represents the first national survey & a personal record of how this photographer & folkorist's life has intertwined with the world of quiltmaking. The communion refers to the power of quilts to create a virtual web of connections-individual, generational, professional, physical, spiritual, cultural & historical. Some of the names of those glorious quilts are: Rainbow Block; Slave Chain; Log Cabin; Three Pigs in a Pen; Double Wedding Ring; Black Jack Scarecrow; Monsters, Dragons and Flies; African Diaspora; African-American Women; African-American Men; Memories of My Father's Death; Memories; Scripture; Martin Luther King Jr.; Hand Me Down My Mother's Work; Mother Africa's Children; The Underground Railroad; Baltimore Arabber Selling Watermelons; Harriet Tubman Quilt & Tableau. For all those who consider quilt making one of America's finest crafts, this will be a lifetime companion & will rekindle that dramatic & endearing form of art. Very well done! You have got to read this book! It is filled with women & men & the love of fabric & colors; of the love of design & community coming together to stitch lives together. Do visit my site for my full review & more books on quilting.
Rating:
Summary: A Communion of The Spirits is inspiring!
Review: African-American Quilters, Preservers and Their Stories represents the first national survey & a personal record of how this photographer & folkorist's life has intertwined with the world of quiltmaking. The communion refers to the power of quilts to create a virtual web of connections-individual, generational, professional, physical, spiritual, cultural & historical. Some of the names of those glorious quilts are: Rainbow Block; Slave Chain; Log Cabin; Three Pigs in a Pen; Double Wedding Ring; Black Jack Scarecrow; Monsters, Dragons and Flies; African Diaspora; African-American Women; African-American Men; Memories of My Father's Death; Memories; Scripture; Martin Luther King Jr.; Hand Me Down My Mother's Work; Mother Africa's Children; The Underground Railroad; Baltimore Arabber Selling Watermelons; Harriet Tubman Quilt & Tableau. For all those who consider quilt making one of America's finest crafts, this will be a lifetime companion & will rekindle that dramatic & endearing form of art. Very well done! You have got to read this book! It is filled with women & men & the love of fabric & colors; of the love of design & community coming together to stitch lives together. Do visit my site for my full review & more books on quilting.
Rating:
Summary: a one of a kind history that should be in everyone's home!!!
Review: Awesome Inspirational is this book which culminates a 26 year span of this phenomenal man's life that he devoted to recording the lives of Afrcian American quilters throughout the U.S.!! This book should be in every African American home to appreciate and cultivate the dynamic roles that women, men and children have preserved their heritage as more than just a work of art but more as their unique way of expression! This book can motivate, stimulate our next generation and I feel, be placed in a time capsule as it is really a document of testimonials that have bridged the gap of time. I was fortunate to not only see the 1st exhibit in Detroit at the Museum of African American History on March 21, 1998, but also had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Mr. Freeman, a humble man of vison, great determination and integrity. I was awed and determined that the next book I would be in----it affected me that much. Any historian or educator should have their class see this exhibit!!! This is a MUST-SEE for EVERYONE!!!!! I was also fortunate to meet Gerry Benton of Pittsburgh, PA who is in this book and her quilts are phenomenal as I see why she's in there!!!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a magnificent source of ethnic pride!
Review: Being perfectly honest, I bought this book because a relative was featured. But the more I looked at the photos, the more fascinated I became! I ended up reading the book from cover to cover! One could feel that this was a true labor of love for Mr. Freeman! That he traveled all over this country visiting quilters, many he did not know before he arrived on their doorsteps. The African American networking among quilters was apparent as one quilter would recommend another, often in another state, whom Mr. Freeman should visit. The book is a true reference book on quilting. I learned about the major quilting patterns and saw so many varieties of the patterns. It is heartening to know that this folk art is still being practiced. Would that more people could see these quilts! There should be more exhibits. Surely many young people would be inspired to quilt. This is a art that must not fade away!!
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Summary: Tribute to a Frail, Tough, & Creative Old "Chosen" Lady
Review: I am a newly-converted freethinker. An African-American woman whose Christian grandmother was an fabulous quilter. Even though Grandma no longer quilts (coming along in years), I still have some of her great work in old closets. Soon, I will have them cleaned. My grandmother is a beautiful, gifted, spirited, humble, precious and God-loving Black woman. So are the women in Mr. Freeman's amazing work of love and majesty. The men are great, also. In the strictest Christian sense, we are Blessed People who can create anything we desire, as long as we keep our hands in God's. With all my heart and soul I will forever love Grandma and be forever grateful for the lessons I've learned from her and the talents I've inherited from her. Long after she's gone, her quilts will remain a bold and poignant testimony to her stalwart faith.
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Summary: A must get book after seing a quilt exhibit in Detroit.
Review: I had the opportunity to see a quilt exhibit at the African American History Musuem in Detroit MI. I was in total awe. My mouth hung open throughout the exhibit. It was truly an emotional experience. I hated to leave the gallery. I wanted to keep that memory. So I was excited to see that the book: A Communion of the Spirits... was available to purchase. I could keep this memory alive. The pictures are amazing. It is like reliving my tour through the exhibit. Thank you Mr. Ronald L. Freeman for the book with not only it's rich history but also the aesthetic value.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I just purchased the book last week, I have not had a chance to read the contents word for word but I was in awe with all of the awesome quilts and the vast amounts of creativity that our people (African Americans) possess. It is so obvious to me that we are the chosen people of God. The creativity, love and perserverance exemplified in these works of art is truly wonderful. I called a friend who shares my enthusiasm for great works of art within 5 minutes after I received the book and I am placing an order for her as we speak. Ronald Freeman thank you for your vision and the creativity you have demonstrated in putting this book together. One of my gifts from God is the ability to motivate and inspire--you can rest assure that I will be placing additional orders within a very short time for many of my friends who don't even quilt
Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars were not enough
Review: I purchased this book because of my new found interest in quilting. I couldn't pursue my new found interest until I completed the book. Needless to say I was unable to anything else with my spare time but finish this book. I just couldn't put it down. Mr. Freeman is remarkable. Now that I know more about the history of quilting my interest is even greater. Mr. Freeman THANK YOU!
Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars were not enough
Review: I purchased this book because of my new found interest in quilting. I couldn't pursue my new found interest until I completed the book. Needless to say I was unable to anything else with my spare time but finish this book. I just couldn't put it down. Mr. Freeman is remarkable. Now that I know more about the history of quilting my interest is even greater. Mr. Freeman THANK YOU!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: I really enjoyed this book. You meet famous and not so famous people in this book. Some you will never forget like Hystercine Rankin, who made a quilt of her fathers killing in Mississippi, when she was only ten.She eventually won a $5000 prize for it. Or how the author talks about his family and the "healing quilt" and his lifelong affinity of quilts. The stories in here are good, and the quilts are out of this world. One of the best oral African American history books out there.
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