Submitted by San Juan Islands Museum of Art

Friday Harbor has turned into “quilt central” as a quilt walk, engendered by the “Conversations With Gee’s Bend” exhibition at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, runs through Aug. 11.

Fourteen businesses and establishments will feature 21 quilts made by San Juan Islanders, primarily from the Rainshadow Quilting Arts Guild, in the quilt walk. The quilt designs include traditional styles, abstract designs, vintage quilts and more.

Soon, a card with the list of quilters, titles and locations, and a map will be available at the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce, Town of Friday Harbor Hall and SJIMA as well as at each of the sponsored sites. All the sponsors welcome visitors to view the quilts during their regular working hours.

Featured quilts and locations are listed below:

• The Bean, 150 First St., Sheila Doyle’s “Fire and Ice.”

• San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce, 165 First St., Julie Weaver’s “Sunset” and Nancy Best’s “Winding Ways” (After July 15).

• Windermere Real Estate, 50 Spring St., Sue Beauchamp’s “Irish Memory.”

• Coldwell Banker, 105 Spring St., Lunnette Higdon-Hertel’s “Olympic View.”

• Island Studios, 270 Spring St., Dorothy Ives’ “Decision Point.”

• Key Bank, 95 Second St., Barb Snider’s “Kaffe Blocks” and Lunnette Higdon-Hertel’s “Sunday Afternoon.”

• Printonyx, 470 Reed St., Julie Weaver’s “Turning Stars” and Lunnette Higdon-Hertel’s “Dancing Cats” and “Modern Art.”

• Islanders Bank, 225 Blair St., Krispi Staude’s “Big Q” and “Disappearing Snowflakes.”

• San Juan Island School District, 285 Blair St., Linda Cooper’s “Asian Mix.”

• San Juan Islands Museum of Art, 540 Spring St., “Conversations With Gee’s Bend” exhibition, Mary Zeretzke’s “Reunion,” and Linda Cooper’s “African Dance” and “Sedona Spires.”

• Friday Harbor Suites, 680 Spring St., Linda Cooper’s “The Journey Makes The Difference”.

• Creative Passions, 635 Spring St., Diane Martindale’s “Polar Bear In The Tropics.”

• Heritage Bank, 535 Market St., Julie Weaver’s “Medallion” and Carol Hooper’s “On The Wind.”

• San Juan Island Library, 1010 Guard St., Vintage quilt, Ca. 1950s. and Barb Snider’s “Bambi and Friends.”

The exhibition “Conversations With Gee’s Bend” is open until Sept. 3.

In this exhibition, several artists across many mediums express their own dialogue with the women and quilts of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Artists include Mary Lee Bendolph, Lucinda Carlstrom, Attukwei Clottey, Melinda Tidwell and Laura Petrovich-Cheney.

The orginal Gee’s Bend quilts are known as the most important African-American cultural contributions to the history of art in the United States.

The theme of the 2018 exhibitions is “The Female Gaze, The Woman as Visionary and Creator.”

Museum hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday-Monday. Admission is $10, while SJIMA members and those 18 and under are free. Mondays are pay as you can. For information, visit www.sjima.org.

The Rainshadow Quilting Arts Guild selected SJIMA as their community project this year and made pincushions and potholders inspired by Gee’s Bend quilts and island unique pincushions. The fabric of quilts is sun-sensitive, so they cannot be hung in storefront windows.

More locally made quilts will be on display in the textile building during the San Juan County Fair, Aug. 15-18.