JOY!, an exhibit by Ellen M. Blalock

May 3 to May 17, 2025

JOY! is a fiber/quilt exhibition by Ellen M. Blalock produced during her artist-in-residency at the Schweinfurth Art Center. This new work is about PLAY; about Blalock allowing herself to rediscover play. 

Blalock was working on healing that wonderful little girl deep down inside of her. But that child in turn nurtured the adult, and gave her permission to soar and have fun.

For some quilts in the JOY! series, Blalock cut random shapes from painted non-woven materials, assembled them on strips of fabric, and sewed them down. Sometimes in her play, she placed the shapes in a deliberate ways, creating relationships that might resemble animals, plants, and people. Sometimes she creatively shaped relationships with the playful stories in her head. She sometimes refers to these quilts as doodle quilts. 

Also in the JOY! series, Blalock has created spirit persona quilts to welcome and recognize the ancestors and to masquerade in their honor. She imagines herself taking on matriarch spiritual characters that examine worlds known and unknown to rediscover her griot’s voice. 

About the artist

I believe my job as an artist and documentarian is to be a conduit to listen and tell stories of the ignored and underrepresented. Through art I use my platform to raise awareness of the human
condition, social injustices, cultural diversities and religious and spiritual beliefs. I have addressed: Deaf community, GLBTQ families, African American teen fathers, trauma and mental health in Black communities, mothers of murdered children, refugees from Muslim countries, and women’s suffrage.

Although I work in several mediums: photography, video, drawing, and fiber, making quilts have a special meaning for me. I believe that every stitch and quilt I make, honors my ancestors, the many women in my family who made quilts — I am replacing what has been lost and stolen.

I was the first artist-in-resident at the Schweinfurth, supported by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, Creatives Rebuild New York; a recipient of there Black Equity & Excellence Grant from the Central New York Community Foundation; and a recipient of the City of Syracuse Arts & Culture Recovery Fund grant. My work has been exhibited at several museums and galleries throughout the United States. I have exhibited 3 times in the Quilt=Art=Quilt annual exhibition at the Schweinfurth, and 2 of those times, my quilts have received first place awards.