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>> HELLO, I'M DEANNA SPRINGER
LIVE AT THE GRAITLE GREAT WISCON
QUILT SHOW, WITH INSIGHTS INTO
THE SHOW.
I'M HERE WITH TARA LOVDAHL,
PUBLICIST FOR PBS WISCONSIN.
WELCOME, TARA.
>> THANKS, DEANNA.
>> WE ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF
THE KEN BURNS EXHIBIT.
WE ARE WITH TARA BECAUSE SHE
INTERVIEWED KEN BURNS HERSELF
PERSONALLY.
>> YES.
I'M KIND OF FAMOUS NOW.
>> ALMOST FAMOUS.
>> YES.
>> NO, HE WAS GREAT TO TALK TO
ABOUT THE QUILTS.
HE WAS VERY GRACIOUS AND
GENEROUS WITH HIS TIME.
HE WAS REALLY WILLING TO
EXPLORE, LIKE, ALL THE INS AND
OUT OF THE QUILTS.
>> WE HAVE A COLLECTION OF 26
KEN BURNS QUILTS.
WE CALL THEM KEN BURNS QUILTS.
THEY ARE OWNED BY KEN BURNS.
THEY ARE PART OF HIS ANTIQUE
COLLECTION.
WHEN I LEARNED HE HAD A
COLLECTION AND HAD A SHOW ON
THE ROAD THIS EXHIBIT IS
CURATED.
>> IT'S ORGANIZED BY THE
INTERNATIONAL QUILT MUSEUM OF
UNIVERSITY OF
NEBRASKA-LINCOLN.
>> LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.
>> YES.
>> WHEN I LEARNED THEY WERE
THERE, I CONTACTED JOHN IN
WISCONSIN.
HE SAID WE NEED TO GET THIES
QUILTS.
THROUGH LOTS OF WORK, THEY ARE
HERE, ALL 26 IN.
THEY WERE IN PEORIA, NOW THEY
ARE HERE AT THE GREAT
WISCONSIN QUILT SHOW.
YOU CAN TAKE IN ALL THE
ANTIQUE QUILTS.
THEY ARE FROM 1800s AND
1900S.
>> YES, THIS COLLECTION WE
HAVE HERE IS ROUGHLY FROM THE
1850s THROUGH THE 1940s.
HERE ARE QUILTS THAT ARE
OLDER.
A LOT OF AMISH QUILTS.
I THINK THEY ARE ALL HAND MADE
AND ALL AMERICAN.
>> UH-HUH.
>> AND HE IS PRETTY SURE THAT
MOST OF THEM F NOT ALL OF THEM
WERE MADE BY WOMEN, WHICH HE
IS EXCITED TO ELEVATE FEMALE
ARTISTS.
YEAH, JUST INCREDIBLE
COLLECTION.
HAND-PIECED, ALL KINDS OF
VINTAGE FABRICS.
SAVED FROM FABRICS LEFT OVER
FROM OTHER THINGS.
QUILTS WERE MADE IN THE DAY TO
STAY WARM.
THE BEAUTIFUL WORKS OF ART.
EACH AND EVERY PART OF EVERY
QUILT HAS HANDS AND NEEDLES
THAT WERE PIERCED THROUGH TO
PIECE IT ALL TOGETHER.
IT'S EXTRAORDINARY.
>> YES, IT IS INCREDIBLE.
HE TALKS ABOUT HOW HE IS A
DOCUMENTARIAN AND A DIRECTOR
AND HE LIKES TO BE IN CONTROL.
BUT HE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT
QUILTS JUST LETS HIM RELEASE
THAT CONTROL AND JUST LOOK AT
IT AS A PIECE OF ART A DESIGN
AS A WHOLE.
IN A LOT OF CASES HE DOESN'T
REALLY KNOW ANY OTHER HISTORY
OTHER THAN ROUGHLY THE TIME
PERIOD OF WHAT IT'S FROM.
LIKE, HE DOESN'T KNOW
NECESSARILY WHO MADE IT OR
WHERE.
HE JUST DOESN'T WORRY ABOUT
THAT.
HE ENJOYS IT FOR THE DESIGN
THAT IT IS.
>> RIGHT.
THAT'S SO IMPORTANT TO DO, WHY
YOU SHOULD PUT A LABEL ON YOUR
QUILTS SO IT CAN BE SAVED.
THESE QUILTS WERE WELL-LOVED
AND WELL TAKEN CARE OF.
IT'S EXQUISITE TO KNOW HOW
MUCH WORK WENT INTO EACH AND
EVERY PIECE OF THEM.
AND I KNOW THEY ARE VERY
SPECIAL TO KEN BURNS.
>> YEAH, HISTORICAL.
HE IS A HISTORIAN AND A
STORY-TELLER.
THE QUILTS TELL A STORY.
HE SAID HE MISSES THEM.
>> YEAH, HE TOLD ME HE MISSES
THEM, WHICH IS VERY SWEET.
HE JUST LOVED HIS QUILTS SO
MUCH.
YEAH, I THINK EVERYONE CAN
RELATE TO THAT.
WHERE YOU JUST -- YOU GET
ATTACHED TO AN OBJECT.
WHAT IS INTERESTING, HE
DOESN'T KNOW THE STORY.
HE DOESN'T KNOW THIS QUILTER
MADE IT FOR THEIR MOTHER OR
THEIR DAUGHTER, OR FOR A LATE
HUSBAND OR SOMETHING.
YOU CAN IMAGINE IT.
>> YOU CAN IMAGINE THE STORY.
THEN THINK ABOUT THE
HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD THAT
WAS HAPPENING.
HE HAS SOME FROM THE CIVIL WAR
THAT ARE HERE.
THAT'S PRETTY REMARKABLE.
>> RIGHT, IT'S AMAZING TO BE
IN FRONT OF THE QUILTS.
ALL OF THE ATTENDEES ARE
TAKING TIME TO SPEND TIME WITH
THE KEN BURNS QUILTS.
>> YEAH.
>> IT'S SPECIAL TO HAVE THEM
HERE, THEN THEY GO HOME
FINALLY.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE QUILTS
THAT WE HAVE HERE -- YOU HAVE
WRITTEN A COUPLE OF ARTICLES.
HEAD OVER TO THE WEBSITE.
>> PBS WISCONSIN.ORG AT THE
BLOG.
WE DO HAVE ONE INTERVIEW I DID
WITH HIM.
HE TALKS ABOUT THE FIRST QUILT
HE WAS EVER DRAWN TO.
IT WAS ONE HIS GRANDMOTHER
MADE FOR HIM.
SHE MADE ONE FOR ALL OF HIS
COUSINS AS WELL.
IT'S JUST VERY TOUCHING.
I THINK YOU ASSOCIATE WHAT WAS
GIVEN TO YOU WITH THAT PERSON
IN THIS CASE IT'S MORE SPECIAL
BECAUSE IT'S HANDMADE.
LIKE SOME OF HER SOUL IS IN
THE QUILT, THE LEFTOVER
MATERIALS FROM LEFTOVER
CLOTHES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
>> THANK YOU, TARA FOR JOINING
US TODAY.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN
FROM BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE
GREAT WISCONSIN QUILT SHOW.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS
YEAR'S EVENT AND NEXT YEAR
GREAT WISCONSIN QUILT SHOW.
HEAD TO quiltshow.com.