Comments on: Notions: Porky Patchwork?

By: Lauren

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:32:21 +0000

Thank you Jake…I only wish you edited out all my grammatical mistakes. LOL It is funny how you see them once you have posted a comment and not when you are writing it. Thank you for posting such an important topic and kudos to all the people who responded here on your site and to the article at the Chattanooga Free Press.

By: Alison Gates

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:06:54 +0000

I’d like to point out here that any money a museum or arts organization gets from our federal government is obtained through a grant process. Therefore, it’s competitive, and one must work to prove the worth of the expenditure to the government. Therefore, it’s not actually any kind of a “handout.” It’s money one has to argue for, justify, and later, account for the expenditure of (if one is chosen to receive the funds.) In most industrialized countries, the people deem the arts and humanities (history, culture) to be part of their national identity, and a source of great pride. Therefore, the funding they provide to their cultural institutions is much much greater than the funding the American people provide for ours. If you are worried that our culture is in danger, that our national identity is in jeopardy, that our children won’t know what made America great – then you should support federal funding of things like quilt museums in Nebraska.

By: Janet Suber

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:38:30 +0000

I live in Chattanooga and thought I might add a bit to this conversation. The Times Free Press is an interesting publication. It actually has two opinion pages, literally, one on the left side (the Times) and one on the right (The Free Press). If you notice, Drew Johnson is the Opinion Editor on the right side, and I mean the far right side. No amount of reasoning with him will ever convince him that one cent of federal money should be spent on anything other than war and tax breaks for the 1 percent.

By: Needle Gypsies-At the Eye of the Needle Storm: International Quilt Study Center & Museum

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:01:53 +0000

[...] week we admittedly stirred the pot a bit when we posted about the phenomenally boneheaded editorial (we get to say this because we aren’t a newspaper) [...]

By: jake

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 05:59:23 +0000

Lauren, your comment is amazing! You’ve obviously done far more research than our editor-on-the-stake did. Bravo to a great response. Oh, and not to embarrass you, but we gave you a shout-out in the Dec. 5 post running tomorrow.

By: Lauren

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:00:08 +0000

There have been many wonderful comments about quilts, the purpose they serve, and the quilt industry in general. I am also a quilter and agree with most of what has been said. I am also a person who believes in the arts and the importance that they play in both education and history. I would like to address the museum side of the discussion.

If the editor had done his homework, he would have discovered that between the years of 2008 – 2012, the US Federal Government gave $821,343,657.00 in federal grants to museums and libraries (which averages out to about $170,268,731.00 per year). Puerto Rico, Samoa, Northern Marianas, Guam and the US Virgin Islands were among the recipients. They allocate this in the budget and someone will receive the money. It is not as though they are taking away from something else…it is part of the the Federal Budget. Many museums and libraries could not exist without the governments assistance. So, unless Congress cuts the budget for the “Institute of Museum and Library Services” there will be grants for museums, many of which we will never visit.

Of that amount Tennessee received between, $16,341,001.00 ($3,268,200.00 average per year), and Nebraska received a whopping $7,025,322.00 ($1,405,064.00 average per year). Tennessee received more than double the monies of Nebraska.

The small amount that IQSCM received did not in any way affect the citizens of Tennessee. The citizens of Nebraska could argue the same point of the arrogant and narrow minded Editor of The Chattanooga Free Press, because they most likely will never visit the museums and libraries in Tennessee.

In 1966 Mike Wallace categorized museums into four distinct types: national museums that hold collection of national importance, armed service museums, independent museums and local authority museums. Wallace stated that “the importance of museums lies in their role as a nation’s memory bank”. Museums are our only source of “living history”. IQSCM is not a local museum, but a national one, preserving our past and teaching us about the future.

Quilters are not the only ones that benefit from IQSCM in Nebraska and the National Quilt Museum in Paducah; but because of their existence, our future generations will have a look at the past to learn from.

If you have never been to the Smithsonian, then you may not know that it is 100% free to the public. There are 19 museums that make up the Smithsonian. Why shouldn’t federal money help preserve our past and future and help fund our museums? I would much rather my tax dollars go to a museum, than to an unnecessary war.

A wise person once said, “You can’t tell where you are going, unless you know where you have been.”

By: Chris Rolinson

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 01:46:36 +0000

What a totally ill informed jerk this Drew Johnson is. Firstly my name is Chris – short for Christine which I prefer -and am constantly amazed that (in this century) people assume like Jake’s experience, that I am male! I find it rude and offensive but I too digress. If quilting is such a niche area of interest and a “pork project” perhaps he would like to know that I have recently returned from the Houston Quilt Festival along with a friend. And by the way we flew from Sydney Australia and took 24 hours to get there. Given that the exchange rate is US/A dollar for dollar I wonder how much my friend and I contributed to the American economy and the quilt industry (for just a hobby ???) whilst we were there. I spent around US$5,000 and goodness knows my friend spent more than me!! We flew United, we stayed in your hotels, we were part of a tour group that employed a coach driver and tour guide. We ate in restaurants, rode on public transport, spent money in shops small and large other than quilt shops, went to the Houston Quilt Festival etc. (along with 8 other Australians), purchased antique quilts, bought souvenirs. We generously spread this over San Antonio, Houston, San Francisco and Montana and all points in between. I understand the attendance at Houston is always around 50-55,000 over 4 days. Just a small event. Along the way we visited The Texas Quilt Museum which has only been opened around 18 months. This Museum has totally revitalised this small town other shopkeepers said, providing employment for a number of people and the reason for the establishment of at lease one new business. One small cafe provided lunch for 36 people at $10 a head – a $360 sale just on one day! Is this to be sneezed at? This was just one coach and there were numerous others just on that day alone. There is an old saying that goes something like ‘better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and be proven right’. Will someone tell Drew Johnson this please?

By: Natalie Barnes

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 04:59:10 +0000

…..a well crafted response, Sir Jake!
As for Mr. Drew? Let’s face it. Poorly written and poorly researched is just that.

By: Deana

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:46:29 +0000

I think the gov’t has to have a hand in preserving it’s history and culture. Period. While there are many silly things the gov’t pays for and sends far more money overseas then it should; art, history and culture isn’t one of them. Especially when the amount is a piece of sand in the bucket.

By: Eileen Keane

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:42:38 +0000

Methinks this man’s opinion smacks of misogyny. Perhaps, in his youth, he sat on a needle. Whatever may have happpened, it turned him into a small minded hater. I think we’ve given him what he wanted-attention-and we should stop. Then he’ll shrivel up, and go away.