Rag Quilting of the Rice, Indigo and Cotton Plantations

Join Sharon Cooper-Murray, aka the Gullah Lady, for a lecture and hands-on workshop about the folk art tradition of rag quilting. Cooper-Murray has set out on a mission to preserve this disappearing art form, which, she has learned from elderly Gullah women from Wadmalaw and Johns Islands, and which began on the islands during the antebellum period. Feed and grain sacks were combined with rag strips to make these unique quilts. This quilting tradition was passed from generation to generation until recent years. Join us for a fascinating workshop to learn more about this folk art, work on a community rag quilt and start your own project! The instructor provides all materials, and each participant should bring their own scissors.

Reservations are required. Call 843.549.2303

The Community Rag Quilting Preservation Initiative seeks to continue the transmission of folk art skills from generation to generation, to promote this indigenous textile tradition within the tourist industry and to facilitate a textile cottage industry of handmade crafts.

Sharon Cooper-Murray is a native of Lake City, South Carolina, and a Speech and Drama graduate of Knoxville College, Knoxville, Tennessee. After graduating she traveled for a brief time trying decide where she what area to take up residence. It was then she was invited to Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina a small Sea Island southwest of Charleston and the home of the indigenous group known as the Gullah people. She was fascinated by their creole language and even more intrigued by their culture.

Today, Cooper-Murray is founder and President of Gullah Enna & E Sweet Pan & Ting, a manufacturing organization i.e. cottage industry specializing in Gullah fiber arts & crafts. The organizations philosophy and mission is to increase awareness of the Gullah culture and facilitate understanding of their way of life; language, music, arts and crafts.