Feature: Judy Shapiro

By Janet Esch

I met Judy Shapiro at G Street Fabrics in Rockville, a fitting place for us to talk, surrounded by textiles of all kinds. She, herself, was part of the picture with her own created bright scarf in pinks and oranges and beaded necklace. Bright is the operative word for her: smile, jewelry, clothing and most important of all her mind that is closely connected to her heart and spirituality.

Judy has been making quilts since 1985. She teaches both locally and internationally. She has had numerous one-woman shows: La Conner Quilt Museum near Seattle, Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church in Baltimore, and the Metropolitan Methodist Church in Washington D.C. She will be presenting shows at Asbury Methodist Village on April 18 and at National Metropolitan Methodist Church, in Washington D.C, May 5, and 7, 2006.

Note Judy's own creation: the beaded necklace

Her outstanding Baltimore Album quilt, "A Legacy of Love for my daughter, Heather Jeanette Wilson," has been exhibited at the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg, VA. This elegant quilt with a border of red roses to honor her daughter tells us the story of Judy.

At the center is the Clipper Ship because traditionally it represents the church--an important part of her life. Four generations of women--her grandmother, mother, Judy herself, and Heather, her daughter, who will be married in August in the church--have belonged to the Chevy Chase United Methodist Church.

The block to the left of the ship honors her husband, Bert, who brought back multi-colored fabrics from a South American trip he had taken. The yellow rose of friendship and the red, of love show the deep commitment Judy and Bert have to each another. He is interested in her needle work and contributed ideas for the legend of the 9-11 block, "peace that passeth understanding" and the firefighter's hat held in the beak of the blue bird.

The block for her grandparents, whose ancestors arrived in Montgomery County, MD, in 1630, is a bowl filled with fruit to remember her grandfather's visits to the O Street Market to buy bushels of food for her grandmother who would cook for her five children and welcome any stranger to her table. "There was always plenty!"

Judy beams with pleasure as she tells of Steamer's restaurant that still occupies the buildings that were built and owned by her grandfather in Woodmont Triangle in Bethesda.

The basket of roses--Rose Amphora, mourning flowers--for her dear sister-in-law, Toni, who became her "sisterly choice" shows the love and friendship they had for each other. The epitaph written in old script to the left of the basket suggests the emotional Judy: "You believed in me and supported me. And loved me. What a gift you were to me. And now you have left me--far too soon. Saddened yes, yet Strong!" Her sister-in-law helped her get a job and worked with her for years in the office of Supreme Court's Chief Justice Warren Berger. And they both loved to cook; one of Toni's last surprises for Judy before she died in 1998 was a 50th birthday party. With these details Judy wipes her eyes and tells me, "Now I mustn't cry."

Judy loves music. "Mornings," she said, "I play the piano and sings hymns, good, old-fashioned hymns like ‘For the beauty of the earth; For the beauty of the skies,'" the legend for the cornucopia block.

The musical instruments and a red heart are featured in her marriage block to celebrate December 22, 1989, the anniversary of her marriage to Bert.

Judy's love for her daughter and acknowledgment of her beauty shows in the bright turquoise peacock with shiny beads in the feathers and crown.

The quilt also honors her father and grandmother, the Crocketts from Kent, England, with blocks showing a grapevine wreath for her father and a wreath of Chinaberries and a white rose representing purity for her grandmother.

"Her scholarship and artistry fuel my art and my soul" Judy writes on the block with a basket of flowers to Elly Sienkiewicz; and to Anne Connery, a block with a bright harp in a wreath, "mentor and friend." Judy has taught with both women and is currently a featured instructor at the Elly Sienkiewicz‘s Appliqué Academy.

For the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., Judy has made five processional banners for their permanent collection and is currently working on a sixth. On one she featured the rose window in all its reds, and blues. From that work, she was offered and served one year at the Wesley Theological Seminary as Artist in Residence, teaching both Baltimore Album classes and development and use of needle-working in the church community. This experience led to her making beautiful vestments and paraments for the altar for many in the church community.

Liturgical vestment and stole

Judy also creates contemporary designs.

Quilt that was hung in an Arlington Episcopal Church for the celebration of Pentecost.

During visits to Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, MD, Judy's bright eyes spied pieces of turkey red in a storage closet. When invited to present a program there, she asked if she could see these pieces of "Turkey Red." It turned out to be the 1850 Baltimore album Wesley quilt that was featured at Lovely Lane Museum show and at our February program with Marylou McDonald. Judy is recreating the blocks and will be contributing historical facts of that quilt in our May issue.

Note block of John Wesley, second from right.

Judy continues to create. Her most recent vision: a long-term studio class in which women come to share their lives, to learn new needlework techniques and to work on their own projects. In Annapolis she has a studio on the Severn River near shops and restaurants. Doesn't it sound inviting and revitalizing: a time to sew and talk with this Renaissance woman on her front porch, listening to the river and the wind in the trees?