Reading and Book Signing: A Language of Stitches: The Radical Quilts of Rosie Lee Tompkins with Constance Moore

Artist, educator and illustrator Constance Moore will read and share imagery from her newly released picture-book biography of the groundbreaking artist and will personally sign your copy. Families who purchase the book at this event will receive a 10% discount on the cover price.

Born Effie Mae Howard in 1936, the artist we know as Rosie Lee Tompkins learned quilting from her mother while growing up in rural Arkansas. After relocating to the Bay Area as part of The Great Migration, she developed a prolific practice that resulted in more than five hundred of her quilts coming into the collection of the Berkeley Art Museum through the bequest of Oakland-based quilt collector Eli Leon. Today, Tompkins is recognized for unique innovations on traditional patterns and an inventive use of her favorite fabrics, including velvet, artificial fur, and glittery materials.