West Savannah quilter Emma Freeman Williams honored with mural at Urban Tree Nursery

McGregor came up with the concept of the quilt-styled mural because his mother was also a quilter. “I directly responded to [Williams’] life story of being a quilter and using [different] patches of cloth and materials in her collage method [because it] reminded me a lot of how my own mother would work, which was very influential on my fine artwork,” McGregor says.

Credit: Randy Thompson / For Savannah Morning News

Credit: Randy Thompson / For Savannah Morning News

He referred to pictures of Williams’ tapestries and quilts to inspire the piece. “[They’re] very much kind of like abstract paintings, the way that she lays out her strips of colors… and with different patterning on it,” he said.

“... I made a simple landscape [and for the detail,] I took that simple framework [and] I made them into quilts that matched the patterns she would use and the way she would cut the strips.”

Credit: Randy Thompson / For Savannah Morning News

Credit: Randy Thompson / For Savannah Morning News

With the memorial, MacGregor hopes to convey “inclusion and remembrance of people from the community” as well as “an awakening of the artist within.”

The mural was funded by a grant provided by the city of Savannah. It is supported by Anne Robinson Taryn, C. Nicholas Deffley, West Savannah Community Organization, and the Williams Family.

Brian Macgregor is an award-winning artist based in Savannah and a Savannah College of Arts and Design alumnus. MacGregor has showcased his art at more than sixty gallery shows nationwide. He owns his own studio, Brian Macgregor Gallery, in downtown Savannah.

For more information visit MacGregor's website https://brianmacgregor.net/

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: West Savannah quilter Emma Freeman Williams honored with mural at Urban Tree Nursery