Valley artists rally behind a beaded quilt memorial project

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, many people organized many tributes. One enduring tribute is a bead quilt comprised of squares sent by artists around the world, and there is quite a Valley influence in the finished project.

Jeanette Shanigan of Wasilla belongs to several bead-related Web sites and forums, and in the days following the attack, Andrea Adams, a Seattle woman, started chatting online about the project.

Within days, Shanigan was behind the project, and she started recruiting bead artists from around the world.

"It's amazing how everything came together on the Internet. Andrea set up a bead quilt group on Yahoo!, and it took off," Shanigan said. "We ended up with 30 coordinators around the world. It was an international effort."

Initially, about 10 coordinators volunteered. Through their resources, they got 20 more coordinators, and a makeshift board of directors was organized -- all via the Internet.

The board set up bank accounts and settled most of the issues, and got the project running. The goals of the quilt were to use creativity to help heal, express feelings through the squares and to make a lasting memorial to those who lost their lives in the attacks.

The only question remaining was if there would be enough support for the project to make it viable.

The answer was a resounding, "yes."

Bead artists were asked to submit 3-inch by 3-inch beaded squares for the project, along with a $3 donation per square to help with the quilting cost. More than 400 bead artists submitted 576 squares.

In Alaska, 88 squares were contributed, and Valley beaders contributed 31 of those.

"As people did their pieces, we asked them to write a short story about the emotions and the feelings that went into each square," Shanigan said. "Each square has a different story."

Many of the squares done by members of the Mat-Su Valley Bead Society have an Alaska flair to them, as well as a tie to the Sept. 11 attacks.

One of Shanigan's squares she submitted has Forget-Me-Nots over a skyline that has the World Trade Center; Ann Breazeale contributed squares that have traditional raven images on a red, white and blue background; and beaded shapes of Alaska with hearts inside the state.

The Mat-Su Valley Bead Society also had a big hand in making the finished quilt so impressive.

The local bead society got together on three occasions last year to put the Alaska squares together.

The local group served as the Alaska "captains" for the project, and were instrumental in making sure Alaska had such a strong presence in the overall quilt.

Alaska communities represented were Anchorage, Wasilla, Homer, Cordova, Ketchikan, Juneau, Big Lake, Valdez, Central and Ward Cove. Artists from Alaska ranged in age from 13 to "70-something," Shanigan said.

Internationally, eight countries are represented. There are squares from 26 bead societies, and more than 425 artists contributed squares. Two bead museums also got involved with the project, as well as Beadwork Magazine.

The quilt was completed last year and has been traveling around the country to various bead and art events since. The quilt even has its own Web site, www.beadquilt.org.