Fiber artist Louise Silk completed her first quilt in 1972. A local of Pittsburgh, Silk gave a presentation showcasing well-known works throughout the history of quilting on Wednesday, Feb. 4.

“[The craft is] around. There are a lot of ways to participate,” said Silk. “There are lot of organizations now. In Pittsburgh there are three guilds and probably ten shops.”

Psychology professor, Elizabeth Ozorak, met Silk through a sewing meditation class taught by Silk eight years ago. They have been in contact ever since.

“A bunch of us [in the class] found out she was a quilter in the course of the conversation,” Ozorak said. “And we said, you should do a quilting class.”

Ozorak teaches an FS 102 class called “Quilts, Stories and Social Change” where students pick a theme and work on their own pieces to be sewn in a final project.

“As a guy who really doesn’t share his feelings and is quite conservative when it comes to talking about stuff like that, it was a challenge,” said Johnathon Opet, ’17, who was in the class last semester. “The class, when it came to creating things, was enjoyable and different from a normal class and allowed me to be more comfortable when presenting in class or in front of a group.”

The craft is a meditative activity whether one is creating or receiving a work, Silk said.

“Quilts are trying to express all kinds of ideas.”