we often get knowledge but
are receptive only to that we
can understand. We study
Judaism, but understand
only so much."
Gematria, in which nu-
merical values are applied to
Hebrew letters, also figure
throughout the quilt. The
first letters of the Messers'
daughters names spell out
the word echad, one. Such
finds, Mrs. Sperka says,
were "magic to me."
Once the original draw-
ings were completed, Mrs.
Sperka searched for someone
Mrs. Sperka and
Mrs. Flores would
try piece after
piece of silk and
cotton, always
searching for the
one that was
vibrant but not
overwhelming, that
blended well with
colors around it.
to design a quilt. An ac-
quaintance suggested
Michael Flores of West
Bloomfield.
Mrs. Flores, who holds a
degree in teaching, began
designing quilts in 1979. "I
saw a quilt block and I lit-
erally had to start doing it
right away," she says.
Her initial projects were
quilted clothing, by 1985 she
was producing full-size
quilts.
Mrs. Flores says she was
intrigued when Mrs. Sperka
approached her one after-
noon in 1988. The artist pro-
duced a sketch of the propos-
ed quilt and asked, "Do you
think you can work with
this?"
It would be, Mrs. Flores
realized from the start, a
massive undertaking. The
first issue was size.
"There are a lot of prob-
lems involved in making a
quilt that big," Mrs. Flores
says. She explains: each
piece of a quilt must be cut
out, then constantly checked
for color and size against
other pieces.
Still, Mrs. Flores was
eager to accept the
challenge. "There are few
quilts like this in the coun-
try," she says.
For the next several mon-
ths, the two women spent
most of their day in Mrs.
Sperka's downtown studio.
Located on Michigan
Avenue, the large loft is fill-
ed with Mrs. Sperka's art
projects, old and new. There
are large blue-and-white
panels of faces and signs,
massive sketches of in-
dividual rocks, tree stumps
and heavy metal barriers.
The wooden floor is chipped,
splattered with paint and
glue. Bits of photography,
glass and clay are strewn
about. Here was where the
two women met throughout
the 1989 summer. With
their hundreds of pieces of
quilt fabric, all they lacked
was an air conditioner.
The core of the final work
was color. Mrs. Sperka and
Mrs. Flores would try piece
after piece of silk and cotton,
always searching for the one
that was vibrant but not
overwhelming, that blended
well with the colors around
it but didn't fade among
those same hues. Most of the
material they purchased,
though some pieces came
from Mrs. Messer's clothing.
"It was like a crayon box,"
Mrs. Flores says. "We had a
huge palette of fabric —
blues, pinks and greens."
They worked closely
against Mrs. Sperka's
original drawing onto a
large grid that hung on the
studio wall. Consequently,
Mrs. Flores did most of her
basting standing up.
Finally, in August, the
long hours of color selection
and reflection ended. The
two agreed • the quilt was
ready to be sewn together.
Though the two women
had dedicated so much time
to the quilt, it wasn't
difficult seeing it come to an
end, Mrs. Sperka says.
"You have to come to a
point when you know it's
time to stop," she says. "You
have to say: This is what I
intended and I can't add or
subtract any more. You
come to a sense of balance.
You realize the work is say-
ing the most it can say."
The final contributors to
the project were a group of
women who painstakingly
sewed together the quilt's
myriad pieces. Among them
were Amish women and a
native of Laos.
The quilt went on display
at the Center in 1990.
Above:
In the center of the
quilt, the Holy Ark is
portrayed.
Left:
The imposing and
majestic figure of
Ezekiel.
❑
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
WB-23