Recently artXtra students visited the American Museum near Bath and as well as finding out about the hard life of an early American settler, we also saw their wonderful, pictorial quilts. They were made in large groups and showed aspects of life in small communities.

These really inspired us, and we decided to depict the many historical events and social stories surrounding the life of John White as a group project, using simple pictorial references. We explored a new and exciting technique of screen printing to produce the work on fabric.

Using patchwork for this competition makes extra links to the early settlers of Dorchester, USA, because they helped to develop the rich patchwork-quilt tradition with their scraps of precious fabric.

This quilt contains references to The Great Fire of Dorchester; the Brewery set up to help the poor; the burning of Bibles by puritans; markets, spinning, livestock and fish; friendship and charity; King Charles II; and early life in the Americas.