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Let us help you on your weight loss journey The University of Texas Medical Branch is in-network for most major insurance plans. knows Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Surgery services include: •Gastric bypass •Sleeve gastrectomy •Patient education •Nutritional counseling •Physical therapy •Weight management •Patient support group UTMB Health has over 130 years of expertise caring for patients of all ages.32 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2024 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2024 33 FEATURE ‘THE WORLD I LIVE IN’ Islander tells stories through colorful, whimsical quilts story by BARBARA CANETTI | photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS I slander Peggy Baldwin never met a color she didn’t like. When she designs her large, whimsical and story-telling quilts, she empties her palette of colors onto a project she likely will hang somewhere in her Galveston home. Her specialty is holiday-related themes: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, Fourth of July and Mardi Gras — and everything in between. And her designs are never small, tabletop samples. They’re large — 5 feet across and taller than her. “I like to work on a large scale,” she said, noting it was an article in Family Circle magazine in 1978 that spurred her interest in quilts. Baldwin, who spent her professional career working for local and national nonprofit organizations, moved to Galves- ton in 1990 to run the regional branch of the American Red Cross. And although she worked full time, she still managed Galveston quilter Peggy Baldwin holds up her “Cowgirls are Women With Boots, Guts and Poodles” quilt that won a blue ribbon and was the Quilt Committee’s choice at the 2023 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. (Opposite) One of Baldwin’s Christmas-themed quilts tells the story of trying to get a good Christmas card photo with her mother and their poodle.34 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2024 FEATURE (Clockwise from top) Peggy Baldwin works on a Christmas-themed longhorn quilt at her home in Galveston. This will be the second version of the quilt. The first she gave to a rancher; a Galveston Christmas-themed quilt; an elf-themed wreath and quilt. (Opposite) Peggy Baldwin shows off a pale blue and cream vintage quilt that inspired her 1930s-style quilt, middle, and a more modern, colorful one. COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2024 35 to continue her hobby that now consumes much of her time. Besides managing the Silk Purse Thrift Store in Galveston, Baldwin also belongs to three quilting guilds that promote quilt- ing skills with seminars and educational programs and two quilting bees, which are more social gatherings. Baldwin works on her projects at home. She starts each quilt with an idea, searches for photos or images she can adapt for her design and jots them down on a sheet of paper, she said. She then has that page en- larged and places the image, or pattern, over her fabric. She fastens the selected images in place — either by sewing or fusing them onto the base fabric as the decoration begins to take shape. The adorned area is then fitted with a roll of batting, the soft fluffy layer of cotton or cotton/polyester blend sandwiched between the quilt top and backing fabrics. It’s used to add shape, thickness and cushioning to quilts. Finally, Baldwin delivers her design to a finisher, who uses a special long-arm sewing machine to create the swirls and squiggles that attach a solid backing to the two layers to generate a finished product. Baldwin’s quilts are whimsical, fun, elabo- rate and each one tells a story. There are usual- ly three constants in each one: family members or friends, poodles and cowgirls or boots. “I am a story quilter,” she said. “They cap- ture a moment — like a snapshot. They each tell a story.” She points to the “I Survived Ike” quilt, telling the story of her flight with family to Bastrop in 2008 when the hurricane hit Galveston. Her “Scuba Diving Girls” — and poodle — reminds her of a diving incident with friends. And her Mardi Gras quilts tell their own story of revelry and partying. Her holiday quilts are sometimes beach-related, with Santa in a cowboy hat and surrounded by flip-flops; a series of four “pictures” of Baldwin and her mother holding their poodle and all the characters dressed in Santa hats; and a happy Santa wishing “Merry Christmas Y’all” amid a flurry of red, green and white designs and bounded by Santa riding a reindeer as if it was a rodeo bull. She adds accoutrements and accessories — bows, buttons, bells and ornaments — to her quilts to complete her designs. Each quilt takes about a month to complete. Her work has not gone unnoticed. At a recent convening of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, one of her special de- signs was hanging in the entrance hall to the convention. And her “Cowgirls are Women With Boots, Guts and Poodles” last year took home the “Quilt Committee’s Choice” at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. She also owns several muted-color, an- tique quilts and she has updated those forms to reflect her favorite hues and shades while retaining the age-old patterns. Besides quilting, Baldwin makes decoup- age rugs, which are colorful fabrics meld- ed onto canvas and encased in a special lacquer for durability. She also makes holiday wreaths. Her house is filled with her creations in every room, on every wall and each is different but colorful. “I am surrounded by friends,” she said. “I walk into my house and I’m pleased. This is the world I live in — color, and I like the whimsy, fun and adventurous. 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We stand ready to help you honor your loved one by keeping the tradition of offering “Quality, Distinctive and Professional Service”. 3828 Ave O | Galveston, TX 77550 409.762.8470 E. R. Johnson Family Mortuary38 COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2024 Galveston artist Ann Wood is part of Houston’s newest art attraction, Meow Wolf, and is working on a new project, a public art installa- tion for the island’s Kempner Park. (Opposite) Conceptual drawings for a public art installation hang on the wall of Wood’s studio. COASTMONTHLY.COM | DeCeMber 2024 39 CURRENTS | ART WOLF AT THE DOOR Islander invited to be part of immersive art attraction in Houston story by SHANNON CALDWELL | photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS W hen arts and entertainment com- pany Meow Wolf came calling, Galveston artist Ann Wood almost missed out on her opportunity to be a part of Houston’s newest permanent art attraction. “I had missed an email from them because I’m terrible at the business side of art and hadn’t checked my email for a while,” Wood said. “I was helping my daughter get settled for college and so I answered a call from an unrecognized number. After talking with them and looking over the email, I realized this is definitely something I want to be involved with.” Meow Wolf is a company that creates immersive art environments where ticket-paying guests are encouraged to enjoy and interact with artworks created by people local to each location. It began in 2016 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and now has locations in Las Vegas, Denver and Grapevine. Houston, the newest location, opened at midday on Hallow- een this year. Wood was impressed by Meow Wolf’s leadership and their commitment to working with local artists in each location to create meaningful art with which people can interact. “It has been fantastic to work on such a well-resourced project and to work with people who care about bringing art to the public,” Wood said. “It has challenged my usual prac- tice as I had to make sure people could touch and interact with my pieces.” Her Meow Wolf artworks include a diorama and an installa- tion that transforms a room. The room was inspired by caves she visited in Italy 20 years ago, and an innovative mirror film material that got her thinking about rococo mirror frames and halls of mirrors. The two concepts come together in a golden Next >