Quilter Creates Smith Chapel’s First Commission
Local quilter Betty Hamilton—also a staff assistant in the Division of Student Affairs at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College—has created the first piece of art commissioned by the college’s Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel, a large wall hanging titled “Connected in Faith.”
“I think that we all have our own beliefs, but that we are connected in the faith that there’s something more, a higher power,” Hamilton says of her design, adding that “Connected” is quilted from 3,017 pieces of fabric and 3,600 yards of thread, and that with the exception of the backing, all materials are variegated. The use of multi-colored fabric and thread symbolizes the many interpretations of personal belief “to reflect the philosophy of the chapel.”
Within the pieced diagonal lines of the quilt body the colored fabrics meet to create a link from one faith to the next. Seventy-six leaves on an unbroken vine are embroidered against a deep blue border within a brown binding “to remind us that we are all grounded in the earth,” Hamilton says.
Hamilton created “Connected in Faith” in 150 hours spread over two months; her work was funded by the Student Activity Fee.
The multi-faith Smith Chapel was built in 2001 and is a gift to the students of Penn State Behrend from Larry and Kathryn Smith, owners of Automation Devices, Inc. in Fairview. The chapel includes a 48-bell carillon tower named in honor of Larry’s parents, Floyd and Juanita Smith.