For over a year, mentor artist Catherine Wooten of Howard County worked alongside apprentice Suzanne Coley of Baltimore County in a 2021–22 Maryland State Arts Council Folklife Apprenticeship, passing down the techniques of sharecropper-style quilting—a tradition Catherine learned from her mother, a lifelong sharecropper.
This documentary, produced by Wide Angle Youth Media, was one of the organization’s early films for MSAC. Beyond documenting the craft itself, the film captures something more intimate. Catherine shared deeply personal stories about her family, describing how quilting allowed her to tell her own story while connecting to those who came before her. During filming, she even organized an impromptu shoot of her own fashion designs and models, revealing a creative range beyond quilting alone.
Catherine passed away roughly a year after the film was made—a reminder that these projects exist not just as short films, but as a way to preserve and carry forward the stories of Maryland’s cultural keepers.
About the Apprenticeship
MSAC’s Folklife Apprenticeship Program, administered through Maryland Traditions, provides $5,000 grants supporting the teaching of skills from one mentor artist to one apprentice artist, sustaining traditions that are community-based and living, handed down by example or word of mouth. Past and current apprenticeships have covered everything from Baltimore-style botanical jewelry and Chinese painted paper cutting to Irish step dance and painted screens.
Learn More
This is part of an ongoing series exploring MSAC’s Folklife Apprenticeships. Catch up on the full series, and subscribe to MSAC’s YouTube channel for more.
