Social Justice Sewing Academy
Messages from the heart
What’s your artistic passion? Are you still thinking it over, or have you started your creative journey? Many of us dream about using our creative process in real-time. This story is about a local girl doing just that. Sara Trail, from the East Bay uses her sewing skills to teach kids how to make elaborate decorative quilts that bring social justice messaging. She learned to sew at age of 4. She is now a successful author, sewing teacher, pattern and fabric designer and social justice advocate. At age 13, she wrote a nationally published book, “Sew with Sara.” That book teaches teens how to sew clothes and accessories for fun and profit. At 15, she was the focus of a series of nationally published DVDs, “Cool stuff to Sew With Sara.”
In her next project, she designed two fabric collections, Folkheart and Biology 101, pattern collections for Simplicity called “Designed with Love by Sara.” Her pattern collections feature prom dresses, backpack patterns, hoodies, jackets, aprons and tote bags. While attending UC Berkeley, Sara created a quilt in memory of Trayvon Martin which started her on the road to making her own brand for social justice messaging. She refers to her art work as ‘art-ivism.’ When she graduated from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, she received funding from UC Berkeley and founded the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA), where she and associates teach youth the art of quilting. Sara hosts art shows for the kids to showcase their work. Each quilt is displayed with its creator’s statement about the issues illustrated in their quilt. She says this about the quilting work:
“The quilts get seen in exhibits and the kids get invited to speak about them, tell why they made their block, what they learned and what they want people to do or change.” — Sara Trail
https://youtu.be/sIt50muolKQ.
Community Quilts is social justice art with messaging that honors victims of violence and educates communities about antiracist platforms. Memorial Quilts is part of the Remembrance Project that celebrates lives lost to violence and brings comfort to families. Making the quilts also serves as a “business incubator” that teaches youth to build on business-oriented ideas for their own artistic sewing projects. It’s a great plan. To volunteer or donate supplies, 925-783-7882, info@sjsacademy.com.