The Art of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz - Survivor of World War ll from Poland!

Today, a field trip with some of my quilt guild buddies, the Southern Comforters of Bowie, Maryland, directed by our Program Chair, Misty Cole, was to the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore, Maryland. Can I say it was phantasmagorical (FANTASTIC!!)? Thankfully, Misty got us into the exhibition before it will be taken down next month...and with our excellent docent, Margie Spirer, it was a win-win to go and see!

If local, this is a "must see" museum located very near the Baltimore Inner Harbor. It's America's official national museum and education center for intuitive and self-taught artistry. There is a lot of very cool art on multiple levels and buildings.

According to the "bookmark" Margie gave all of us, "Esther Nisenthal Krinitz was 15 when she defied Nazi orders, separating from her family as they and other Jews of their Polish village reported to a nearby train station. Making their way to a village where they were unknown, Esther and her younger sister survived the war by posing as Polish farm girls. They never saw their family again."

"Fifty years later, determined to show her daughters the family she had lost, Esther turned to needle and thread to create a series of 36 hauntingly beautiful, exquisitely detailed works of fabric collage and embroidery - a legacy born of love, loss, and the sheer force of memory." Note: At 9 or 10 years of age, before the war, Esther showed aptitude with fabric and sewing, and was working on her craft in her village in Poland making dresses).

Art and Remembrance, a non-profit organization founded by Esther's daughters, uses art and personal narrative to recognize individual courage and resilience, and to foster understanding and compassion for those who experience injustice.

The exhibit was profound, humbling and the details in each of the 36 works, simply exquisite. I am/we are grateful to have viewed Esther's work and given detailed explanations to each piece in the show.

BSoleille! The bright side of viewing Esther Nisenthal Krinitz works of art depicting her life prior to WWll and beyond.

Terri
Photo below is our gang with Margie Spirer with name badge: and L-R: Peggy Alexander; Ann B., Margie, Misty Cole, me, Wendy Allen, Susie Stevenson, Margy Hill and Deb Hoppe