Jean Ray Laury 1928-2011

The world of textile art has lost an influential artist with the passing of Jean Ray Laury on March 2, 2011. She wrote over thirty books, taught countless students and was a pioneer in the art of teaching women to prioritize their work.

The Housewife's Fantasy

(c) Jean Ray Laury

"She was an instigator in getting women to realize they could do their own creative work while still maintaining a household," her husband Frank Laury told the Fresno Bee. "Many women wrote saying how much [she] made a difference in their lives in terms of doing creative work."


Jean Ray was born March 22, 1928, in Doon, Iowa. She earned a bachelor's degree in art and English from the University of Northern Iowa in 1950 and then a master's degree in design at Stanford University.

Toms' Quilt 1956

(c) Jean Ray Laury

For her thesis she made a quilt. If that quilt seems conventional now, it's only because she created the conventions. At the time “Tom’s Quilt” was innovative enough to earn a spot at the De Young Art Museum in San Francisco and travel in an international exhibit. Roxa Wright, needlework editor for House Beautiful, was impressed, describing it later as

"a delightful, completely unorthodox quilt depicting all the things that interested and excited her children, at that time very young. It was like a fresh breeze, the first contemporary quilt I had ever seen that really came off successfully, yet it was far simpler and more direct in stitchery than the many fine traditional quilts in the exhibition."

The quote is from American Quilts, The Democratic Art by Robert Shaw.

Detail of a quilt from Jean's 1970 book Quilts & Coverlets

Jean’s first article appeared in House Beautiful in 1960 and she began designing quilts for Woman's Day. Her first book was Applique Stitchery in 1966. Among her many other publications was the California state project's 1990 book Ho For California: Pioneer Women and Their Quilts, which she edited. 


Jean was a confident upbeat person, always consistent in her feminist positions about what was art and how it should impact your life. She also had a great sense of humor. Judi Warren Blaydon wrote a note:

Jean Ray Laury ruled. She enriched all our lives. My favorite Jean story: at a Nova Scotia quilt show, she overheard a woman say, "Those aren't quilts! They're just art."

LINKS
To her webpage
http://www.jeanraylaury.com/
And to one of her quilts at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum
Starfire 1981. 1997.007.1031
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/dab0bb46-eccf-4f19-881b-d397ddc9c28b.jpg
Do a search for her name to see more.

For more information about Jean
http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/fresnobee/guestbook.aspx?n=jean-laury&pid=149093169&cid=full
http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/03/03/2295579/fresno-artistauthor-dies-at-82.html
http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/treasures/main.php?id=5-16-6

http://thequiltershalloffame.blogspot.com/2011/03/passing-of-jean-ray-laury.html
http://www.saqa.com/information.php?ID=388

And here is the obituary she wrote for herself, published in the Fresno Bee.

I Write This For My Many Friends

Don't mourn for me. I have had a long and happy life, a wonderful family, and an exciting and satisfying career. My family includes Frank, my husband for most of over 60 years, who has always been incredibly supportive, helpful, and fun to live with. Our son Tom is a voracious reader, and for more than forty years a beekeeper. Tom's wife, Dr. Ritva Laury is a linguist who divides her time between Fresno and the University of Helsinki, Finland. Our daughter Lizabeth Laury works with horses and writes. Mike Brown teaches chemistry and physics at Washington Union High School. Ritva and Mike are very special additions to our family. Our granddaughter Anna Laury, M.D. completed her final boards in 2010 and pursues her career in Boston. Her sister, Emma Laury, J.D. graduated in May 2010 from law school, passed the California Bar and now works at OSHA in Washington, D.C.

Among my most cherished friends of many years are partner and co-author on several books, Joyce Aiken; the talented and remarkable Stan Bitters, a diamond covered in clay dust; and Ruth Law, Los Angeles toymaker, and friend for over sixty years. It's been wonderful working with fellow artists and writers. My Book Club, which has met for over forty years, has been special, and I've enjoyed our discussion group, Dry Creek Seminar, and my writing groups. I have always loved writing, and have had numerous books published, and many articles, parodies and essays. It has been a constant in my life. I recently completed a collection of stories, titled "Growing up in Doon, the 1930's: A Quilter's Memoir" about life in Iowa with my sisters, Jackie, Joan and Joyce.

My quilting career gave me the opportunity to travel the world: Japan, Australia, Canada, Norway, France, England, South Africa and many other countries. Quilting friends from across the United States have been an important part of my life, having always been enthusiatic and supportive in whatever I did. I was never far from home when I was with quilters. As wonderful as teaching and traveling were, getting back to Fresno felt like coming home. It has been wonderful being here with you. To all of you, thanks for being with me on this journey.

Remembrances may be made to Hinds Hospice; Marjaree Mason Center; or at jeanraylaury@... NEPTUNE SOCIETY Of Central California 1154 W. Shaw, Fresno (559) 222-7764