Thursday, 3 September 2020, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands: Inspired by Mrs. Monica Gore, wife of Cayman’s former Governor, Mr. Michael Gore, a dedicated group of islanders created a unique wall hanging, which was presented to the National Museum in 1995 as a gift to the Nation.

Twenty-five years later, Mrs. Elisabeth Roper, wife of current Governor, Mr. Martyn Roper, admired the piece and was instrumental in seeing that an artistic reproduction be put on display at the Government House. She invited the present Quilter’s Group, of which she is a member, for the unveiling, reflection, morning coffee and quilting.

Mrs. Roper thanked the National Museum. “The quilting group were absolutely delighted to see it up in Government House – as am I – and so also thank you to the Museum”. Present for the gathering were a group of 15 ladies, 3 of whom were the original creators of the 1994/95 piece. Ms. Carmen Conolly, Ms. Jill Wood and Mrs Sybil Watler recalled working on this work-of-art and were delighted to see the reproduction hung in the foyer of the Government House.

Mrs. JoAnne Sibley and Mr. Arek Joseph created the original design, and Mrs. Sybil Watler coordinated the effort. The Cayman Islands coat of arms is the central feature surrounded by a ship’s wheel and anchor recalling our seafaring history. Other individual pieces represent each of the country’s districts as well as the Islands’ flora and fauna.

“I remember when Mrs. Gore called me about making this quilt,” recalls Ms. Carmen Conolly, who was charged with finding at least 2 quilters from each district who could add a piece reflecting their district to the final masterpiece. From the Peace Memorial and Town Hall to the Sister Islands Rock Iguana – this quilt depicts different areas of each district and all three Islands.

Photographing of the wall hanging took the meticulous efforts of Cathy Church – famous underwater photographer in the Cayman Islands. Ms. Church spent countless hours photographing the wall hanging, piece by piece, later stitching it together digitally to make this highly detailed reproduction. “Making sure that each stitch and nature of the fabric be visible was important – we wanted the look and feel of the piece to be reflected in this artistic reproduction on canvas,” says Dr. Peggy Leshikar-Denton, Museum Director.

The ‘To the Nation’ artistic reproduction was presented to the Government House by the National Museum on 2 September 2020 as a gift to the Nation.

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