About
Billie was a stained glass artist from Campbellsville, KY. After seeing Adeline Harris Sears’s quilt from 1856 containing signatures from prominent figures from the time, she was inspired to do the same. Billie traded fabric for glass and had every official from all branches of government from 1985 to 1990 etch their signatures into pieces of glass to create a “quilt” of her own. She named her piece "We The People."
After sharing the concept with Kentucky Representative Hal Rogers, he was very supportive of the idea. Representative Hal Rogers and Senator Mitch McConnell introduced her to Congressional members and assigned interns to assist her. She collected 560 signatures from individuals in all three branches of government. She planned to have the 6' x 6' stained glass quilt displayed in the Capitol Rotunda and then donated to the National Gallery of Art. She planned to have the commemorative piece completed for the Bicentennial celebrating 200 years since the signing of the Constitution.
"...this ambitious project will result in the creation of a national treasure..."
- Helen Delich Bentley, Maryland State Representative
Billie died in 2014 and the project has remained on hold until now.
My name is Davies Rushing and I am Billie's granddaughter. I call her Gammy. As an artist myself, I will complete this project that she started and see through her original plans of having it displayed and then donated when completed. She did the hard part and collected the signatures, I just have to put it all together.
Below is a sample piece I made to show how the final piece will be constructed along with the latest update. All tiles of stained glass have been laid out and organized in order.
