Meggan Howell Protest Quilt 'Dead Men'

Dead Men Don't R*pe 

Made January 2026 in response to the release, or lackthereof, of the Epstein Files. Hand stitched needle turned appliqué lettering on 1930s cutter quilt. Scrap made by Meggan's great grandmother Leila. Rod pocket for hanging. 

20 x 38" 

HEIRLOOM: handcraft in protest

Presenting the textiles of Meggan Howell, multidisciplinary maker, 8th generation quilter, professed nerd and full hearted activist from the American southwest living here in Portland. Informed by a working class background and punk ethos, she utilizes handed down knowledge in textile handcrafts to document the raw emotion of contemporary events of aggression and rail against imposed technology. I think that knowing a backstory before taking in an artists work is essential to the appreciation of that work, so please, read on...

Born the daughter of a coal miner, Meggan grew up in a small Utah mining town. The women that came before her quilted avidly, as an act of necessity or resistance or both. Meggan grew up doing the same, her hands taught by theirs. When she found a stash of her grandmothers old tattered quilts, some still with the coal dust on them, she knew their fate. Partly an ode to ancestry, the other a protest to the injustices of humanity...The art is in the quilting itself, the addition of hand stitched words and imagery...the resurrection of their history through the lens of our shared experiences today. Each piece is a chapter in a larger story.