BY MECHELE COOPER

Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- The work of 52 quilters will pay tribute to loved ones taken by Alzheimer's disease in an exhibit at the Augusta Civic Center.

"Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece," is traveling throughout the United States until October and will appear at the civic center July 24-26.

Joy Heptner, executive director of Alzheimer's Association's Maine chapter, said the quilts are metaphors for memories of a life pieced together.

"With Alzheimer's disease, some of the most important aspects of a person's life become inaccessible and cannot be pieced back together," Heptner said. "The comfort of memory is gone. We are honored to be the beneficiary of this year's silent auction and humbled by the love and work that went into the Alzheimer's art quilts."

Alzheimer's quilt themes include imaginings of an existence stripped of memory and learning; gritty illustrations of the anger, frustration and stress of caregiving; tributes to loved ones taken by Alzheimer's; and the anticipation of a future cure.

On July 24, Ami Simms, the show's curator, will give a talk about her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2001; and how quilters throughout the United States are making a difference one quilt at a time.

She created a national grassroots charity that has raised more than $200,000 for Alzheimer's research.

There will be more than 500 quilts exhibited -- antique and contemporary ones, in sizes ranging from 12-inch wall hangings to king-sized bed quilts.

There also will be daily lectures, free demonstrations, quilt appraisals, workshops and a silent auction of quilted items.

Nancy Zienkiewicz, of the Pine Tree Quilters Guild, said the guild's silent auction will benefit the Maine chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

She said every year since 2002, a portion of the quilt show benefits a nonprofit organization.

"We've supported breast cancer, domestic violence and women's heart disease. Our members feel it's important to give back," she said.

The quilt show opens July 24 with a champagne preview from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is $10.

The show hours Friday are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Daily admission is $8; children 12 and younger are free.

More information, including a full schedule of events, workshop descriptions and auction photos, is available at www.mainequilts.org.

Mechele Cooper--623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com