Cleve Jones' extraordinary life was pieced together, then stitched tightly into different types of quilts. From the blanket that his great-grandmother made for him as a boy, to the friends he gathered in San Francisco as young man, it is almost as if he was destined to bring the art of quilting to a new public awareness. Mentored by Harvey Milk, Jones debuted idea for the AIDS Memorial Quilt during a candlelight memorial for Milk in 1985 and created the first panel for the quilt in 1987. The AIDS memorial quilt, one of the largest public arts projects ever and an iconic symbol of hope that remembers 94,000 lost souls, is Jones' shining achievement. It has since toured the world and been seen by millions of people.