As I mentioned in the Saturday e-newsletter, we are launching a quilt drive for the fire victims in Boulder. Please visit this link for details if you are interested in contributing. Thank you.
There is a short list of things that can restore my joy for life, when stress or exhaustion seem to have sapped the lifeblood out of me. I am sure you can relate. Every couple months of the last 2 years of the pandemic, I hit the wall and have to find a way to crawl out of the hole.
Our community has had some terrible traumas in the last year, but for sure there are plenty of other communities around the world that have suffered worse – things like war, famine, typhoons, etc. With this new year I am just giving up my desire for a return to ‘normal’ any time soon, and meditating on finding a place of balance amidst the fray.
I know that being creative is one of those things that bring me joy. And no it is not a Kondo kind of ‘sparking of joy’. Rather, it is making a big colorful mess and wallowing in the deep end. That’s what I am doing right now, since I was finally able to get back into my studio. I am finishing a big project in the next 2 weeks, and then continuing and finishing another important project for another show. Any time I go spend a few hours with fabric, I come out with a calm smile and a singing heart.
Over the past 2 years I’ve been kind of beating myself up about not being more creatively productive, which was kind of dumb. I’ve been working long hours the whole pandemic, and I am just now coming up for air. I decided to give myself a break and focus on what I accomplished, rather than all the things I wish I could have done. Can you relate?
So here is my celebration of creativity, in collaboration with several other artists:
“For the Love of Gaia” opened in Lincoln NE (never got to see it), then traveled to Birmingham UK (never got to see it), and on Jan 27 is scheduled to open at the New England Quilt Museum. (I hope to go to the closing reception April 9th) I curated this environmental-themed exhibit, and my quilt “Rocky Mountain Poison” has been acquired by the Intl Quilt Museum, where it will go to live when this show closes.
“A Better World” is opening in a few days at the Visions Art Museum, after traveling to 5 other venues. My quilt celebrating Kathy Price and the Mission of Love is hanging in this show.
My quilt “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” will be in the “Womens Voices, Womens Votes” exhibit opening at the Clinton Presidential Library in late March.
And as you may know, my painted 54″ fiberglass bear “If Mama Bears Ruled the Earth” is in a public art display in Chautauqua Park in Boulder now.
So if you are in San Diego, Lowell Mass, or Boulder, I invite you to see my work along with the beautiful artwork by other talented passionate artists. I’ll let you know the details when the next show opens at the presidential library.
I guess I will cut myself a break and then get back to that short list of things that make me calm and happy. I am going to update that list and tape it up on the wall. That is my list of New Year Resolutions.
…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul
