This week on Sept 2nd I will be giving a power point lecture at the Dairy Barn in Athens Ohio. If you haven’t seen the Quilt National exhibit yet, please join me and stay for the exhibit before it closes on Labor Day.
I am writing to you this week from a church lobby (with wifi!) where Sophie is auditioning for the Boulder Youth Orchestra. A young man is practicing on the grand piano in the sanctuary. As parents and their musical kids arrive, I am saying hi to families we know from summer music camps. What a lovely ambiance! The organization’s director has just returned from Japan. His mother-in-law is a quilter there. What a small world! Of course I told him I’ll be going to Japan in January for the Tokyo Quilt Festival.
Sophie has been practicing like mad for this audition, but it really started this summer when she went to a high level (intense!) music camp up in the mountains for 2 weeks. She came back a new young lady! There is something about immersing yourself in a focused intensive with like-minded people, that can really awaken a passion and motivation. Sam is going through the same thing in his first week as a music performance major at CU Boulder. It is very exciting to see them waking up to their potential.
The reason I share this is because it reminds me so much of what we do as quilters and creative people. We go to a retreat and “play” with an inspiring teacher and enthusiastic peers. Then maybe we aspire to entering in a show that is at a higher level than what we’ve done before. After we achieve that stepping stone, we begin to dream that we should shoot for the stars. We start to imagine the excitement of winning an award, having our work published or in a gallery, maybe someday having a piece in a museum, then speaking in public about our work, writing a book, teaching other enthusiastic students.
What is the next step for you? Dream big!
Once Sophie gets into the orchestra, next she will have a month to prepare for the seat placement audition. No matter how that goes, I know it will lead to the next step on the rung of her expressive ladder. Whether we express ourselves visually, musically, through writing or dance, every accomplishment leads to new levels of curiosity, discovery and wonder.
May your journey be wondrous!
Share Post:
