Shattered

Alzheimer's is a devastating disease. It was painful for me and my family to watch my grandfather deteriorate. We must find a cure for this horrible disease. -David Hyde Pierce

My mother-in-law, Dorothy, died this morning of complications due to Alzheimer's. Her body forgot how to swallow. We got the news yesterday that she had slipped into a coma so when I heard expressed that she died quickly, it caused me to pause. Dorothy had not known anyone she loved for more than 10 years. With Alzheimer's you loose a person twice. Actually, thinking about it you loose the person you love a million times. My quilt, Shattered, was made in her honor. It's her hands in the middle with her son's, grandson's and my hands reaching out to her in love. She died the death she most feared- the death of her mother. I am just thankful for her that it's over.  

Shattered traveled with the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative's exhibit Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece exhibition for more than three years educating people on Alzheimer's and raising fund for research. Ami Simms, the director of AAQI, has done an incredible job inspiring quiltmakers to donate and purchase quilts to raise money for research. I took the $1,000 Promise and helped raise nearly $1,600.  The AAQI will be coming to an end soon. I remember when Ami called to give me the news. I am happy for her. So August 1 is the last day to donate a quilt. I hope you will join me in making a one or two. It's time to find a cure. Now go hug someone you love. I am.

Life Can Change Quickly

I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbably beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.
-excerpt from "Starlings in Winter" by Mary Oliver

Late this afternoon I got word that my mother-in-law is dying. She has had Alzheimer's for more than 15 years and has not known any of her loved ones for more than 10. She is in hospice, in a coma and cannot swallow. Hopefully her passing will happen quickly. She is dying the death she most feared- the death of her mother.  I decided that I needed to concentrate on something so I decided to make my collage postcards for Postmark'd Art. When I finished, I realized that the cards reflected my mood (grey, yet hopeful) and that art does save. Make sure you hug someone you love tomorrow.

Good News to Share!

I actually have good news to share times two! This has not happened to me in a very long time so I am extremely grateful. First, I entered two pieces into Sacred Threads and both (Glimpses of the Dark Angel and Simpler Times) were accepted. An incredible 231 pieces were accepted. The quilts will be on display at Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., from July 10-28. Wish I could be there. 

Today I got news that for the first time a part of the exhibition (40 pieces) will travel to a gallery, Sunderland Gallery, in Omaha, Nebraska. The exhibition will run for 8 weeks (September 15- November 10). I cannot believe it, both of my pieces will be a part of that exhibition! It is a good day.

No Excuse Approach

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offerings.
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
                                      -Leonard Cohen
 
While I love that spring has finally arrived in all its glory, I have been experiencing terrible allergy problems. The worst I have had in years. Hopefully once all the trees have finished dropping pollen, I will be less fuzzy and congested. Thankfully the crashing sinus headache has lessened. Thanks to everyone who expressed concerns. I definitely feel the pull of blogging again.

I have continued to make 4" x 4" collages. It is a great way to jump start a day. I added ants to this one because I am also suffering through an ant problem in my kitchen. Ack! Looking back through the collages, I can see how I was feeling and/or thinking about when I created them. It has not been easy to experience life with less energy and to put what energy I have into creating something, anything. At my pottery class last night, everyone seemed to be experiencing a lack of attention or frustration. Is it something in the air? My plan was to make boxes but after the first one, I switched to making a mask. Mission accomplished! I was focused and successful. I felt much better and went home happy. The "no excuse" approach to creating is working! Off to make some more art. Do you create something everyday?

Courage, Fear, Growth, Friendship

Courage is resistance to feat, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.  -Mark Twain

During a conversation with my friend, Marie, I was suddenly struck with the thought "I want to be a better person. I want to be the person others see when they look at me." I remember years ago hearing someone say, "Friendships that work are relationships in which women help each other to belong to themselves." Fortunately for me, I am blessed with friends that are doing exactly that.

Being in the different groups which I belong is definitely helping me as an artist. ClaySpace is a huge factor in this too. I am learning something new, pushing myself to create outside my comfort zone. The funny thing about a comfort zone is the more you stretch it, the more it grows. My interview to become a resident artist went better than I could have imagined and now I am on the waiting list. My sketch book is growing with ideas on how to combine fiber/quilts and clay. Leaves are being to pop out on the trees and even in my fuzzy allergy state, my heart sings! I feel I am truly living a creative life. How about you?

4 x 4 Collage Addiction

Nature doesn't move in a straight line, and as part of nature, neither do we. -Gloria Steinem

I can certainly understand how making small collages can jump start one's creativity. While I have considered making a collage a day like Karen Stiehl Osborn, it was until my friend Jill suggested  making 4" x 4" collages for a heArtist Trading Cards side trade that it all came together for me. Now I am addicted! Making them is also helping me use up "bits."

My friend Barbara and I joke often about our ever growing boxes of bits. This comes from a story I have told about helping a friend go through her mother's quilt supplies after she died. We came across a box labeled "bits too small to use." My friend lived in a small apartment with limited space and yet I watched her struggle to let go of that box.  I do not want to become a person that cannot let things go. It has been a process for me. Last night at Hannah's opening at ClaySpace, there was a discussion about being able to let things go. Some people were good at it and others not so much. I remember a time when letting things go was tough for me too. There is a story, History Returned,  in my book about a quilt returned to the place where it was made. Arline Crowley shared that she heard that when people get older, they want to simplify there lives. She didn't think it would ever happen to her, but it did. One of things that I struggle with is how to balance the need for simplicity with my need to have stuff around so I can create.

So the questions for today are: 1. Do you have a daily creative ritual and if so, what is it? 2. Is it easy for you to let things go?

Progress

While I am making progress, I do not have a clear vision on how to finish which is getting frustrating.  "Look Deeper" has not been sewn down as I am not sure if those are the words I want to use. "Look Deeper" is from a photograph taken while standing in line to get into MOMA in San Francisco. I looked down an alley and there were the words on a door.Anyway, I want to get this done soon so I can begin working on the discharged feather on black. Thoughts? Is it time to just stick a fork in it and call it done?

Once again participating in Nina- Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Fridays.