Art quilt: Divorce therapy.

Ideating an art project.

“Only love interests me, and I’m only in contact with things I love.” ~ Mark Chagall

I’m working on a small art quilt.  It’s about 12″ x 15″.  I have to start small because I’m trying to learn new techniques, new to me, that is.  The last one I made was 9″ x 12″, I think.  I also used a pattern, loosely, and a video to get the hang of it.  There’s a photo of it in one of my early posts– The pros and cons of being queen. The one I’m working on now will be much more creative, I hope.  Even though I added my own touches to the last one, it was still someone else’s design.  This one will be mine.

I’ve mentioned before that I love fabric and color.  Also, I have been reading/studying/admiring art quilt magazines and books for the past few years.  This is how I do things.  I study and study.  Think and think.  And eventually I decide:  Hey!  I can do that.  I want to do that.  I’m going to do that.

I’ve made quilts before, the traditional patchwork type that Granny used to make.  And I love them.  I still have mental images of my great-granny’s quilts on the beds in her house.  Beautiful.  But for whatever reason, I have reached a stage of life where I don’t like the restrictions of a precision-quilted piece.  Art quilting is free, creative, whimsical, spontaneous.  Just the way I want to be.

I think all of this speaks to who I am today.  The restraints of a marriage and a relationship are gone.  I didn’t want a divorce but I’ve had to accept it anyway.  And now I find that, in my personal life, I don’t want restraints.  I feel free.  I like it.

Here’s my work-in-progress.  I hope it will be a work of art when it’s finished.  I hope I will be, too.  I’ll post the finished quilt.  The finished me will take a bit longer.