I mean in a very literal sense: what are you facing? Glance up from the screen. What's in front of you? Perhaps if you're on a laptop or on your phone what's in front of you isn't something you would normally choose. But if, like me right now, you're in a 'fixed' place on a computer what you're facing becomes important. Very important. You see it all the time. My computer is in my studio. Studio. That sounds posh and lofty but that really is what it is...a spare room in the house, for me the heartbeat of the home...but my studio, where I create art in whatever form it may be: writing or painting or collaging. Facing me on the wall is a gorgeous handmade quilted wallhanging from my extremely talented and treasured friend Linda in BC. She couldn't decide on a single title for it so she wrote two titles on the back: 'Bugs in a Jar' and 'Pickled Bugs.' When she sent me it, I laughed. Those VW bugs! We share a love of VW bugs. When we met in university, we both drove VW bugs--mine baby blue, hers fire enginge red. So I loved that link, that material and her indecision on titling it. But the colours unsettled me a little. Not my colours. And that border! Crazy! Linda had been taking a class of a quilt block a month and she always made two. One for me and one for her. But this wallhanging was much bigger than the others. I don't remember exactly when I received it. She wrote on the back Sept. 2001 so at the latest it would have been Christmas of that year. September 2001. What a time to welcome something so fun into my home. Of course I loved the quilt, the gift and the memory despite my qualms with its border and colours. I hung it prominently in our front hallway so we would see it leaving home and arriving back. Both times to armour and disarmour with love and smiles. But as soon as I claimed this space as my studio, the wallhanging migrated to the wall in front of my computer. It fit so completely in so many ways. As I create and pause for inspiration, there it is with its quirkiness. Its border material of bright almost handpainted lines shimmers in the light. The playfulness of the material and of Linda's take on it never fails to lift my heart. The love stitched in it, the understanding, support and friendship through all the years...I see and feel it all. Be willing to take risks, move beyond what is usual, embrace new ways of viewing things, be playful, know you are loved, its presence reminds me. All good things to face. May your spirit be light today.
7 Comments
Lisa
4/27/2021 02:13:46 pm
Loving the names your friend gave the quilt. What an amazing way to honor and affirm your friendship through the years. When I glance up, I see the frame from my children's crib that hangs in my studio and is filled with bits and pieces, ephemera, photos and doodads that inspire me daily.
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Bugs in a jar! How cute! Right now, due to some internal moving of stuff, I am facing a window over the street and the neighbours are mowing the lawn. Too early for me to listen to that disturbing my calm lol but still, I can enjoy the light and see the sky moving (rain coming) and drink my coffee and read blogs.
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Kimi
4/28/2021 07:51:30 am
What a beautiful.... well everything! So lovely to have it in memory of your friendship and experiences as well as the reminder of inspiration!
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Cheryl Turtlemoon
4/28/2021 10:50:27 am
What a great quilt! And love sown into every stitch! It’s fun, too!
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AuthorWelcome! I'm Sue Blott: a writer of all things, a poet at heart, mom, wife, daughter, step-mom, grandma, tea drinker, tai chi-er, mystic, artist, dreamer...and now a blogger! This is my world. Categories |