An Artist's Date

This is an article that I have written for our Guild July Newsletter and I thought I would also share it with those who read my blog.

            Don’t you sometimes feel as if you’ve hit a stumbling block in the creative side of your quilting journey?  You can’t decide what color would look great in a particular part of a block or the background you’ve chosen for your appliqué just doesn’t do what you have hoped it would?  We’ve all been there—it just doesn’t FEEL right (and if it doesn’t feel right then . . .well, you know).

            One of the things that has helped me over the years is the book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.  What has really stuck with me is the importance she places on a weekly “art date,” the theory being that when you immerse yourself in some form of art it will refresh your spirit and open yourself to ways in which you can make your own work more enlivened.

            Do I have an “artist’s date” every week?  No—but I try to do that in some way as often as possible.  This past week, three other quilters in our Guild and I spent the day going to each other’s gardens.  The ride to their homes went through pastoral countryside and their gardens were inspiring—both in design and beauty—and humor.  Can you help but smile at this rooster?  The day ended with conversation and a feeling that we had communicated in a way that went beyond words.  And I was  inspired not only to make my own yard a more beautiful place but also I was full of energy to translate the riot of color and texture into a future quilt.  Who knows, there may be a rooster in my quilt future!

Another way to have an “artist’s date” can be a very simple thing.  A week or so ago, I was at Beginnings Quilt Shop for a Quilt Show Wrap Up meeting.  While sitting there, I happened to look up at the wall near me was figuratively knocked in the face with the quilt blocks that were made by Linda Voltz.  The colors she used in those blocks!  It was a real WOW.  My eyes kept going back to them the entire time I was there.  They were so beautiful and that was most definitely an encounter with art.

            So . . .treat yourself to an “artist’s date” whenever you can.  I can guarantee you’ll feel better—and so will your quilts.