I belong to Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA). SAQA provides outlets for members to display their Art Quilts in various venues. In the spring of 2020, SAQA had a call for entries for a book being written by Sandra Sider. I applied and “Pathways” was chosen to be included in the book “Quarantine Quilts: Creativity in the Midst of Chaos.” I am humbled and honored to showcase my art along with 96 other art quilters around the world.
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Quarantine Quilts: Creativity in the Midst of Chaos
Learn how our creative development is shaped by experiences that isolate us from other people. The insightful words of 97 contemporary quilt artists combine with evocative photos of their quarantine creations during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first months. Giving us a fascinating perspective, these visual and personal stories of concerns, despair, and ideas can help connect our own experiences with pandemic to the larger world of creativity. Topics include Coronavirus Circling the Globe; Home Is Where the Art Is; Be Smart, Be Vigilant; Pandemic Patterns; Pandemic Landscapes; and Politics and Protest. Learn from makers’ notes, their reactions to and experiences with COVID-19, and the visual results of creators’ new ways of thinking.
My artist statement for my quilt, “Pathways”, as seen in “Quarantine Quilts: Creativity in the midst of chaos.”.
Fear and sadness gripped me when the United States first began learning about the Coronavirus. The uncertainty surrounding the virus was omnipresent. May I hug my grandchildren, speak to my friends while sitting in our backyard, or touch the fruits and vegetables at the grocery store? Making fiber art is my calming salve. I pulled out fabrics, cut individual hexagons and English Paper Pieced them. Each pull of the needle and thread helping to calm the fear and sadness. Using a piece of hand dyed indigo my friend Jo Matthias made for me, I started placing the hexagons on the calm blue sea. Moving the hexagons into a pleasing pattern I realized I was making pathways. Pathways to a place unknown. Between the hexagon paths I found secret stars. The reminder that even in the midst of chaos there is good. Creating different pathways in the side borders, as well as the diagonal quilting, reinforced my understanding that there are many ways to get to a safe place. A safe place is a state of mind as well as a journey. A journey on a pathway previously undiscovered.
“Pathways” by Geneva Carroll July 2020