I’ve been thinking a lot about color lately about it’s value in quilt making. I’d like to say that color is everything in quilt making however it really depends on the style of the quilt. If you happen to be making a whole cloth in something of a tone-on-tone style then a lack of color is of prime importance.
@play (pictured above left), Twilight in the Bronx, and Moon Over Manhattan come to mind when I begin thinking about color as the backgrounds are wildly different, as is the quilting. These are kind of obvious choices when thinking about how to use color differently. Then It’s Bigger Than I Thought nudges me to remember that the choices I made on this quilt weren’t the expected, I used a variegated brown for the quilting. Because of the color used for piecing the quilt there isn’t an obvious choice of a color for the quilting to go into the background. And interestingly enough when looking at the quilt from a distance the quilting does kind of blend in, but not so much.
The value of color, of how we use color in our quilts can not be underestimated. The thing is while there are theories and rules we get to use color as a tool however we choose. We get to use color in ways that are not conventional or not currently in vogue. We get to do what we like. We get to exercise our creativity freely, without reservation.
This morning prior to beginning this post I read this post on God’s Grace and Mom’s Alzheimer’s. I’ve been reading Cheryl’s posts for quite a while now and glean something every time. Cheryl speaks of life, life changes and knowing our value as well loved children of our heavenly Father. We need to know this value, to embrace this value deeply. God created each one of us as His Child. Our value doesn’t rest in how good we are as a quilter, how good we are at making food, and home keeping, or aerospace. Those are values that come from without, that are placed on us from the outside.
Sometimes when I sit down to write I get distracted by shiny things like emails and reminders of work related things, or twitter. This morning proved to be no different. an amazing post by an artist I follow on linked in speaking of domesticating our creative thoughts, suppressing them, taming them. When we free our creativity from worry and anxiety and the in-built shame that it’s not good enough then we can get down to work. Then I saw this post by Fr. Joe remembering that the worrying that popped up last night needs to be given to God. While there seems to be good reason to worry, God knows the source of the worry and in my giving it to him I am free to do the work I’m given in the writing, in the sales, in the quilt making, in the being a _______________.
The question of personal value is one that crops up from time to time. These reminders all showed up in less than 24 hours. Reminders are good. And there are reminders going up on the studio wall this morning. Reminders to live, be present, to create with reckless abandon, to know that my value rests not in what I do but that I am a well-loved child of God.
God bless,
Teri
A Quilter's Heart 