Creativity is something that is innate in each one of us, just by nature of us being alive.  We naturally create our lives by thinking our thoughts.  The thoughts you are having right now are creating your future.  We each have unique characteristics and abilities.  We are attracted to certain people and activities—some like to cook, some like to write and some like to make quilts or paint!  Scientists are creative in a different way.  I like art!! And fabric!  And paint!

Being in touch with our creativity is healing because we are connecting with and expressing our innate nature.  There are layers of ideas and expressions within us, and when we choose to take action (as in making an art quilt) and make an idea real, we give ourselves and others a gift of revealing a little bit more of who we are.

To me, there is a Spiritual side to being creative.  I like to meditate, go within and allow the feelings and thoughts to come to the surface.  I use a journal to write and to release any unfinished business.  Underneath this is a plethora of ideas for art quilts—and sometimes the problems and/or wonders of life provide me with ideas for the work. Other tools of creativity are light and dark, static and dynamic forms, curved and straight lines, complementary colors, small and large forms, peaceful areas, chaotic areas; lots of opposing forces make for interesting works of art.

With the quilt medium and with art quilts fabric has so much meaning—it is so very basic to our lives—we wear it, sleep under it, protect ourselves with it, decorate ourselves with it.  We express ourselves with fabric in many ways, so fabric and quilt making are a perfect art form.  I like that we can incorporate a variety of other materials such as paint, printing, beads, buttons, thread, and unconventional materials such as sheet metal, plastic or even junk found objects to make our art quilts.

So, really our ideas and images can come from within us and we have access to many outer things to help us with the expression of our ideas, which helps us in our connection to others as well as theirs to us.  We begin to share ideas, thoughts, images, materials, concepts and we become further aware of our connection to the larger “fabric” of life. 

Being creative is an adventure; it is a process of risk taking and excitement!  It is a way of standing up for your self, taking charge and taking ownership of who you are.  There can be some fear in the way of having wonderful creative experiences, but “facing the fear and doing it anyway” is a way of having a lot of fun in life.  Also, taking just one baby step at a time, being gentle with yourself and having the courage to allow yourself to be your own unique creative self, in spite of the opinions of others, realizing that you (and your artwork) are a “work in progress”—this is something to keep in mind!  Happy Art Quilting and Be Creageous!!