Don't Squash that Creativity!

Don’t squash that creativity!

I remember in the 8^th grade my art teacher told me to never go for a job that had anything to do with drawing because I was pretty bad at it.  WOW! What a thing for a teacher to say to a 13 year old.

I was heartbroken.  I had been drawing since I could pick up a pencil.  I remember drawing scenes of horses running in the wind.  I would draw lovely ladies in elegant dresses and I would design floor plans for my dream house.  I don’t remember doodling, but I did draw all the time.

I did not pursue any art classes in school after that.  She was a teacher!  She must have been right…

Flash forward to my early 20’s and I still drew.  I was obsessed.  My sister signed me up for art classes at a local college because of my unhappiness at not being able to satisfy what I was trying to achieve.  One thing I learned in the college level art class was how to finish something.

I have had a life lesson of art.  It isn’t how well you can draw; it is what you do with your God given talent.

Quilting is just one more art class in my life.  There is so much more to creativity than just being an artist.  I was asked once why I was making one more afghan.  Why did I need to make it?  I need only  one to keep warm.  That person was a stifler.  She managed to make me feel like my 8^th grade art teacher had made me feel and I fell for her negative remark.  I moved on to another art form.

Today as a quilter, if that stifler were to mention that I only need one quilt to keep warm, I would laugh at her.  I don’t “need” any of the quilts I make.  What I need is a way to express myself.  Quilting is my expression.

I make quilts for the love of it.  For the love I feel when I give them to someone and for the sheer joy of creating.  If something so simple can please me and make me feel this good, it’s too bad I don’t know how to put it in a bottle and sell it.  I would be rich in more than just joy.