Joy in the Making

"TYPE" pincushion by designsmayamade

Thank you, once again, for all of the supportive comments on my “Heroine” post. I really needed a fresh set of eyes with which to view my work, and your comments helped me to do that. I feel like you all gave me a well-needed attitude adjustment.

I tried out several new techniques and approaches in that little fairy tale art quilt, and I’m glad that I stretched myself. I loved the thinking and making of the piece, and maybe I will grow to love it just for that reason—that what I carry around in my heart, mind, and hands got transferred to that piece, and I should cherish it as such.

Driving past a lovely creek this morning, enlivened by snowmelt, I noticed that there were areas of calm water along the stream, broken up a little farther down by water rapidly swirling over rocks, and even an area of water that was somehow eddying against the flow. Those rocks—perhaps challenges in a creative journey?—sure made that water do some exciting things, and what an astonishing sight that was to see the water in violent ripples, determined to go against the flow. I’m holding this metaphor in my mind as I flow along my own creative river.

And, here are some words of wisdom from Lesley Riley’s Quilted Memories; Journaling, Scrapbooking and Creating Keepsakes with Fabric (2005):

Just because it doesn’t look the way you thought it would does not mean it isn’t any good.
Don’t be so critical of your own work. Don’t spend time fussing and fretting, just finish and go on to the next project. This was actually a valuable lesson my daughter taught me when she was two years old. I watched her draw (scribble) picture after picture without ever stopping to judge, criticize, or ask my opinion. It was obvious the joy was in the making, not the product. I have realized that with quantity you get quality.

I’ve moved on to my next project, and what an amazing experience it has been making baby caps for Soulemama’s Caps to Cap-Haitien project. To make the baby caps, I used t-shirts that my own children had worn, and I just felt this wonderful feeling of connection between me and my kids and the babies who would be warmed by these caps. Thank you, Amanda, for organizing this project and connecting souls separated by thousands of miles and an ocean of cultural differences.

The whole time that I was sewing I was humming the song, “With My Own Two Hands.” Although it seems like an insignificant thing to make one or a dozen caps and a couple of blankets, what a difference it will make to a baby who arrives in this world underweight and facing long odds of survival. If nothing else, perhaps that little cap will give his or her mama hope and that same feeling of connection that I felt when I made them with my own two hands—that we are all connected in this world and together we can craft new possibilities for our children.

And just one last song to hold in your heart:

“Same Rain”
By Sam Phillips

went to the sun it was too hot
i went to the moon it was too cold
went to the mountain it was too young
went to the ocean it was too old

is it the same rain that falls on a holy man
is it the same rain that falls on a liar's hand
is it the same rain that falls on me

i knew a man a refugee survival was his art
all that he held valuable he carried in his heart

is it the same rain that falls on the mountain's face
is it the same rain that falls on the prison gate
is it the same rain that falls on me

all the money in the world
all the power it can buy
will not take your voice away
cannot own what you hold inside

is it the same rain that falls on a poor man's room
is it the same rain that falls on a rich man's tomb
is it the same rain that falls on me
*****

Yes, it is the same rain that falls on all of us—and it’s a fertile mixture of challenge and opportunity for growth and connection.