Authenticity

I’ve spent the last several days quilting this piece, which I want to enter into a major show. It’s  more than a little daunting and I was struggling with the quilting motifs because this show is known for accepting only the most cutting edge work. I wanted to do something new and different, but it wasn’t happening. After spending an embarrassingly long time beating my head against that particular wall, I realized that I have to create what is in my head and my heart. The work has to be authentic, or it won’t have any soul. Whether my piece gets into this particular show, or another one, or none at all, isn’t really important.   What is important is that my work comes from my authentic self–then I can send it out into the world with confidence. I can’t create according to someone else’s rules, or worse, my idea of what someone else’s rules might be!

Once I got that straight, it was much easier to finish the quilt. I can’t show the entire piece, which is tentatively titled “Wonky Stripes,” because I still plan to enter it into the show and the work for this show can’t have been shown anywhere else before it’s exhibited there. Maybe it will get in and maybe it won’t, but I’m satisfied with what I’ve done and that’s a good thing!