Helen Kelley | loose threads

Declaration
of
Independence

Driving in the light of dawn, I watched the edges of the road for deer that might dart in front of my car. Instead, a fluttering of wings caught my eye, and I saw an enormous bird, dipping and dancing as it rode the air currents above the pines and birches. Suddenly, the mighty eagle dove and soared beside me, and I held my breath as our eyes met. All that power––all that freedom!

That moment of awe stayed with me as I arrived at the quilt show. The quilt display was enormous; row after row filled with color, imagination, and skill. Each multipieced quilt was a wonder, a triumph in perfection and endurance. Composed of complex compass points, Flying Geese, or marvelous tiny squares with corners meeting perfectly, these quilts symbolized achievement and pride. Some appeared to have a hidden light, glowing from within, while some simply danced. As I wandered from quilt to quilt, I recognized another element in many. The most remarkable quilts were like none I had ever seen.

These quilts happened inside the maker's head, born of his or her inspiration, created with the need to explore, try new things, and take risks. To make quilts like these, we need to flex our wings, gather our courage, and take that long, soaring first solo flight. We need to fly away from classes and kits and magazine pictures, away from the ideas other people teach us, and into uncharted territory. As we declare our independence and experiment, we learn new techniques and discover what our hands and brains do best. More importantly, we learn what makes us happiest.

Creativity is something each of us carries, a spark deep inside. My personal theory is that the best creation is the result of an error. Each mistake forces us to step out of our planned path and dig deep to creatively cope with the new challenge and to make something beautiful out of the blunder. Quilters are not alone in the art of creative repair. Look at art books, and you'll see the sketches famous artists drew to begin their work; however, you may also see the x-ray pictures of their paintings that show erasures, overpainting, new elements, or changed positions. Whenever I make a mistake, I despair, and then, I repair. Creative embellishments, such as applique and embroidery, are my trusted companions, turning my fault into a triumph.

Helen Kelley is a quiltmaker, lecturer, author, and teacher from Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can visit Helen on the Internet at her website www.helenkelley- patchworks.com or email Helen at this address: helen@helenkelley- patchworks.com.

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How will friends, family, and most of all, quilt-show judges view my effort? What opinions will they express? When the comments on the judging slips are good, I love it; if the comments are not, I am sad. Having a judge love your quilt is very nice, but I remind myself that the main reason I quilt is because of the enormous satisfaction I gain from discovering new possibilities. I delight in handling fabrics, stitching, and playing with my ideas. The joy of quiltmaking comes first from experimenting, and then from the surprising results.

All of the quilts at the show were masterpieces, crafted with love, talent, and enormous investments of time. Every one of the quilts flew high, but some flew just a bit higher than those surrounding them. Nestled into each display were these unique quilts, the ones on which the quiltmaker tried something unexpected, original, or perhaps even daring. Doing something different requires curiosity, faith in ourselves, and above all, courage. While learning, we flutter like little birds, finding our strengths and talents, but when at last we declare our independence, we soar like an eagle.

©HK 2007