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I Stand On
Her Shoulders
Mother’s Hand: Magic
Mother’s Hand: Burnt Out
The Story Behind The Quilts
As the mother of a newborn and two-year old, and the wife of a husband who travelled extensively, I was not a happy woman. I had consciously given up all of my personal career goals to have children and stay at home with them. It was my own decision and deep down I knew it was right, but things were harder than I had expected. I felt I had no identity outside of motherhood and that felt more like being an underpaid maid than anything noble. I felt lost. A good dose of continual exhaustion and post-partum depression probably didn’t help matters.
At the time I belonged to a traditional quilt bee and had just discovered an internet mail list called “Quilt-Art.” A lively discussion led by Ruth Reynolds, the creator of “Riva” resulted in the “Apron Challenge,” an exhibit that toured for several years. I had just been to a large regional quilt show for the first time and seen my first art quilts ... something of an epiphany ... who knew quilts could do that!? I decided to jump in and join the challenge.
In for a penny in for a pound. I dyed my first fabric, did my first photo-transfer, made my first original design, constructed my first art quilt. Struggling through all those “who am I as a mother” issues went right along with the creation of the apron. It took some doing but finally accepting all those domestic chores of motherhood as worthwhile was a turning point. The repeated picture of my fourth-great-grandmother carrying potatoes in from the garden is my aknowlegement that I owe a great deal to those women whom the world does not appreciate. The quote by C. S. Lewis saying that “The Homemakers is the job for which all others exist” was exactly what I needed to hear at the time. After the apron was done traveling with the challenge I decided to add those words to the quilt itself rather than just quote them in the artist’s statement. This piece lives on my kitchen wall, reminding me on a daily basis that what I do is worthwhile. Click on the Mother’s Hand quilt to read their stories... just a continuation of the many ups and downs of life as a mother and the struggle for identity in a culture that does not always value and reward what I do every day.
Now I have five children. The demands on my time continue to grow. There is often little time for art. Although I have settled into my role as a mother, and am happy, I still need almost daily reminders that the difficult job I am doing is worthwhile. My latest quilt in the “motherhood” vein does just that. The following quote by Niel A. Maxwell is taped to the wall by my sewing machine. It reminds me every day of what my true priorities are.
"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this."