Happy New Year!

Sunshine Garden – Fused, painted and quilted fabric  30”x24” – SOLD

I recently took a week-long art quilt workshop from Sue Benner (a wonderful improv quilter).  She had us make a 20” x 30” “ugly background”.  We were to use fabrics we thought were ugly or did not go together.  Here is mine.

The class voted my background “Most Garish”.  I was so proud!

Sue asked us to add layers of fused fabric and fabric paint on top of this ugly background. Her theory was that if we had made pretty backgrounds, we wouldn’t want to put things over it.  I looked at all that red and started fusing sunbeams from the top.  The fused leaves grew from the bottom.  I added green and gold paint.  Before I knew it, I had a garden unlike anything I had made before. That ugly background came through as bright and interesting (and maybe a little garish).  It added movement and fun to my garden.   

As we look forward into a new year, it is hard to avoid looking back.  The new year is, after all, going to be built on the past.  We are going to add new layers.  The failures, frustrations, sadness and concerns of our past don’t go away.  But they don’t keep us from adding new layers that turn our ugly past into a fun and interesting present.

May your 2025 be filled with new layers of beauty.

Happy New Year.

Joy