Christine Predd: When Inspiration Sources Unite

An inspirational article by my guest blogger – Christine Predd

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When Inspiration Sources Unite

I recently made an art quilt that I realized came together due to three different sources of inspiration. 

First,  I had a piece of hand dyed/painted fabric that reminded me of barbed wire.  I had made these brown crosses randomly on this piece, and that’s all I could think about:  barbed wire.

Second,  in my daily walks here in Florida I began to encounter what seemed to be a homeless man walking along the same streets I was walking.   I saw him over a period of  several days at least three times.  He was obviously out of place as I could tell by his clothing and physical hygiene.  It made me sad.  I wanted to do something but didn’t know what. 

Third, one day  while walking I was listening to music from Simon and Garfunkel,  a 60′s group that you may recall.  The song entitled “Boxer”  has a line that just stood out to me………”where the ragged people go”.   

One day, it seemed all of these forces met, although I didn’t know it at the time.  Here’s the quilt I made entitled ”Where the Ragged People Go” (18″ x 13″).    

I had the background completed for about a week or so, and put it away as unfinished.  Then one day I realized I needed to add the ragged people, and the figures were added to complete this quilt. 

All of the fabrics in this piece are made by me.   I guess it was a good way for me to get these experiences out of my system and onto cloth.  Instead of thinking of this as a dark piece, I hope we can all think of this as a piece of awareness of the world around us.   It wasn’t until I finished the piece that I realized the three inspiration sources that collided to cause me to put my hands to work to express the thoughts in my mind.  May it happen for you!

About Christine

Christine Predd has been quilting since 1986, and began art quilting in 2001. She lives in Indiana half the year, and on Anna Maria Island in Florida the other half. Her blog “Quilting on the Edge” can be viewed at http://www.christinepredd.com, where she writes regular commentary on her creative experiences, and sometimes makes small quilts to accompany her writings.