Act out a little more

I’ve been feeling uneasy lately. There’s a lot of changes happening these days, I sometimes feel disoriented. My problem is I’m not sure how to deal with the things that are bothering me. Life frequently is out of our control. Do you speak-up, act out, or just move on?

I was faced with some challenges growing up, but overall I can’t complain. My life has been generally good and I’ve never been without basic needs (food, water or shelter). I was recently reminded, not everyone is so fortunate.

In April, I was at the SAQA conference in San Jose, California. One of the presentations was given by members of the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA). The founder of SJSA is Sara Trail. Ironically, I was a technical editor for Sara’s first book she wrote when she was 13 (“Sew with Sara”). I felt immediately connected to Sara because I knew her from the book. As she spoke, I became even more connected by what she had to say.

Sara and the other presenters discussed their involvement in SJSA and how they empowered youth to express their concerns through textile art. These young people are living daily with social injustice that I never experienced. And, they are making quilt blocks and art quilts that visually tell the stories of what’s bothering them.

Many of these issues fire me up and that’s where I struggle on dealing with it all. Do I just move on and ignore it, speak-up and take the heat, or act out and become visible? What impresses me about SJSA is that the youth are acting out in a very creative and visible ways. Art has always been a method to make a statement.

During the meeting, I found out that SJSA was looking for experienced embroiders to stitch down the fabric pieces in the quilt  blocks the youth created. I volunteered and was quickly sent my first project (pictured here). Unfortunately, I didn’t receive the young person’s intended message, but I did see a powerful statement of strength. Through this inspiration, maybe it’s time act out a little more.