Good things will come

I am in the last 4 weeks of preparing for an art exhibit. I’m showing with 4 very different style of artists. I’m the only textile artist. I’ve planned things so October would be less about creating and more about getting everything ready to hang. Some things need to be framed, some mounted on stretched canvas, and some need the traditional quilt sleeve and hanging rod. I feel good about my timing of things, but there is still a lot to do. As they say, “slow and steady wins the race.”

That’s life sometimes, isn’t it? You just have to continue showing up and do what you can. Last year seemed pretty slow for me, but this year I’m constantly surprised when I get a notice that something I did months ago is finally ready for sharing.

One of those things is the book “Stitched Journeys with Birds” by Martha Sielman. I don’t remember exactly when I sent her pictures of my artwork to consider for the book. But, I do remember she accepted my contributions and promised to include them.

Now to be truthful, I didn’t really know what kind of book she envisioned. All I knew was it was about birds and I wanted to be a part of it. Holy moly! When I received the book this week, I was more than proud to be a part of this beautiful publication. This book is partly arranged like a bird identification book with all the images of similar species grouped together. The “birder” in me is greatly impressed.

It is also a marvelous book about art quilts, featuring stories of some of the premier art quilters of our times. As a book lover, I also just want to touch it. The paper quality reminds me of a fine, old-time coffee table book. The paper and book cover feels so lovely, I keep finding myself petting it. I’m a lucky artist to be included in this book and it reminds me to just keep trying. Good things will come.