Many years ago I made what was then called a jazz jacket. I remember choosing fabrics that really spoke to my creative muse. I remember learning and creating a variety of interesting designs with those fabrics. Then I put all the building blocks together to make the jacket. I wore that jacket a couple of times, but never cared for it. The jacket design itself wasn’t pleasing to me. I gave it to my mom to wear, and that made her happy. She’s been gone, now, for about ten years, but the jacket lived on in the back of the closet. One day that jacket called out to me. I cut off the sleeves, shaped it differently, and turned it into a vest, which I really like to wear now. But now there’s the sleeves, plus some extra material that never made it into the jacket. Those bits and pieces were still beautiful, and I decided to try something different. This is what you see.
But that’s not the real story I want to share. While I was working on it, I decided I wanted to add some random couching, which required handwork. There’s a meditative rhythm to that kind of work. As I was couching the wandering purple yarn it came to me that I was creating a path of shattered dreams. My guide appeared and we walked that path together. At one point we knelt down and touched those shattered dreams and wept. But after a bit my guide rose, held out her hand to me to help me stand up, and whispered a new message. She pointed to the small blocks and reminded me that they are still beautiful, and I could look at them as building blocks for another dream, a dream that the older and wiser version of me could create.
And then she left.
It’s not really about the jacket, you know. The jacket is just a reminder of dreams that will now be reconfigured. My guide’s appearance at this time nurtures my desire to keep dreaming and creating. Especially now.
10" x 26'
10" x 26'
