Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Adieu to Anna

It is a sad post this month.  Our dear Anna has made the momentous decision to leave Loose Threads.  The travel and commitments of her life have moved her in new and exciting directions.  She has been a constant mainstay of our group and will be sorely missed. 

Her talent and dedication over the years has inspired us all and challenged each of us to explore this quilt world in new a unique ways.  Many of her pieces have inspired each of us to try new techniques and to push ourselves in new artistic directions.

Anna, like many of us started as a traditional quilter, and she still creates traditional quilts and teaches others to do the same.  Somewhere along the way she discovered the joy and freedom of the art quilt.  With her background experience in art, art quilts re-awakened that desire and she has studied and explored just about every technique that is employed in the making of art quilts.  And I think that at times these pieces give her the most joy and feeling of fulfilment when it comes to making a quilt.

For an artist, more often then not, it is the process of making a thing that gives us joy.  Even if we do not like the piece when it is finished, or even if we felt frustrated through the entire process,  we still feel the joy in the making.  Anna, to me is that ardent artist; the Explorer.

WE WILL MISS YOU.

She even finished her current challenge ahead of us so that she could leave on a high note.  This piece was inspired by Lesley Cunningham's inspiration board: