Insight

Insight is my first art quilt that is completely my own. No teacher to guide me. It isn't even loosely based on a pattern. I recall the pride in each new step I took along the way as though it were yesterday and twenty-one years ago.

The original plan was to create an underwater coral reef with a couple of tropical fish swimming through. That is where I began. While creating the coral reef it occurred to me how much more interesting it would be to set the scene in Atlantis. Why not use an ancient temple as the frame or border? This required hunting down fabric suggestive of marble and a way to support the quilt from the backside.

While making Insight I was participating in an online quilting discussion group that was working together on The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. Cameron recommends starting each day with a written stream of conscientiousness she dubs morning pages. I came up with the title during one of morning pages sessions.

Insight gave me the first heady experience of diving into a piece with only a general concept and trusting my instinct to let the piece expand with each new idea. I am just as excited today as I was in 1995 to listen to the artwork watch it reveal itself.