The Life Story Quilt Exhibit
The Very Special Arts for Nebraska organized the Life Story Quilts Project. It was a year long project that involved eight organizations with a total of 140 individuals creating life story quilts. Each artist was able to quilt a design into a circular piece of quilting and add paint, pictures, stickers, string, or anything else they wanted to portray his/her life story. This activity allowed these individuals to create something beautiful that was an expression of their journey through life.
The Life Story Quilt exhibit displayed at the Playhouse was fascinating. It was interesting to look at an individual quilt and learn so much about the artist through the pictures, words, and colors displayed. Each quilt was uniquely beautiful. There was also a video of the project playing with the display. Watching the video was very encouraging to me. It was so refreshing to see a project honoring people with disabilities and allowing them to create a meaningful piece of art. In the video, several of the participants shared about their experience of creating a life story quilt. Each artist shown was very proud of their work and very pleased with the project as a whole. A few of my favorite quotes from the participants in the film were:
“It makes me happy. It makes me thrilled and proud that I can achieve something.”
“It meant a lot to me because I can show my emotions.”
“I was shocked that I was going to make something that really meant something to me."
After leaving the exhibit, it was fun to imagine how the activity of creating a life quilt could be incorporated into practice some day. I think there are several scenarios where quilt making could be beneficial to the client. Creating these life story quilts would be very client-centered for individuals who are interested. The entire project revolves around the client’s own personal experiences. Through participating in this project I can envision many skills being enhanced including fine motor coordination and precision and social skills. This activity could also be used as a creative way for a client to share about what is important and meaningful to his/her life. For many clients looking for meaningful ways to fill time throughout the day, this skill could be used to make quilts for family and friends. An article by Howell and Pierce (2000) explains that importance of the restorative dimension involved with quilting. These authors suggest that individuals involved with quilting may experience flow, or the state of being totally absorbed with an occupation so much that time seems to go by more quickly (Howell & Pierce, 2000).
This experience reinforced the unique therapeutic power that creativity has on certain individuals. Being enabled to create something meaningful can be a freeing and wonderful experience for people with disabilities. Art has no limits and guidelines; it is simply a personal expression of the artist.
References
Delinea Design. (2007). Life story quilt project [DVD]. Omaha, NE: Delinia Design.
Howell, D. & Pierce, D. (2000). Exploring the forgotten restorative dimension of occupation: Quilting
and quilt use. Journal of Occupational Science, 7, 68-72.
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