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Quilt Away Grief and Anger
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October is Emotional Awareness Month
We all have emotions. Some of us bottle them up, which is the least healthy thing to do, and some of us try to deal with them in various ways. Some emotions – the negative ones especially – often don’t just resolve on their own. Anger, grief, sadness, and frustration can take a toll on your physical and mental health and they tend to linger longer than we’d like them to.
Many quilters I’ve spoken to use their art as a way to resolve and erase their negative emotions. They have created quilts while crying over a lost loved one or a failed relationship, expressing their grief and sadness visually in whatever way seemed best to them. (There is no right or wrong in quilting, especially when you are making a quilt based on raw emotion.)
Putting your grief into a quilt can help get it out of your head, out of your heart and into a concrete form where you can look at it, maybe learn from it, or at least not have it hurt quite so much. You can even give it away.
Anger and frustration are powerful emotions and they can sometimes be soothed by the familiar and repetitive motions of quilting. On the other hand, you may want to revel in your anger for awhile. It can be energizing and creating a work of art while in the throes of fury can lend life and vitality to your creation. The colors, shapes, and embellishments you choose can all serve as your voice as you yell and scream (visually) in your quilt. (And if you’re truly angry, you can always set fire to the quilt when you’re done or slice it to shreds to work out your frustration.)
Whatever you are feeling is going to come out in your art anyway. You may as well make a conscious decision to put it there in all its wonderful, awful glory. Especially with negative emotions – it’s better out than in, especially if “out” it creates a work of art that will touch viewers and provide solace to its maker.
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