Collaborating with Jill

One day my friend JillI texted the painting “Fulfillment / Embrace” by Gustav Klimt. While I was still admiring the painting, she asked if I would be interested in creating a small quilt inspired by the artwork as part of my ongoing Spiral Quilt series. She would give the quilt to her long-time yoga teacher friend. I have long found Klimt’s work interesting and could see that this particular work shares the basic form of my Spiral template; I accepted the challenge.

As we narrowed down fabric options through a long series of texts and photos, Jill became more aware of the aspects of the painting that resonated with her. She remembered experiences with this specific artwork and other artwork by Klimt. She made connections between the artwork and the gift recipient.

Eventually, the final fabric selections conveyed a message of gratitude for her yoga teacher’s calm support through the pandemic and through many years of life transitions and celebrations.

Once the quilt top was assembled, it was time for embellishments. I added beads and yarn embellishments reinforcing the message of appreciation for calm support.

A bolder, cheerful fabric on the back represents years of celebrations, including the quilt-giving event.

Through another round of brainstorming by texts, we settled on a quilt title: “Embrace of Grace.” This draws “Embrace” from the title of the original artwork. “Grace” captures the way that Jill’s friend embraces her and a virtue the friend fosters in Jill during weekly yoga class and annual yoga retreats. Finally, the title reminds me of the grace Jill grants to me and encourages me to embrace as she supports me in my artist journey.

Collaborating with Jill through a stressful time and during grey weather filled our days with the warmth of friendship as well as the warmth of the yellow fabrics. I remembered the joy of creating art inspired by and responding to the artwork of others.  And I learned how much I enjoy collaborating with others to create artwork that helps them visually communicate their message.