Connects us all

I am reminded of when I made this piece in the early part of 2019. I created it for an art exhibit called Eye Contact which was developed by the Sacred Threads leadership team as a bonus to their biennial exhibit that year.

Participants were asked to make a rectangular panel showing just a person’s eyes. In her inspiration statement, the curator, Barbara Hollinger, wrote “We walk through the world with our heads down and our attention focused on daily tasks and distractions.read more

The irony of this exhibit was that a year after we created our pieces, the world shut down. We were all encouraged to mask our faces which left only our eyes showing. We had to re-learn how to interpret the people we met. No longer could you see their smile or read their lips. We discovered that our eyes have much more expression than we imagined. Our eyes are “the window to our soul.” Sadness and worry lingers there. Happiness and laughter sparkles there.

This small quilt traveled far during the last 3 years and is finally home with me. I wish I could peer back through it and see the faces that looked into my fabric eyes. While the quilt traveled the last few years, I’ve learned that looking at someone’s eyes and smiling makes them smile in return. And, as Barbara noted, “That momentary connection when eyes meet reignites the spark of humanity that connects us all.

4 comments

  1. Nanette, I too made eyes for the Eye Contact exhibit and have recently received my piece back after its travels. This was a very meaningful and thought-inducing exhibit and an honor to be included. I loved the bookmark of a column of the eye pieces as a souvenir.

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