A Worthy Accomplishment at the Sacred Threads exhibit, 2017
Sacred Threads exhibits quilts about spirituality, joy, grief, healing, peace, and inspiration, every two years. A Worthy Accomplishment joined the show in 2017, and I introduced the piece with a story about a friend:
At an exhibit of her art, a friend received many positive comments. She found them difficult to accept, but afterwards she told me, “I finally feel worthy.” This quilt was inspired by her and other smart, kind, and accomplished people who, for some reason, feel unworthy. I posted about this project on social media, using the tag #youareworthy. Who else might be using this hashtag? I followed the link to learn about how realizing and accepting that “you are worthy” are steps in a healing process. We are all worthy of good health, recovery from addiction, supportive relationships, and praise.
The Sacred Threads staff asked artists to record a one-minute explanation of their work. That was fun and unusual. I had to re-record several times to fit everything I wanted to say into one minute. Totally worth it!
The odd capitalization was to remind me which words to emphasize when I was speaking. It’s a useful tool for scripting the talks and workshops I give.
Hi. I’m Suzann Thompson, talking to you from rural Texas.
I’ve met a startling number of people who feel unworthy.
I think our culture feeds this perception. As a society, we seem to admire enormous wealth and power. We marvel at technology. And then we go to the movies and see heroes swooping in to save the world!
Those are BIG, IMPORTANT things.
My quilt, A Worthy Accomplishment, draws attention to the SMALL important things that most of us do every day. We take care of ourselves and others, work at home or away. We are kind and thoughtful. And sometimes, we take time to make something, like a delicious meal or a quilt.
We probably won’t become famous or rich for doing these things, but I think they are worthy accomplishments and because we do them, WE ARE worthy. I hope you think so, too.
More About A Worthy Accomplishment
“Art imitates life,” people say. A few weekends ago, I saw art holding up a mirror to life, and the mirror reflected much more than most of us can see with the unaided eye.
At the movies we saw a preview of a boy who draws a monster into life, who frightens the bullies in the boy’s life. In our main feature, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a sad, desperate, and powerless person inadvertently turned frustration into a powerful external force that destroyed buildings and killed people. This force manifested as a storm of destructive particles.
At home, we watched Star Trek Beyond, where the huge, fancy Starship Enterprise is taken down by a swarm of tiny spaceships, under the command of an unhappy former Starfleet officer.
Two takeaways for me: desperation can turn into a deadly force; lots of tiny things can take down a big thing. These are happening in our world’s population right now.
Which brings me to my latest wall hanging, A Worthy Accomplishment.
Our United States culture worships enormity. Large corporations, huge wealth and fame, amazing feats of technology are admired and given special treatment. In contrast, regular people who do regular things—raising children, cleaning, cooking, going to work every day and other essential but not very exciting or profitable things—are treated as insignificant.
I think we need a more balanced approach. It’s fine to admire amazing things, and we should also value and admire everyday work and achievement. We need to acknowledge the contribution of people who take care of all the everyday things in this country, because they are the foundation on which our society is built.
Let me bring to your attention the contribution of many thousands of women (mostly) who took the time to crochet a doily to beautify their homes, or a pretty trim to make a pillowcase or coverlet more inviting.
Many of these creators would say, “Oh that’s nothing, really. It’s just something I made.”
Well, it is something, precisely because you made it! It is something handmade, with love or curiosity, and certainly with skill. It is something to be proud of, something beautiful, something worthy.
A Worthy Accomplishment is for sale, with delivery after June 2021.