A few years ago I would have said that the purpose of art is to make the world a more beautiful place.  That is still true, but it isn’t enough.  More and more I see that the purpose of art is to hold up a mirror to humanity.  Think about how a tiny mirror can re-focus the vast power of the sun into a spot on the sidewalk that can fry an ant.  The mirror that is art has the power to take in the vastness of the world we affect, a vastness that goes unnoticed by most of us.  The mirror that is art projects that vastness on to a canvas or a quilt on a wall in a size that we can almost comprehend.  And if the artist is truly on target, the mirror of art has the power to fry our brains!

In recent years I have been a quilter, a fiber artist, an art teacher, an artist in residence, an Arts in Healthcare artist, a web designer, a gallery member, an Oregon Crafted studio artist, and a writer. Loosely Bound grounds me. Every First Friday I look forward to being with these artist friends, knowing that I can count on them to provide a spark if I’m out of matches, or to put out the wildfire if I’m burning out of control.