The Magic is in...

That which is the magic of the Barn Quilt, may also be the key to a happy life (I know that this is a big stretch of the imagination). On a very primal level the quilt pattern (in this case a very large quilt pattern), is art composed of color, and symmetry, or maybe even asymmetrical symmetry. It can be a joy to even an infant. There are lots of joys, and pleasures of life that are little more than stimulations of our senses, and can be (and should be), enjoyed for the simple gifts that they bring us. Yet, I believe that there is more to this Barn Quilt magic.

What makes mankind special is not that we enjoy certain pleasures, but that we can assign values to objects, and ideas, and to memories. It is the story that needs to be told. It is the story of the mother, or daughter, or great aunt or the neighbors that created an image... that is the gift to your senses today. It is the hours of careful crafting, and sewing that was also a sharing of some stories, and the creating of others. There is the story of the quilt, and now there is the story of the artist, and the barn, and the farm, and the family that lives here, and maybe the ones before…

The key to a happy life (on one level), is not just the ability to feel pleasure, but the ability to feel the pleasure by the knowing of the story. Maybe it is the pleasure of telling the story, or maybe we just need to know that there is a story. The key is the story. There is no story if we do not have a way to communicate it. In my short existence, I see time and time again that the problems between people are so often created by some type of miscommunication. It may not be that words are understood incorrectly, but often it is that the words were never spoken to begin with.

As we learn to express ourselves efficiently, we find that there are usually some questions that will need to be answered without being asked. When experiencing a Barn Quilt Moment (seeing a new Barn Quilt for the first time), what are the primary questions ? and then what are the questions that follow ? There are many examples of descriptions and stories that are assigned to Barn Quilts. Some are more poetic while others are merely utilitarian (just the facts ma’am). How would you describe your Barn Quilt ?