Note: The article first appeared in the "Connections For Quilters" Newsletter, Vol.10 No. 2, December 2007.

One way to look at “Stepping Out” is to think back to your teens. Do you remember your first date? As the day grew near you were ecstatic one minute and terrified the next! What if it didn’t work out? What if the fellow never asked you out again ? “Stepping Out” for the first time was a very big thing for a lot of us. BUT, most of us got beyond it because of the rewards – fun, friendship, new interests, sharing your love, all very exciting things. We might have gone out and bought a new outfit, had our hair done, painted our nails or not.  However, I bet we all shared the same excitement. It was another stage in our lives called growing up. For reasons unknown, some of us can’t overcome the terrified stage when we consider “Stepping Out” for the first time. Why do we think that we should have perfect results or know it all on our first try? Not many of us get married on the first date so why should we expect perfection as an artist on the first try? That certainly has not been my experience, as you are about to discover. “My Quilting Path” has taken me from being a traditional quilter to a more innovative or art quilter. This doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate traditional quilts. Instead it means that I had a need to move beyond traditional quilting. I wanted to be more creative. This transition has taken a long time and there have been many moments of frustration and despair along with incredible moments of joy. It has involved many hours of experimenting and course work through the London Institute of City & Guilds from well know textile artists such as Gail Harker, Ruth Issett and Linda Kemshall. They have guided me along the way. At times I was so resistant they had to drag me, “outside”. I was like an elastic just waiting to snap, but they never gave up. They continued to support and encourage me in the pursuit of my dream.

There were days when I just wanted to quit.   I didn’t know what I was doing. Then there were days when I did “the happy dance”.  Finally, I was beginning to understand what they were trying to tell me. They taught me that I had every right to pursue my dream of becoming an art quilter. Most importantly, I gave myself permission to experiment and to accept failure as a positive thing. As you can see, I didn’t become an “artist” overnight, just as I didn’t get married on my first date.

When I first started quilting over 34 years ago, not only could I not draw, I hated painting and was terrified of failure. I was raised by very talented needle workers and they all expected perfection, or at least I thought they did. I wish that they were around today so that I could ask them.

As a Patchwork and Quilting instructor I feel it is important to share my knowledge with those quilters who have the desire to go beyond the traditional ways for reasons that vary as much as the quilters themselves. To me it doesn’t matter why a quilter wants to “Step Out” of what is familiar, but rather that she listen to her heart and makes her own path.

Although we may not realize it, most of us are born with some artistic talent. A true artist combines that talent with a lot of hard work and practice. Rarely do they dream up a design. I know I sure don’t. Instead, we look at the world around us for inspiration. Starting with this issue I am going to take you through the process of “Stepping Out” in the quilt world. In coming issues I will walk you through a series of steps to help you become more creative. I hope that you will follow along, completing the tasks as suggested in each issue. You may not be interested in actually designing a piece. Instead, you might use one of the techniques to plan a “personal” colour scheme or add an exciting element to a traditional piece. It will be up to you to decide which of these suggestions you use.

The first step in this path is research. Research involves a close study of a chosen subject. You might chose one of the following: trees, buildings, rocks, leaves, shells, or birds, etc.  Chose a subject you are fond of and have easy access to, so you can observe it on more than one occasion. A primary source is one that you look at personally – an actual object or item such as a grouping of rocks or a collection of shells. A secondary source includes photos that you have taken or a book on the subject.  A combination of primary and secondary sources would be most useful.

Look for interesting aspects such as shape, texture or colour. What words come to mind when you look closely at your subject? Make a list of these words. When I look at the oyster shells I have collected, these words come to mind: crusty, sharp, unique in colour, mauve, pink, gray, chalk surface, pearls, barnacles, flat, undulating layers, mussels, breaking down, fragile, edible, ocean, salt water, kelp, star fish, rough, etc. Collect the actual object you want to study if possible, along with photos of your inspiration. If you are studying a bird, perhaps you can collect feathers with different patterns on them. If you are going to study rocks, choose several with different designs and or colours. Take pictures of your object in it’s location if you can.  e.g. shells on the beach,  leaves on or under the tree. If you can accomplish all this, then you will have made a good start on your research.

Watch for the next column: Step Two – collecting a few supplies needed to “Step Out” and then working colour studies using your inspiration as a guide.

Finally, please appreciate that the opinions, ideas and suggestions expressed in this column are mine. They are methods and techniques that I have learned along the way and have found to be very helpful in my “stepping out”.  They are based on my knowledge and experience having fallen on my face many times when stepping out a little too far.  Remember the lines from the Frank Sinatra song –“Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again”? I can definitely relate to those lyrics. My methods, suggestions and techniques are by no means the only way to approach the subject. Like everything else in this world there is more than one way to complete a task. You may already have a method that works for you but I encourage you to consider experimenting with my ideas. In other words “Stepping Out”.