NF 31 Virginia

Description

The heart is a symbol that is layered, blended, and evolving. Throughout life, the heart can easily be broken, It flows through transitions of pain only to evolve back by being patched up by love and hope. That is what quilters do…patch and sew through love. What better way to represent this through a broken heart emerging into the light. `My heart quilt block tells the story of my enduring painful grief, feeling completely broken and finally ultimately healing into the light. The deep dark purple fabric at the tip of the heart represents a lost love. It holds my loss, grief, and anger. The darkness of the tip symbolizes the isolation, pain and confusion of living with a spouse suffering through depression until his sudden death. Flowing upward from the dark purple is a textured purple fabric resembling rain or tear streaked glass. This fabric represents all the fallen tears and emotional exhaustion from over the years. As the heart begins to rise, the textured purple slowly fades to a fragmented purple and blue fabric. This fragmentation represents the pain and suffering while in an abusive relationship. The fragmented pieces symbolize the trauma, fear and distress which leaves behind feelings that are broken beyond repair. The colors of my heart gradually lighten to represent the courage to survive. Blending from the fragmented purple/blue fabric into a soothing turquoise with underlying darker blue represents a powerful shift. Fear and trauma are still present, but these feelings are slowly turning to awareness and empowerment. The turquoise represents the turning point...the moment of courage and strength to leave the abusive relationship. The fear and strength blends together into the unknown which is necessary for survival. Emerging from the turquoise is a red/fuchsia fabric that is an emotional rush of color which represents the start of healing. This fabric symbolizes my anger which was transformed into power, and the decision to choose myself. This enabled me to reclaim my voice, identity, and self-worth. As the heart continues upward away from the red/fuchsia it softens into a soothing orange. My warmth and strength were returning. The orange represents rebuilding, rediscovering joy, and allowing a crack which enabled the light to come back into my life. It was the beginning of hope. Finally, the top of the heart opens into the light—a bright, glowing yellow. The yellow symbolizes the peace and tranquility returning to my life with hope and renewal. It reflects a heart that has survived and is no longer defined by its pain but by the light. My heart quilt block illustrates how transformation is possible even in our darkest moments. The process is gradual like the blending of the colors in my heart. Slowly we can emerge from the darkness and shadows into the bright warm light.