Tell Them Your Story

(The story continues from the previous 2 posts) 
My friend called one day to see if she could bring her visiting family members over. We sat in the living room with a big world atlas and located where each family member is from in India.  

Then my friend turned to me and said, "Tell them your story".  "But I don't have my rope." "Tell them your story" she repeated. "OK." And I did - growing up in alcoholic home, journey through depression, feeling hopeless, rebuilding my trust and faith in Jesus - the whole transparent story. 

We eventually made it upstairs where my friend explained the whole Creation quilt story.  Amazing!  Then they discovered their language in the design of the For God So Loved quilt. 

Of course they wanted to see the story ropes having heard so much about them.  I brought out mine and one made in Rwanda. That called for telling my story yet again!  There was much discussion in the studio.

(They wanted their photo taken with the story ropes.)

Before leaving, I gave them Creation & For God So Loved quilt postcards. They asked for extras to share with their friends back in India. Great! I handed out more! 

INDIA and AMERICA 2 Distinct Parts To Her Story

(Story continued from previous post.)
My Indian friend, came over two days to work on her story rope. She told me her life story on that first day. But all she had time to do was cut a very long strip of filmy orange sari fabric - orange, a prominent color on her flag. 

The story she told - her story - was so culturally different from my own. It had 2 distinct and very different parts - the years lived in India and the years here in America after she married.

The second day she cut ribbons & sari fabric strips to tie to the filmy orange 'rope'. Again she told me her story. At times she stopped her story to ask me about mine. She was very interested in my faith journey through the darkness. She pressed me. How did I arrive at hope? A Hindu listening to a follower of Jesus telling her story through the darkness...back to trusting God - a conversation that started with a story rope.

She continued making her story rope.  It was all so fascinating. Even how she assigned color choices to communicate each segment of her life story were exotic & unfamiliar to me.  I sat in rapt attention listening once again to her story as she cut and tied pieces on to her long orange story rope. Upon completion, she told her story once again before she pinned it to the work wall for this picture. (2nd of 3 posts)

Next post: my friend brings her relatives to visit. 

Friends From India Come To Visit

A few years ago, our Indian friends brought their friends visiting from India over for lunch. Afterward we moved to the living room. Knowing they would eventually ask about my art, I had a couple collage journals and my story rope on the coffee table.  

As we sat on the couch, my friend pointed to my story rope and asked, "What is that?"  Picking it up I said, "Oh that is my story rope. It is my story. Would you like to hear it?"  The answer was yes and I told my story transparently as I always do, ribbon by ribbon.  

Themes of growing up in an alcoholic home, artistic talent, faith in Jesus, the nations, marriage, children, a long bout of depression, loss of hope and rebuilding faith are in my rope.  

My friend speaks English but not her friend, so she retold my story to her friend their language. 

My friend was very interested in the depression part of my story and said "I want you to teach me to make one of those."  

We made a date to do just that.  To be continued...(1st of 3 posts)
Nelson and I with our friends - photoshopped with dry brush filter.