Amy E. Skillman (Goucher College)
Aging is often associated with slowing down, a loss that suggests letting go or turning away from the world. Yet quilters, who shelved their quilting passions in their twenties to work and raise families, delight in the opportunity to return to their artistic endeavors in their sixties. They say "it's your quilting time;” that stage in life when time opens up and you return to your creative self. It is a time of reflection, perspective, and wisdom. Drawing on auto-ethnography and research with elder artists, this paper explores the blossoming of creativity as we age and slow down.
Part of 05-06 The Roots of Maturity: Pathways to Aging Creatively, Friday, November 03, 10:30 am–12:30 pm