Backache

Quilter Paula Chung, a member of our SAQA group of Northern California-Nevada Region, has a quilting collaborator friend Karen Rips. They take images from body scans---X-Rays, MRIs, etc---and each quilter interprets each image and renders it in her own style. My very own crooked spine, stemming from life-long scoliosis, is the subject of a pair of quilts by Karen and Paula. They took my breath away. They brought me to tears. Here are their quilts (my name changed for privacy thoughtfulness):

And here is my "inspirational" X-Ray:

My wheels started churning when I saw in the SAQA weekly newsletter the above image of Karen's quilt and discovered it would be in a show at Princeeton University in New Jersey. I emailed my dear college friend Elizabeth Walters who lives in Princeton and implored her to attend the opening where Karen discussed the quilting collaboration. Unfortunately, Paula wasn't able to attend the opening, Here is a photo of my friend Elizabeth in the green sweater at the show, admiring Karen Rips' quilt "Backache."

I borrowed these images from Paula's website, with her permission. And yes, friends, I am doing my Pilates exercises religiously, so that curvature doesn't worsen.