Novel Threads

Author Ruth Ozeki acknowledges in an online piece on her website that there is a very special relationship between authors and those who read their work:

“Writers and readers are engaged in a reciprocal and mutually co-creative enterprise, and the book is the field of their collaboration. It’s very personal, and very individual, too. The book I write might be very different from the book you read…”

Ozeki, whose book “A Tale for the Time Being” is featured as part of this year’s Deschutes Public Library’s “A Novel Idea” program, would not be surprised to find that a group of local quilters have embraced this “co-creative enterprise” and crafted unique and personal quilts inspired by her novel.

Sponsored by QuiltWorks, a Bend quilting shop and gallery owned by Marilyn Forestell, the annual quilting project — now in its fifth year — culminates in an exhibit of the finished works.

“This exhibit always gets rave reviews because the quilts are so unique and each captures a different aspect of the story,” said Kristin Shields, a quilter of 24 years who has participated in the quilting project for all five years. “This book in particular should be interesting because of the dichotomy between a teenager living in Japan and an older woman living in Canada found in the book. There are so many possibilities for landscapes and themes.”

Approximately 40 quilters are participating in the “A Novel Idea” quilting project this year, a process that begins when the library announces the book choice in December. Forestell then sends out a notice to her email list and several introductory meetings are held at the quilt shop in January. These are followed by monthly gatherings where participants introduce themselves, discuss the book and share progress, ideas and support.

“It is a very inspiring process,” said Forestell. “Everyone is looking for and picking up different things from the book. Some people pick up minute things to create their quilts around that other people who read the book don’t even remember.”

A large variety of themes inspired by the book are being explored in the quilts this year, including catfish, earthquakes, lemons, bamboo, blue water, clocks, time, ginko leaves, ravens, gyres, temples and whales. The choice of theme, and the process, can be very personal.

“Last year while I was working on the project my mom became ill and died,” said Joan Fox, an avid reader and quilter who has participated in the project for the last three years. “I think the passage of the book upon which I chose to base my quilt very much reflected what was going on in my personal life.”

This year Fox’s contribution was inspired by Jiko, her favorite character in Ozeki’s book. Instead of a traditional quilt, Fox created an origami crane out of fabric.

“The crane is a symbol of peace and long life,” said Fox. “I also included Jiko’s final words, some prayer beads and a bell to represent the temple.”

Kay Miller not only read the novel twice, but also listened to the book on tape. She found that hearing the author’s voice and her pronunciation of foreign words was fascinating. She chose to feature a ginko tree in different stages of life on her quilt.

“This book struck a chord with me,” said Miller, a former school librarian who has participated in the program for the past three years. “I was inspired by the character Nao Yasutani going to visit her great-grandmother and how quickly life passes. My quilt represents birth, life and death.”

Miller is not alone in reading the book selection multiple times. Shields also read the book twice, mulling over potential themes for her quilt.

“I chose to focus my piece on the Jungle Crow,” said Shields. “Partly that’s because I love crows and ravens, and it’s also because the crow is a sort of muse for the main character Ruth.”

The project appeals not only to quilters, but to avid readers as well. Each year Forestell opens up the gallery mezzanine and exhibit area of QuiltWorks to local book clubs to host their April meetings. Approximately 30-35 book groups take advantage of this opportunity. Members of book groups who have seen the exhibit have been known to encourage their family and friends to read the book so that they can share the exhibit experience with them.

“People don’t realize that quilts can be so expressive or that they could say so much,” said Forestell. “Each individual quilter’s creativity can make you feel emotion, and any book has so many different angles to it. Taking those words and turning it into a expression of art deepens our connection with the book.”