(Morris, MN) — Rural Arts and Cultural Summit; Springboard for the Arts

Hello!

It has been over three months since I have been able to sit down and share some of the adventures and photos of the lovely places we have been and the things we have been able to partake in, besides sharing a few on social media.

I have been doing such fun projects, custom quilts, teaching classes, learning and most of all, very grateful that I get to do what I’m doing presently. I have worked very hard but I owe all those that follow me and support me, many many thanks. My family is always at the forefront of what I do, whether it is walking distance from our home or very far away. This adventure is part of our goal to discover and learn more about the Midwest.

We had a great time sharing barn quilt painting with all generations!  The adventures have not stopped since the Midwest Fiber Art Trails at the end of March, so my blog posts, to help me catch up, will start with the latest event we were at in Morris, Minnesota. I still can’t believe that I was accepted as a presenting artist at the local flavors event, a great community event and that I was paid for my work. What a novel idea!

As a sustainability, graduate student, and everyone asks me what that means, I strive to live and create art within communities that deepen connections and contribute to lasting environmental awareness, trying to pay attention to sharing and caring about others in an honest way.

Being sustainable to me is much more than volunteering my time in working at community gardens, supporting little free libraries and other donations of physical items, although all these things help; I wish to spread a love of creativity that integrates inner growth as artists, makers and humans and allows us to construct more fulfilling places that embrace our cultures and generations, for generations to come.

I love promoting art that satisfies the human spirit as much as the creative, outwardly need many of us have to share, to be part of communities with a common goal. My creations are always an expression of the world around me and the things I learn from others but my culture shapes the whole of who I’m and what I do. I’m also grateful to have the ability to share my life with people that get it.

Morris, Minnesota will always have such a special place in my journey; the summit was 3 days and there was so much love, creativity, inclusion and understanding that I have not seen in quite a long time. I was inspired and humbled by the love and giving spirit of people from all over the US. This is a dream come true and I was only a very small part of this celebration.

Thank you all for being on this crazy fun ride with me!

Spread your wings and go for it.

Xoxo to all.

Thanks for viewing!
M.

Morris’s Rural Arts & Culture Summit – a remarkable gathering.

 

Guest Author, Maday Delgado Lange

Maday Delgado Lange Artist Statement: I’m a textile art educator, motivational speaker, sustainability graduate student & avid urban gardener living in the Midwest, with a passion for color and making. I draw inspiration from nature’s colors to fuel my artwork, informed by my Cuban heritage, with energy and texture. Whenever time allows, you will find me working with soil. That is what truly started my creative growth over a decade ago, though I did not know it at the time. In 2012 I began to sell made to order custom pieces at arts & craft shows and exhibits. My renewed focus is on teaching and empowering my students, to seek the best artistic practices that enhance their lives. My goal is to teach, create and promote the type of sustainability that reinforces confidence, creativity and self sufficiency. Starting in the summer of 2016 I took to the practice of slow stitching and slow making with great zest. I sold a few sewing machines and invested in simple slow making tools. In the process I have inspired hundreds to take up the Japanese hand-stitching technique of Sashiko and Kantha stitching; I’m still very much a student of both art forms and feel a spiritual connection to this art.