Wow! I have never submitted, nor ever thought I could be accepted, to a juried show! So once again, following St. Bridget's path has led me to new places. (Oh triple goddess that she is, and Irish saint, she oversees poetry, healing and blacksmiths - which somehow in my life includes arts and crafts of all types from weaving to quilting to blacksmithing!) I dropped off my scapulars this morning at the Center, and am still amazed at how life unfolds when practicing puja.
I tend to be so linear (stop laughing everyone) that I am surprised when life throws me these amazing curve balls - or Goddess surprises. My entry into the competition comes from a walk with my dogs on a snowy day back in March, and I ran into another doggie friend. I've known Sue for years, and we have talked dog many times. This cold and wintery day, however, she suddenly asked me if I were a fiber artist! Bizarre. And I said, "yes, I sew and quilt and weave and spin." She then told me of numerous shows where I could submit my work, and invited me into the Pittsburgh Fiber Arts Guild at the same time. . . kind of one of those amazing synchronous happenings. It was a miserable and wet day, and there I found myself seeing Bridget calling.
So I filled out applications and struggled with online submissions and pictures, and lo and behold the juror accepted both my scapulars. And of course both are dedicated to St. Bridget. And both go on display this Saturday for a full month.
I continue to write about the importance of puja, of worship, no matter what tradition or deity you follow. And this is the kind of coincidence that puja brings: I never dreamed I would find my work at Sweetwater Center for the Arts or be invited to the Fiber Arts Guild. And now here I am doing both.
In other paths I am working to pull together internships for school, coming down to my last year in the master's program for clinical counseling. I am later than my classmates at setting up internships, and my advisor is annoyed with me. Some friends have said, "Just take something and get through." I am however mindful of my art and sudden opportunities. "Just taking something" is counter to Bridget's message and the practice of puja. Daily puja, from prayer to meditation to chanting to sacraments, all take time. Puja is like my tomato seedlings, needing time to grow. "Just taking something" won't bring tomatoes faster. Nor will Bridget's plan for me and her followers be revealed in as fast a time as we would all like.
Puja, like art, like healing, takes time. I made a lot of quilts for my etsy store, waiting to see if anyone wanted them. (Oh the happiness when my first quilt sold!) And making scapulars this winter, I had no idea they would be in a juried show.
What can I say about my Bridget quilts? Well, mostly come see them. Or check them out come June when they go into my etsy store. But most of all I want to say that puja is a path, and following that path requires letting faith take shape and grow. Faith is knowing that the path will lead where you need to go.
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