Broken

broken:
bro·ken (brkn)
v.
Past participle of break.
adj.
Forcibly separated into two or more pieces; fractured; Sundered by divorce, separation, or desertion of a parent or parents or loved one; Having been violated; Incomplete; Being in a state of disarray; disordered; Intermittently stopping and starting; discontinuous; Topographically rough; uneven; Subdued totally; humbled; Crushed by grief; Financially ruined; bankrupt; Not functioning; out of order; East of Eden.

My studio of work called “Broken” is very personal to me. It started out with an innocent curiosity and fascination with a construction method; I wanted to explore the design intricacies and possibilities of what might be an end product. When I began making the first piece, “Porcelain Heart,” in a new series of work, it coincidentally happened during a particular fragile place in my world where nothing made sense and each day was made up of events that I could have never predicted nor planned. I have heard it said that there are no coincidences in life. I think there is some truth to that.

As I continued with the construction, like many of my pieces, I had no idea what the end result would be until it was finished. I faithfully continued creating. Part of the mystery of the process is when all the fractured parts and pieces go back together, and the whole is revealed at the end.

When I began the design process of this quilt, I contemplated what “brokenness” means and that it can be messy at times – it hurts, it is not fun, and for me, it makes me want to flip to the next chapter in the book to find out how the story ends. In reality, I often see redemption in my rear view mirror. The way the pieces of brokenness get put back together is never the way I would have imagined or dreamed, the search for purpose not yet revealed. But more times than not, I am reminded once again, that the bigger picture can be found in the details, rearranged by the hands of God.

So I cried out and prayed, “How is this story going to end?” I got my answer: “Wait, listen, and begin again…”

~Melanie DeMerschman
pdxstudioquilts.com