The Quilts of Gee’s Bend exhibition at San Francisco’s de Young Museum ended December 31 after being held over for an additional couple months due to popularity. Dawn and I were fortunate enough to see it during our visit to the museum in October. Those of you that were able to catch the exhibit saw a piece of our not so distant history and a unique American art form.

Gee’s Bend became an important part of the Freedom Quilting Bee during  the mid-1960s, an offshoot of the Civil Rights movement designed to boost family income and foster community development by selling handcrafts to outsiders. The women of Gee’s Bend had for generations made quilts, mostly to keep warm during the long, cold winters, out of old work clothes and seed sacks. Today they’re considered works of art.

Purlbee brought to our attention an interesting footnote in the January issue of Vogue Magazine: “[Diane] Von Furstenberg loved the Gee’s Bend Quilts she saw in the De Young Museum.”

Why is this notable? Because Von Furstenberg, an elemental designer of feminist fashion in the 1970’s, inventor of the wrap dress, champion of the working woman, is now the president of the Council of Fashion Designer’s of America and continues to adapt colorful ideas into fashion and call attention to the artists that inspire her.  On the left (click for larger view) are a few of her “crazy-quilt” creations for Spring 2007.

Joelle & Jennifer have a good eye for fabrics and design. They looked through some other Spring 2007 collections and found plenty of patchwork-inspired finery, including (at right  from left to right) these pieces from Chloe, Stella McCartney, and Anna Sui. (Click for larger view)

I’m no fashion aficionado, but I am a follower and collector of art, especially modern, and its influence is clearly reflected in the world of fashion.

You may also be interested to know that the USPS has recently issued postage stamps commemorating the Quilts of Gee’s Bend. If you’ve received letters or notes from Dawn, or purchased stamps at the Post Office, you’ve probably already seen them. Art is everywhere!

It’s again that time of year when we become inundated with “Top”, “Best of” and similar lists from Forbes, Time and many, many others. Doing our part to prevent our faithful readers from finding themselves uninformed and embarrassed at their next cocktail party, the crack reporting team at IM brings you the Times 25 Top 10 Lists.  

And while you may not be particularly interested in some of them (Does anyone really care about the top 10 Hollywood breakups?) you’re probably chomping at the bit to learn which web sites made the Top 10 (Hint: We unexplainably failed to make the cut. Go figure!) But check out the sites that did, then explore some of the other lists like podcasts or children’s books. All good stuff… 

New Year is that time when we look back in retrospection and evaluation of where we’ve been, and forward in hope and anticipation of where we may be going. This two-fold vision is reflected in the name of the new month, January, for Janus was a two-faced god, the god of portals and thresholds, of coming in and going out, of past and future held simultaneously in a single, encompassing perspective.

Standing between old and new years, between what has been and what could be, we form our resolutions for the future in a spirit of possibility and potential. We celebrate the sense that we can step outside of the normal flow of time, touch a creative and visionary source within us, and shape the world, or at least our own lives, afresh.

The past is a creative force in our lives, something much more than memories. Likewise, the future is an evocative force, inviting us towards more possibilities than we might otherwise recognize or imagine. The past whispers, “This is that from which you are forming yourself.” But the future beckons, “This is what waits for you to form yourself, to help you explore what it means to be a dreamer of visions and a shaper of worlds.” And so the past and future become allies to the potentials within us. They enable us to see ourselves as a formative force within the world.

T. S. Eliot said, “… to make an end is to make a beginning.” So last evening, Dawn and I opened our well worn Day-Timers and, page by dog-eared page, reflected on all that we remember about 2006. The process evoked wonderful memories and highlighted some of our accomplished goals. We lifted a glass to a departed friend who left us unexpectedly and all too soon. And we talked about our resolutions for 2007, taking care not to confuse them with intentions. There are a great many things we “intend” to do but only a few we “resolve” to accomplish. You’ll recall that Bridget Jones began her famous diary with 33 “resolutions” and 364 days later wrote, “Number of New Year resolutions kept: 1…” We resolved not to fall into that trap.

Which brings us to today and a fresh New Year. Janus stands at the threshold between an ending and a beginning, a past and a future. But he doesn’t close the door to either. Rather, he flings the doors open, looking in both directions, inviting a relationship, a blending, between them. He is a catalyst that brings the formative forces of past and future together, a symbol of the soul in all its creativity and coherence, its unity and power.

Ben Franklin wrote, “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.” Sound advise then and now. Yet every year, people make countless resolutions to change aspects of themselves they believe are negative. A majority revert back to how they were before and feel like failures. So this year I challenge you to a new resolution. I challenge you to just be yourselves.

Happy New Year. May the blessings of Janus be with you throughout 2007!