Heidi Parkes: Quilting as Therapy

Quilting as therapy is a common concept in the quilting world, and quilting can help heal sadness and grief in many forms. In this VIDEO LECTURE Heidi Parkes will discuss quilts made about the pandemic, the passing of her father, and the impact of the quilts that were part of her own childhood. Heidi will also discuss the concept of reframing, and the way that storytelling in a quilt can help to give a new perspective on things, and help aid in the healing of emotions and the building of courage, compassion, and self esteem.

Before Heidi was born in Chicago, IL in 1982, her grandmother organized a collaborative family quilt to commemorate her birth. This set the tone for a life centered on the handmade, where sewing, mending, cooking, canning, woodworking, photography, ceramics, painting, and plasterwork were the norm. 

Now based in Milwaukee, her quilting and mending celebrate the hand, and her works tug at memories and shared experience. Often using specific textiles, like an heirloom tablecloth, bed sheet, or cloth teabag, Heidi adds subtle meaning and material memory from the start. Ever curious, she works with a variety of quilting techniques including visible hand piecing and knots, improvisation, patchwork, and applique.   

Heidi pursues her passion for teaching by lecturing and leading workshops across the country and shares her creative process with thousands on Instagram. She has exhibited in art and textile museums across the country and was an Artist in Residence at Milwaukee’s Lake Park through the ARTservancy with Gallery 224 in fall 2020-21. Additionally, Heidi lives a handmade lifestyle, sewing her own clothes, fermenting, eating from pottery she made a decade ago, and practicing hand yoga, which she shares with other creatives on her YouTube channel.  See this 3-minute Studio Visit on YouTube:   https://youtu.be/s3Q-XxWrcYQ

website: https://www.heidiparkes.com

instagram @heidi.parkes