Jean Wells-Keenan: Quilter

There's a theme that runs through Jean Wells-Keenan's life that's much like a well-made quilt. The components are simple: a love for the creative process, a giving heart and a clear and intuitive vision in all she undertakes.

The results of her clear focus are vast and varied; most are familiar to avid quilters around the world. What some are not aware of is the motivation for all of her accomplishments.

This year, Keenan was chosen to be the 2010 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Featured Quilter. Her quilt "Inspired Journey" is a fitting example of her unique vision and seemingly limitless ability to push her quilts, and her life, in new directions.

Inspired by the wedding quilts she made for her two children, Keenan decided to combine the essence of both to create her own memories of the wedding days. "Both were held in our backyard," said Keenan. She remembered the daisies in bloom along with sunflowers and zinnias all framed by the majestic backdrop of the Cascade Mountain Range. The colors and abstract images evoke a sense of wonder and possibility.

"All my inspiration," said Keenan, "comes from nature."

Keenan has spent much of her life sharing her gifts with others.

"I love seeing people learn," she said.

Keenan teaches that a good understanding of technique is important, but creativity is so important, too.

"Put the tools in your toolbox, and then work through your own ideas," said Keenan, sitting in her colorful sewing room. "I love giving people the tools, then work with them to come up with ideas and execute them."

To inspire her students and readers alike, Keenan likes to come up with assignments that put people in a position to use their own creativity and do something new.

Keenan's 28th book, "Intuitive Color and Design," is an example of her love of teaching. But writing books didn't come as naturally as sewing did.

"I'm the one who didn't like doing term papers," she said.

Before she would undertake her first book, she had to adjust her thinking about writing.

"When I realized that I could reach a wider audience, and all I'd be doing was writing what I already teach, it became easier. All I had to do was write about what I love to do," she said.

Now Keenan loves writing.

"I've found my own voice now, and it gives me tools for my teaching," she said.

Keenan has added photography to her list of creative endeavors as well. She takes snapshots whenever she sees something that appeals to her, for use as a reference later. With her last book, Keenan used her own photographs for inspiration, and many were used in the book.

"I learned a lot about composition by taking photos," she said. "Your gut tells you if its out of balance."

Now Keenan brings all her ideas together in a journal full of photos, sketches and ideas just beginning to percolate.

A pair of good scissors in her hand really boosts her confidence, with them in hand she cuts and sews in a more organic, intuitive process. She doesn't plan her gardens either. She'd rather let the flowers, with their unique shapes and colors, guide her.

"I wait and see what I like; I love the openness to create," she said.

Teaching and a love of nature has guided Keenan on a journey that has been both rewarding and inspiring. There's no better satisfaction for her than seeing a student go off in a direction she had never thought of herself. Her freedom from having the need to control her students, or even her own creative process for that matter, has taken her in directions she could never have imagined. But for a woman like Jean Wells-Keenan, nothing less

will do.