To me, art is not a skill or a talent, but rather a tool that can be used to help us better understand ourselves, each other, and the world. I want to redefine the traditional conception of art as creative self-expression and show others how powerful this tool can be if they want to use it. My ultimate goal is to bring people closer together. Through the act of making meaning and sharing our experiences we begin to recognize the complexity of the human experience. Expanded perception ignites an openness and empathy towards others' experiences. The development of self through art making in the form of articulation of experiences is the facilitator to begin a discourse in understanding and appreciating the beauty of diversity.

"What does home mean to you?" is the question I posed to each participant of the quilt. Students, faculty, and staff of the college contributed as well as two groups from the community: The Children of the Village and Yellow Door Studio after school program. The individual panels were then combined to create this collaborative quilt. The quilt was an exercise in making the idea of home less abstract. By evoking the emotions we connect to home, we are able to have a more empathetic understanding of those who do not have a home. In St. Mary's County there exists homelessness and displacement. By evoking housing experiences for both communities I am hoping to draw attention to similarities as well as differences so that everyone may leave with a greater awareness of each other's experiences.

A quilt is a metaphor for community and diversity. It is a collaboration of different pieces coming together to create a cohesive whole. These pieces may be thought of as insignificant on their own, but together they create a functional blanket that could be used to remind us of warmth. The making of quilt squares is a shared action. The quilt will not reconcile differences, but rather bring us into conversation.