Where to begin? I hope you’re ready for my life story. That’s what you’re here for, right? (Not). The short version is that I like to compose. Composition can mean many things. I’m obviously a quilter, so I compose with fabric and thread. But, I’m also a composer of music (check out www.phillippresswood.com for more on that).
I’m also a writer. You can find my book, a version of my master’s thesis, Magic Meets Medicine: A Medical Humanist Examination of Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear on Amazon, so I compose with text.
I’m an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University where I teach Composition and Rhetoric. I’m also a Guest Lecturer at the University of Houston and have presented at several conferences around the world on composing focusing on the intersections of text and images, humanities and the arts, and multimodal composition.
But, oh dear, we’re starting to drop off already! The point is that I like to create and teach others to enjoy creating too. I feel the trick is to bring order to the chaos of creativity, but in a way that does not destroy the humanity and joy of the composition process. Just don’t ask me to do long division or make change!
The other thing I enjoy is having a personality! Goodness me, there are some amazing compositional artists online and making videos but it’s sometimes difficult for me to stay awake through the whole thing. Know what I mean? (And also ladies and gents, please comb your hair before you get in front of a camera. Nobody is perfect, but really.) Plus, sometimes teaching can get boring for both sides. We all like to stay awake!
I am married and parent to a typically difficult cat named Harveena. She showed up two days before Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, thus her name. I couldn’t find a female version of Harvey, so she became Harveena. It sounds slightly Nordic I think, or Slavic. It lends itself well to additional titles such as, “.. Queen of the Eastern Kingdoms” which I sometimes write in on her veterinarian appointments. I enjoy making the receptionists say it. Try it sometime with your own animal or human child and enjoy the show.
Speaking of children, another issue especially with quilting/sewing/whatever tutorials and podcasts: Please stop telling me about your children. I am sure they’re lovely but we’re not downloading/listening/watching a quilting tutorial to hear about them. It’s important to establish a rapport with your audience but we need to just get on with it sometimes! Our time is valuable and in limited supply.
I learned to quilt from my mother at a very early age. I won’t tell you how long ago that was because that would betray the rather massive amounts of Botox and other tightening procedures I’ve had deployed on my face. But, let’s just say it was in the last century. Growing up, college, and life got in the way of all that, so I didn’t return seriously to the fiber arts until around 2014. I do know what I’m doing, mostly!
Let’s get something else important out of the way: I do not own a million-dollar Bernina, Baby Lock, or Husqvarna but I will gladly – I mean I’ll hold sparklers in each hand and record a them new theme song – if any will sponsor me (read: give me) a new machine. I use a Brother PC-420 Project Runway Edition. It sews a fairly straight line. My mom helped me convert an old table into a sewing desk so the machine could sit down inside it. Hey, it works!
Oh right, quilting. The reason you’re here. I think I do a pretty good job at quilting, teaching, and keeping things lively. But as much as I’m perfectionist and occasionally judgmental of others, I don’t feel the need to be absolutely perfect. Perfection is robotic and dead. I can get a “perfect” quilt at Walmart. I want to see the slightly wobbly angles, the points that refuse to meet, and the stitching that isn’t the same length all over. That’s what makes it humanly creative, right?
So, let’s learn how to bring some order to our quilting chaos, but while having a good time and staying awake. And click on the ads so I make some cash, because all this ain’t for free.
