It wasn’t long after I started working as a one-on-one nurse at Whitney Young High School that the staff learned that I sewed. I showed pictures of the textiles I’d created from my iPhone. I call myself a fifth-generation textiles enthusiast. My maternal great great grandparents owned their own sewing business.

My family knits, quilts, crochets, embroiders, makes garments and weaves. I spent a good portion of my childhood watching them create the most amazing textiles I’ve ever seen that I still have in our family collection. I knew that when I grew up, I would carry on the family tradition by reading books and taking formal classes. I participated in art exhibitions at Hyde Park Art Center and Macy’s on State Street for their garden festival through the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

At the suggestion of my first museum curator, I was placed in touch with her friends who were Chicago Public School teachers and helped their classes make a community quilt project that were displayed in Seaway Bank. Later, I helped the University of Chicago Lab School with their community quilt projects that were displayed in the Gordon Parks Art Center.

I shared all of this information.

“You know, we usually plan a year to two years in advance, but the Whitney young High School 50^th anniversary is coming. We should talk about having you make something at some point. The school colors are orange and blue. The mascot is a dolphin,” the art department told me.

“I would absolutely love to,” I said. After that, I went to thrift stores looking for fabric and sewing supplies. In sewing circles, if anyone was giving away anything, I took it and thanked them profusely. I took advantage of every sale at Michaels when I learned about it.

One day, one of my uncles saw my sewing collection and said, “I don’t believe this! You have enough yarn and fabric to open your own store.”

I called it manifestation.