Heddi Craft, Santa Cruz, CA

Through the Eyes of a Child

 

detail

The quilt is of a child's eyes. The brows are pulled up in fear, the pupils are dilated, and in the pupils you can see an adult figure with an upraised hand, as if to strike. Across the top are words in harsh jagged edges that say, "NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT..."

Many adults have images burned in their memories that are much more horrifying than the one I've depicted in this quilt. I urge anyone who cares for children to envision your actions through the eyes of a child. Will you be remembered as fair or erratic? Firm or enraged? Will your children want to remember their childhood at all?

Physical and emotional abuse can steal the childhood of a child. It can take years, sometimes decades, to fill and heal that void. When the quilt was finished, I ran my fingers across the brow of this child and told her she didn't have to worry any more. It would never happen to her again. She, at least, was safe.

36.5 X 19.5 inches 

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