Margaret Renkl

Moderator: Silas House

Our ancestors didn’t think of creativity as a side gig. A quilt was meant to keep a family warm. It was meant to give a new practical use to the unworn bits of worn-out clothes. But our family quilts were never simply warm and never simply practical. They were beautiful, and making them brought their makers happiness. Renkl, an author and contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, believes that expressing our own creativity—whether through painting or gardening or singing or dancing or writing or, yes, needlework—is one of the ways we bring meaning to our lives.

Photo credit: © Heidi Ross