Artist's Reflection

Creator: Sarah Joiner, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Liberal Arts Curriculum

At the beginning of 2020, I was searching for a new job, hoping to relocate from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania. I wasn’t sure where in Pennsylvania I would end up, but I hoped to be closer to family. In late February, I drove up Seton Hill Drive for the first time as I was arriving on campus for my job interview. I remember sighing as I made my way up the hill. It felt like I had entered a different world compared to the town I just drove through. The leaves were off the trees at the time, but I just thought about how beautiful the drive must be in the fall and spring. I didn’t know that my first trip up the hill would be the first of many and the literal start of a new life. The week after my interview the world seemed to shut down for the pandemic. I was offered a job, sold my home, and moved 600 miles away amidst the chaos. My husband and I second guessed if it was the right decision so many times, but things seemed to fall into place even though the world around us seemed so strange. Five years later, I still take a deep breath as I drive up that hill and remember how much has changed since I made that first trip. I believe I was called to be here and that my life was meant to take that uphill journey. My first trip up that drive led me to a job that I love, the home with my husband that we’ve always dreamed of, a closeness to my family that I never could have expected, and finally, to the birth of my son. I don’t know where I would be if I had not made my first trip up Seton Hill Drive that day, but I’m certain that life wouldn’t feel this sweet. This homage to the London Plane trees was “painted” with thread over cotton fabric and batting. To bring this project full circle, the materials used were pieces left over from the first quilt that I made for my son.