FROM THE EDITOR

Margaret Sadler | Editor-in-Chief, news & views, ARTA

Yes, I’ m retiring— again. I’ ve enjoyed this position immensely— great co-workers, great writers, great readers! Issue by issue, news & views has been an adventure to create.

Creativity is our watchword here at news & views. While ARTA’ s Communications Committee comes up with themes for a year’ s worth of issues, the news & views production team deliberates on how best to develop each theme and bring it to our readers. The creative process exposes pinpoints of light here, flashes of inspiration there, and deep rumblings of ideas that eventually bubble to the surface. Production editors and designers, senior staff and junior staff all share in the exchange of ideas that eventually reveal each issue. It’ s so much fun!

This issue explores creativity and imagination. I believe that these traits, embedded in our natures, will carry us forward more strongly into our futures.

In this issue, Jane Thrall promotes the health of creativity and Jock Mackenzie illustrates how he builds creativity into his life, while Sheila Bean muses on the effect of art around us. Remember my tie-pieced quilts?( I’ ll have more time to finish the heart-pieced quilt this year.)

Like Jock, I enjoy looking at my“ stuff” and considering how I might preserve it in whole or in part for future generations. Rather than despairing about what to do with it, I look for hopeful and cheerful ways to re-present family items. What might I create from great-grandmother’ s broken china teacups that nieces and nephews would value? Fabric ideas come to me more quickly. And then there’ s paper. Perhaps a framed first page of Genesis and of the Gospel of John from various Bibles could represent my nieces’ and nephews’ minister uncle for them. What future can I create for my precious items?

I’ ve said it before and I’ ll say it again— think well of your future and your future is more likely to be well. Yes, we’ ll have physical aches and pains, but we can still value the lives we have and the gifts we’ ve been given. Yes, some will face tougher battles than others, and some of those folks will continue to shine as beacons of hope despite their circumstances. Yes, some will fade sooner than others, and that will be sad and more difficult to countenance. All the more reason to continue to appreciate what we have; continue to nurture our relationships; continue to think well of our future.

SUMMER 2026 | 7