The Creativity Project Week #22: Dash Masland

Dash Masland’s mother taught her to quilt when she was just 8 years old. Dash continued sewing throughout her young adult life, but it was only recently that she returned to quilting in a meaningful way. After spending time as a marine scientist, a financial officer of her own brewing company, an artist, and a mom to two boys, Dash decided it was time to get back to the core of what brings her joy in life. So shortly after she and her husband left the brewing industry, Dash started quilting and designing patterns to share with others. Under the name of Prow House Quilts, Dash creates pieces that are inspired by the shorelines and seascapes of her native Maine. Her quilts and patterns can be purchased wholesale or for sale through her website, and Dash teaches workshops and classes at local quilt stores. Welcome, Dash!

How would you describe your quilting style/aesthetic?

Dash: My quilts are modern quilts with contemporary design, all of which are inspired by my coastal surroundings in Maine.  While some of my work is based of traditional quilt blocks with a modern interpretation and repeating design, this is not my typical style. Most of my work is large-scale minimalistic design with one visual goal, versus repeating quilt blocks.

How would you describe the creative environment in your home as a child?

Dash: My mother fostered a love of crafting and creating and my childhood home was filled to the brim with arts and crafts supplies. We had everything from lanyard supplies to modeling clay to glitter to loop looms and decoupage mod podge. My mother also taught me to sew and with her help I made my first quilt at 8 years old for a younger cousin. She always stressed the meaningfulness of a handmade gift and instilled in me a deep love of crafting, creating and gifting homemade goods to friends and family.

What artists and makers do you most admire or have an influence on your work?

Dash: I took a long time off from quilting and making and have just arrived back on the scene to a glorious amount of contemporary makers that I truly admire. I love the minimalist work of Maura Ambrose (@folkfibers), Season Evans (@s.d.evans), and Meg Callahan (@mdotcallahan). I admire the modern designs of Laura Preston (@vacilandoquilting), Suzy Williams (@suzyquilts), Kristi Schroeder Larson (@initialkstudio) and Meghan Buchanan (@thencamejune). And I am constantly inspired by all the amazing textile designers and print makers that share their work online. It is a glorious time to be a quilter and quilt lover!

Do you consider yourself a “quilter”, an artist, or some combination of both?

Dash: This is a tough question because I am not sure I really consider myself either just yet! I make quilts which I know makes me a quilter, but I have so far to go yet with my craft and my designs that I still feel like I am on a journey to becoming the quilter I hope to be someday. And then at the same time, quilting feels like an art form to me and I consider other quilters to be beautiful artists yet somehow I still struggle to use the word artist in regards to my own work. I guess the simple answer is that I am exploring what it means to be both!

How would you define “making with intention”?

Dash: I think making with intention is the act of knowing why we create. Are we creating for ourselves, for others, for the recognition? Why are we as quilters and artists creating these pieces and what intention are we putting into them? For me, quilting is an act of self-expression. I am someone who has an over-abundant need to feel understood, like what I am saying is heard and interpreted the way I intended, only then do I feel settled. Quilting feels like an avenue where I can translate my ideas directly into a quilt and have my thoughts clearly seen and understood. The sense of accomplishment and release I feel upon finishing a piece is a hugely important part of my well-being. Beyond that, creating with intention allows me to pour myself into a piece that is then passed on to someone full of the love, emotion and peace that I put into it and I hope translates some of those positive intentions onto the recipient.

Do you think that having a craft makes us more compassionate? If so, then how?

Dash: I think having a craft allows us to calm our mind and bodies and put our energy into something that we plan to release to a new owner. To me, this process is inherently full of compassion because as I said before, we put our love and emotion and time into something self-less, for someone else. I often find myself daydreaming about where a quilt will end up or how the new owner will be provided with warmth and comfort from what I’ve created and it allows me to feel a deep compassion towards others.

How does creating feed your soul/spiritual purpose?

Dash: I think the above answers fully encompass this question. I make with intention to express myself and pass on positivity and compassion to others!

Are there any rituals that you perform to prepare/ground yourself in your work?

Dash: I have a very hard time making until the rest of my “busy” work is done. I have a huge need for a clear mind before I create, because the process of creating is as much for me as for the final product. Therefore, I like to clear my plate of the mundane items of my day before getting behind my machine. And coffee, so much coffee!

What is the support system you have in place for creating your work?

Dash: I have an incredibly supportive husband who has encouraged me to pursue this path, even though our lives aren’t exactly in the place that would make an artistic pursuit an easy choice. We have two young boys and I carry a lot of day to day responsibility with some other work projects that I have going on. I am also blessed with an incredibly supportive mother that helps with our kiddos whenever she can so I can find the time to create at odd hours if necessary. In the short time I have been a part of the online quilting community I have also met some fellow quilters that I would now consider to be good friends! Their constant engagement, encouragement and advice-giving is an incredible support system, and I wouldn’t be here without them!

How do you deal with comparison to / envy of others? Can you describe a time when you used comparison/envy/admiration to push yourself in your own work and self-discovery?

Dash: My biggest struggle with comparison and envy is in regards to productivity. I have so many ideas and so many designs that I want to create and I am seriously lacking in time, so when I watch other quilters and designers create at a much more rapid pace, it makes me feel unaccomplished and inadequate. The thing I have come to realize as I’ve worked through these emotions, however, is that really truly, we all go at our own pace and there is room for everyone. This doesn’t need to be a race or a competition and we all do what is best for our lives and ourselves. I can now look at others work and feel happy for them and their productivity and know that when I have the time, I will be able to do the same. Also, when I started focusing on the idea of making with intention and really looking at why I create, I realized that I am already accomplished because I have found what I truly love to do and that in itself is a dream come true.

What was the most challenging thing you ever made?

Dash: My first pattern design was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever made, because I had no idea how to translate the design in my mind to the blocks I needed. It took me months of trial and error before I figured out how to foundation paper piece the quilt blocks that became the Flight Effect quilt. When it came to write the pattern, I was humbled and discouraged by how little I knew about pattern writing and how much work I needed to do to be able to accomplish my goal. In the deepest place of self-doubt in my mind, I made the choice to push those feelings aside and keep moving forward. Thanks to an amazing group of pattern testers and a new tech editor, I am now learning every day and improving with each pattern and that is enough for me!

What does it mean to you to work in a traditionally domestic medium that historically has been regarded as predominately female (aka “women’s work”)?

Dash: This is a super interesting question because by education I am a Marine Scientist and I worked in a genomics lab after grad school, which is a predominately male environment. I had so much pride in myself for following an a-typical career path and defying the statistics. When I decided to leave science, I was then a small business owner with my husband in a very male driven industry, and again felt like I was defying odds. It was then a huge struggle for me to transition to a traditionally domestic medium, because I felt like I lost a bit of my feminine drive and power and was being put in a stereotypical box. However, through the months as I began to delve into the quilting community and I began to embrace the work more and more, I realized that the female community is a place of support, collaboration, celebration and most importantly power! I have never felt so in charge of my own future or my own self as I do now and I know it is because of the feminine energy that I am surrounded by.

How do you see your current work in the context of quilting history?

Dash: Similarly to embracing the idea of being a part of a historically domestic and female role, I feel like my work is part of a new generation of women who are throwing away the domestic labels and embracing the feminine energy and owning our place in history. Instead of being delegated to this work, we are choosing it for ourselves! While I am not sure if my work will ever play into the context of quilting history, I am quite sure that the “why” of why I quilt is a movement that many of us are a part of and will earn a very prominent place in the history of this medium. It’s an exciting time to be a female quilter!

---

Thank you, Dash!  Your work and photography is lovely! To learn more about Dash or purchase her patterns, visit her website Prow-House Quilts or connect with her on Instagram, and Facebook. And you can sign up for Dash’s newsletter here! Would you like to be featured in The Creativity Project? Reach out! I’d love to hear from you! Contact me. Want to participate, but not necessarily be featured? You can do that! Click here to take the survey! The Creativity Project can be found on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or Bloglovin’. Or check back here every Friday of 2018! SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave