Hannah Haberkern
Glück gehabt
My association with the word "patriotic" is largely negative, probably because it seems so closely related to nationalism. A part of patriotism that I struggle particularly with is the notion of being "proud" ("Nationalstolz"). It never made sense to me why I would be proud to be German when I did nothing for it. Given that this nationality came with immense benefits to me -- a safe environment to grow up in, practically free education. access to a generous social safety net, freedom to travel across the world with, ... -- I rather feel "lucky" to be German. Implicitly, this also captures that I got things in life "for free" that others in the world don't have access to. I tried to capture this notion in my "patriotic" quilt, which states "Ich bin froh, nicht stolz, Deutsche zu sein" ("I am glad, not proud, to be German"). Still, Germany is "home", so I paired this message with log cabin blocks and symbolism related to my German cultural background that I do feel connected to: an appreciation of forests and the oak tree in particular.
I grew up in Germany and learned how to sew from my mother and grandmother. Many of my favorite childhood memories revolve around designing and sewing garments, yet for a while I lost touch with sewing and focused on other interests. Recently, after a prolonged period of sickness, I rediscovered sewing as a compensatory activity to research. It was then that I stumbled across and instantly fell in love with modern quilting, which opened up a new world of playing with graphic design and fabrics.