Meet Genna Calkins-Mushrush | Heirloom Quilter, Public Librarian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Genna Calkins-Mushrush and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Genna, how do you think about risk?
For me, the role of risk taking revolves around the concept that every choice or decision that I make in life involves risk. Whether I’m making a career decision, a relationship decision, or simply deciding where to hike or backpack one weekend, every choice is about calculated risk. I would not consider myself a risk taker, per say, but my relationship with calculated risk has led me to Tanzania with the Peace Corps, to uproot and disrupt a secure future in order to pursue new experiences with my family in Colorado, and to the summits of numerous mountains, including Kilimanjaro. I would consider myself a calculating person, more prone to planning than spontaneity, but my relationship with the role that risk plays in our everyday lives (because every decision we make involves risk) and a healthy understanding of my personal boundaries and limits and knowing when and when not to push past them has led me to often unexpected but always fulfilling peaks.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a quilter, one of the greatest challenges is convincing people that quilting is, in fact, an art form. Quilting toes that line between craft and art and therefore exists in a complicated space where it is often overlooked and undervalued by the fine art world, as it is dismissed as a lesser form of creative expression. Over the years that I have been quilting I have developed a personal style where classic patterns meet modern style which brings together my connection to women’s quilting traditions and my more modern aesthetic tastes. I am proud to be participating in the latest wave of resurgent interest in traditional art forms such as quilting and I believe that bringing my quilts into wild spaces and juxtaposing my art against outdoor landscapes is contributing to garnering new interest in this form of creative expression and the relevance of quilting in modern spaces.

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Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Westcliffe and the Wet Mountain Valley is the perfect destination for. a quiet mountain getaway. I love a visit to the historic Beckwith Ranch for the ideal intersection of exceptional natural beauty and our ranching heritage. My favorite stops in town include Sugarlump for a coffee and a slice of pie, Willie’s for a hearty small town breakfast, All the Range for the best in hiking recommendations and all of the outdoor essentials, and a visit to the pinnacle of Colorado rural public libraries. But Main Street aside, the best of what the Wet Mountain Valley has to offer is incomparable access to the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Anyone paying me a visit had better come prepared to spend the majority of our time gazing up at majestic aspens, trekking to impossibly blue alpine lakes, and logging countless miles by foot to achieve absolute mountain solitude.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There is one woman in particular whose influence, spirit, and sense of self led me to where I am currently in my journey as a modern quilter. My maternal grandmother, Marilyn, was an accomplished and prolific hand quilter whose works of art are now my most prized possessions as an adult. Engaging in quilting as a modern art form connects me with her as well as the long line of women who have quilted throughout history for solace and comfort, connection and community, escape, warmth and utility, self-expression, joy, and out of protest.

Website: https://www.quiltsinthewild.com

Instagram: @wetmountainquiltco