mermaid blues: sweet notes found in a bitter lament

by Karen Goulet

Each of Karen Goulet’s quilts has a story. Mermaid Blues is about the longings of sky and water during those particularly cold, short winter days in the Northwoods. The sky misses its reflections in the water and the water spirits wish to break free from icy covers. She pays tribute to that time at the end of the day when the sky fills with “colors of love” to create a “visual song” suspended in air.

Goulet has worked with fibers and textiles for most of her life and learned the craft from her family. “My love of needle and thread has traveled many generations.” An enrolled member of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation, she is also from Métis, Saami, and Finnish people. Her work pays tribute to her ancestors’ journeys and fierce wills to survive, as well as the waters that carried them to new places and defined their lives. “Rivers and lakes form and inform the stories I make, as they remember the ones who came before me.”