There’s a big world beyond the cornfields of Iowa, and Iowa native Elaine Seaman has spent her entire life exploring that world. She’s called several states home, but for four decades, Kalamazoo has been her home — even as she continues to travel and explore the world. Seaman brings her travels to both of her art forms — quilting and writing poetry. Her new collection of poetry is titled Beyond Cornfields (Finishing Line Press, 2024).
A conversation with Elaine Seaman
“It’s kind of the story of my life,” Seaman says of the new collection. “I started in a small town in Iowa – a very small town of a hundred people, ten percent of whom were my family. It was surrounded by corn fields. We almost all moved out of there and found other places to live. We moved to Minnesota, New Mexico, everywhere, so we did other travels as well.”
Seaman crisscrosses the country to visit her family, but also travels to New Zealand to visit one of her two sons. She also enjoys taking cruises with her husband. But whenever she travels, Seaman knows it’s time to go home. It’s the oasis of peace in her life – and also the place where she makes her many quilts.
Seaman’s quilts reflect her travels and life experiences as much as her poetry. She collects fabrics and creates images on quilts that are as poetic as her poems. A selection of her quilts is currently on display in a separate gallery at the Carnegie Center for the Arts under the title Pathfinder. The main gallery features an exhibition of artworks in various media created in response to Beyond Cornfields by 14 artists, an idea suggested by Seaman’s close friend Maryellen Hains. Poetry is displayed alongside the fine art.
Artists in the show include Martha Aills, Melody Allen, Gloria Badiner, June Belitz, Nancy Crampton, Michael Dunn, Jeanne Fields, Linda Judy, Pam Meyer, Bobbie Rehus, Maria Scott, Gay Walker and Jamie Whitledge.
“They’ve created art that’s personal to them but also universal,” Seaman says. “It’s a wonderful marriage of ideas.”
Seaman is currently working on a new quilt that uses 560 different fabrics. She says she has made well over 200 quilts in her life.
Seaman will read at the Carnegie Center for the Arts in Three Rivers on Tuesday, September 10, at 4 p.m. The exhibition, which features 14 artists responding to her poems, ends September 11.
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