CEDARBURG, Wis. — At 83 years old, Milwaukee artist Rosemary Ollison has turned her battle with mental illness into a source of inspiration, creating an elaborate exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts that tells her story of healing through creativity and faith.
Every wall, curtain, and corner of the exhibit showcases works stitched together by a woman who once stood on the brink of despair but found salvation through art and spirituality.
“And I was really at the brink of insanity… and I asked God what was in my heart to know myself. And then I read Psalms 139 — that was the beginning of my healing,” Ollison said.
From that pivotal moment, Ollison says her hands became instruments of grace, repurposing discarded materials into works of art and worship…