36 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 19-25, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com FACE TO FACE Quilting is Joan Costello’s, um, fifth career? It’s easy to lose track. She has served as a middle school teacher, has sailed the world operating a charter company, studied at UC Santa Cruz and Cal Poly SLO and so on. Fiber art and quilting became her purpose only after retirement. Costello grew up in Monterey. Her father, Jimmy, was city editor for the Herald, while her mother founded Nancy’s Project, a nonprofit providing aid to farmworkers. “She helped a lot of people,” Costello observes. In college, Costello studied science and taught that subject, as well as mathematics, in Aromas and Watsonville. In between, Costello and a partner ran a charter sailing company. For eight years she lived in some exotic locations. Retired from all of that, she took up quilting and joined the Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild, as well as the Seaside Art Association. After losing her son and husband, Costello says it is these organizations that keep her going. While the county is famed for its artists, Costello was surprised at the number of quilters. There are some 230 members in the guild. “We’ve made quilts for veterans, for every bed in the Schuman HeartHouse, for CASA kids—it’s very satisfying,” she says. “It’s a wonderful group.” This weekend, Sept. 21-22, it’s the art association on center stage, as it hosts the 17th annual Seaside Artist Tour, an event started by photographer and painter Sandra Gray, along with Dave Pacheco (who is now a City Council member, then the city’s parks and recreation director). Costello hosts a stop on the tour. Weekly: You studied science. Do art and science mix? Costello: They kind of do. But this came to me late in life. I started quilting in 2006 because our son passed away. He was in college. He was a beautiful photographer. He took all these landscape photos. I wanted to do something. I wanted to turn his photos into quilts. I had no skill, but I kept doing it. Do quilters call themselves artists? Some do. Most quilts are patterns, passed down. I’ve never been one to follow patterns. An art quilt has to be an original design. It has to have three layers—top, batting and backing— which is important, for some reason. There’s always controversy at shows, whether you can use a photo that is not your own. You must be a great photographer. My photos don’t have to be great to use as inspiration. And now you are part of the Seaside arts community. My husband passed away eight years ago. I needed a change in life. I wanted to move back home. And shortly after, I was at Blues in the Park and Carol Setinek was there signing up artists for the art tour. Carol is not an artist, but she is the backbone of the organization. I think she talked me into all of this. I’m just amazed people buy my work. It’s such a kick, especially after giving it away for so many years. When people think of art tours, they think of Carmel. It’s a little different than Carmel—20 artists at six different places. We have everything—sculptors, glass. There are good artists in Seaside. We have a lot of fun. At some of the bigger tours, you don’t get to see it all. Of all the things you’ve done in life, which is your favorite? Oh, gosh—raising my son. That’s a cliche answer, but now that he’s gone, it was the best. And teaching. I love teaching. It’s very rewarding. Is there a place on your world travels that stands out? The Seychelles. Oh my god—it’s absolute paradise. But it’s hard to run a business there, hard for expatriates. We couldn’t keep it up, so we went back to Greece. That’s tough. It was pretty nice, too. You did all of that. Now you quilt. It’s different when you’re in your 70s than your 20s. That’s the thing to do in your 20s. Quilting is like a zen practice, a meditation for me. Art teaches me patience, and I don’t have a lot of it. And that sense of community. I don’t know if it teaches me that, but I get that. More than anything, it’s a community event. That’s what it has always been. You get that wonderful connection to the community. Quilters are the most generous people. It’s easy to learn. Some artists make money, but mostly they’re sharing beauty. And that’s a good thing. Sew Good Joan Costello’s quiltwork is one stop on the Seaside art tour. But she did not start out as an artist. By Dave Faries “I had not sewn since seventh grade—except sails, when I had to,” says Joan Costello, shown here with one of her quilts, about learning the art. “I kind of rush into things, and that’s not acceptable in the quilting world.” DANIEL DREIFUSS ADOPT BELLA H…PURRS INCLUDED! I’m Bella, and my story is sadly common. After my guardian passed away, no one in the family could care for me, so I ended up alone and scared in a shelter. At 14 years old, my coat was not looking the greatest. 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