
Bill Stearman
Maintain The Wave, 2023
made with certified organic cotton fabric and recycled polyester thread
60” x 72”
As a gay man, the erosion of basic human rights south of our border terrifies me. This quilt speaks to the story of progress made in Canada within my lifetime. And it speaks to my own coming out story. Neither story is done. We can’t let human rights move backwards, though. It is our collective, and indeed our personal responsibility to protect and advance Canadian values. Maintain the wave!
Bill Stearman is a 72-year-old Queer quilt-maker, living in Picton, Ontario.
ADHD has him bouncing along with virtually no filter for what he thinks, says or does. Usually balancing too many things at once, he works with the heart of an aging hippie.
Since a liver transplant in 2021, he is obsessed with the notion that he's been gifted an extra twenty years of life, solely to be an agent of positive change; to make a difference.
According to Bill’s calculations, he has 18 of those 20 years left. His mantra? ‘Grab on, or get out of the way!’