This morning while procrastinating and reading old blog entries from 2010, I discovered this gem, in a comment from Terry Jarrard-Dimond on a blog entry by Kathy Loomis:
"I'm not especially attracted to grab bags but I do think working with them might spur some ideas and then it is the responsibility of the person doing the making to carry the ideas forward. Besides, if she is just starting out, and she can work in a series, I applaud her but how will she ever figure out what she really wants to make. If I laid out my learning work you might think I had a personality disorder..."
I always feel so much better about myself when I realize I'm not that different from all the other artists I so admire and look up to. As I was giving friends a tour of the new studio Friday, I looked around at the various pieces I've tacked up everywhere, and thought, what a ridiculous mish-mash. Now I feel better, knowing that everyone goes through the process, rather than just sitting down one day and knowing.
A few hours after reading Terry's comment, I read a sequence of comments on the SAQA yahoo group about small works versus large, and the benefits of grouping works that "talk to each other," i.e. works in a series. Then I read, again, about Lisa Call's Working in a Series workshop. I think I need to do it.
Here's a little visual about my "journey" so far.
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| This piece is the very first art quilt I ever made. It was completely intuitively pieced and assembled. Amazing how similar it is to the direction I am now wanting to go. I just wandered down a few other dead ends before getting back on the right road. |
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| FFFC pushed me to produce "stuff" but I soon tired of doing an assignment when there were so many other things I wanted to do myself. |
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| I discovered all on my own the joys of fusing vs. piecing and the process of photo-transfer. I like this piece, although I imagine the juxtaposition of the mini-artworks and the photo probably makes little sense to anyone other than me. |
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| I still remember the excitement of creating this on the design wall at the APWQ Symposium, just a few months after I'd "discovered" art quilts. Design Wall! What a concept! I'ts probably one of my favorite UFO's I need to get "unstuck" on it. Add the slashes, or don't add the slashes? |
It's easy to get distracted. But as FFFC shows, you have come to a point when you want to do your own work. Lisa's class might be just the ticket for you. I've heard good reports from others.
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