While at the opening of Craft 08, I was overcome with an incredible desire to raise my game. As to how exactly I am going to do this, or in which direction I'd like to go, I can only come up with words.
I have been unwell for a while now; nothing serious, only exhausted by the constant output of the last year-plus, with no serious down time to replenish ideas, imaginations, inspirations. And my eyes don't focus well. It's what I call my debilitating laziness.
The cotton pieces, from design to finish, was done on autopilot, and I didn't get the usual satisfaction I receive from the process. I was also unable to press and wrap the six pieces as carefully as I think I normally do, and was unhappy with the way the pieces appeared at the Refinery. (I wonder if Deb would let me iron them after hours.) So this kind of technical/common-sensical thing is easy to fix.
Colors are something I need to be more comfortable with. And dyeing.
I have a 16-shaft, computer-controlled loom, and together with my Fiberworks PCW, I am able to create complicated-looking stuff, but I don't want to end there; I don't want my cloth to be a gimmick simply because I have these tools. I would like the end pieces to be more than the sum of design, texture and colors. I want my cloth to be inevitable, not incidental.
I long to create what Randall Darwall calls "achingly beautiful" cloth.
And that's going to take a few more throws of the shuttle, I reckon.
8 comments:
A laudable goal.
Achingly beautiful cloth is not always synonymous with complex cloth. Mastering the basics in color and design are vehicles that will give you a lot of mileage.
Valerie is quite right, I believe. All a person can do is get to work each day. Here is the link to an article in the Wall Street journal that you might find helpful. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120311487595072493.html
I don't agree with Valerie. I believe everybody is free to have a goal/direction one chooses; me, if I didn't have a goal/direction, my creativity will stagnate.
That achingly beautiful cloth is not always complex is exactly what I said.
Peg, I don't know what to say; Importantitis? Grandiose? I just want to move on to the next step. For me, just showing up to work, though it helps, is not enough; I seek meaning and rationale in what I do from time to time.
I was not suggesting you are grandiose! I was hoping you would find Balanchine's work habits of interest......... I know about seeking meaning. Everyone knows about that. Just find your next step. I think you might find it in those beautiful scarves......... I think searching for meaning is like searching for happiness. If you search for them, they elude you. They come only when you're not looking.
Form follows function.
Next week remind me to send you a PM about when I lost my eyesight for a month. To cut to the chase....terribly liberating and I learned to 'see'.
Perhaps your inner artist is screaming to play?
Please be patient with yourself....the pattern will emerge.
Yes, I would like to hear about it, with all the problems I'm having with my eyes.
Inner artists? I think you hit the nail on the head; I've been thinking out loud in the presence of a good friend Nancy, and I see a change in the way I see what I do.
I think you are tapping into a wellspring of inspiration!
How fun is that?! NICE!
remember when I sugested weaving a scarf for your beach walking friend......the cadance, the colors, the length of stride. It still might be a worthwhile opening experiment?
please have faith/trust in your eyes, your mind, your body. Let them guide you. Try to let the inner voice for control and perfection take a breather.
Yes, I think there is a time and place for this perfection/control. At those moments, only those exact moments, I flog myself with it.
balance brings peace.
enough late night musings...
Lynne, it is fun. Having a direction, but not knowing the destination is not at all me, but kind of thrilling in a "walking blindfolded into a surprise party" kind of way!
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