Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Crossroads

Kind people have commented about the problems I'm having with arthritis attacking my wrists,  hands and fingers.  I thank each of them for that.  This problem has existed for many years, but has now reached the stage where I'm contemplating the end of my ability to stitch by hand.  Please understand that I was a very well respected (award winning) hand  embroiderer, and hand quilter, at one point in the past. The arthritis reached a point, then, that I was forced then to make a decision about my future, and I made the conscious decision to pursue a more machine based path, in my desperate need to create.

I spent a couple of years actively teaching myself to machine and free motion quilt, and also pursued any workshops, and other experience, in any mixed media art form that could be utilized with fibre.  (Throughout my life, I have tried various art/craft forms, but have always returned to fibre.  My soul cries out for the texture and sensuality of textiles.)  I joined both traditional art-based special interest groups, and fibre art-based special interest based groups, believing that surrounding one's self with artists, associating with artists, and actively communicating with artists, will result in one's growth as an artist.

At the same time, I made art, with a hand-worked component, as often as my hand function would allow. This strategy has been successful, to a certain point.  Advancing age and accompanying physical issues, have significantly reduced both my ability, and, to be honest, my interest, in pursuing a national or international presence, in the field.

Now, again, I'm at a crossroad.  Further use of my hands is no longer a viable aspect of my work.  Despite active involvement in traditional art-related groups, the return is becoming less and less beneficial.  I also firmly believe that any sort of artistic effort is only enhanced by a firm basis of technical skill, in the creation of the resulting product.  I will never be happy with the result of any artistic creation if I do not feel that I have created it skillfully.

So, I have made a decision to reduce my involvement with the traditionally-based art groups, and increase my involvement in fibre-based special interest groups.  At the same time, I intend to pursue workshops that give me the potential to develop skill in techniques that require a minimum of hand function.  I do not intend to reduce my efforts to show my work in regional galleries, and professional fibre art venues, but rather, to try to increase it.

The goals I plan to pursue over the next while are:

  • re-visit fibre-related techniques that have been successful in the past, but have been neglected over the past few years. ( I have a list)
  • re-join 1 or 2 organizations that served me well in the past, but have received less priority than the traditional art-based  organizations I have to which I have recently given my time.  (Again, I have a list)
  • actively search out machine-based workshops, related to fibre  (I took the first one this weekend--wonderful!)
  • give serious consideration to all exhibition possibilities that present themselves--something I have not done in the past.  I may even put more effort into seeking out such opportunities.

Wish me success!

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network.

1 comment:

Pam @ Quilting Fun said...

I wish you sucess in your creative journey! Good luck!