Posting re-considered

I'm feeling very sorry for myself, full of self-doubt, and was going to post about it.  After all, this is the main function of the blog--posting about my never-ending journey as an artist, and the thoughts a feelings associated with the journey. But, very recently, while out in the car I saw one of those silly messages on a church sign.  It said " Don't bother advertising your troubles, there is no market for them".  Very true, even when taken out of the context of religion.

So, while I won't be starting the new "Waterfall" until I speak with my support group, the planning has started.  But recent conversations in my head have confirmed my ideas about the direction of my art.  The decision I made, and the one I must live with, is that I am going to continue working on pieces and images that my soul tells me I need to.  When I get in trouble, it's because I'm trying to force an image that I am uncomfortable with, to meet an external challenge. I enjoy the exhibitions, and realize that they are the only way in which my work will ever be seen by others, but it is not in me to deal with deadlines.  This means accepting that others may be very focussed on taking their work, and career in a different direction. There are different measures of success, depending on the individual goals we set for ourselves, and my measures of success are important only to me.  I need to do the best work I can, and be satisfied within my heart that what I put out there to be seen really is "the best work  I can (do)".

Shopping

To help make the decision about re-designing my "Waterfall", I went out today to see if I could find more of the organza ribbon that I rusched to use as foam.  No point in starting over if there was no more ribbon!  Yep, they had it and it was on sale!  She never questioned why I wanted 30 metres of white organza ribbon, though.

Second thoughts

My "Waterfall" has been hanging on the wall where I can see it whenever I'm using my laptop or watching tv.  The more I look at it, the more doubts I have about entering it in the exhibition, as had been planned.  I have no reservations about the actual workmanship, or the the concept behind the design but the design itself appears faulty.  I think my proportions are wrong in the waterfall, termoil at the bottom of the falls and the stream flowing away from the falls.

A week Monday is the monthly meeting of my fibre art support group, Ravenesque, and I plan to take it for, what I hope will be, an honest critique.  This will probably mean re-doing the whole thing.  My new idea is for a series of rapids rather than a high falls, and a landscape rather than a portrait presentation.

I guess that, if I'm already planning the new version, the decision is probably made.

Back in business

I am still using the functional little splint that I liked so much.  The OT talked to the Plastics Resident, and they decided that, as long as I'm comfortable with it, I can continue to use it. But the finger must be immobilized until the end of April.

My machine is back, so I started back to work on my latest exhibition project today.  Two sides are contoured and needed to be faced and two aren't. So I planned, and plotted, and cut fabric, and tried to figure out how to do it. Finally, I realized that there was nothing preventing me from facing the whole thing in an "envelope'"technique.  ( sew a fabric over the front, right sides together, slit the fabric and turn the whole thing right side out, close the slit) It worked!!  So much easier than how I had been planning to do it.  So 'tis done, and hanging on the wall.  And I'm well ahead of the June deadline.

On to the "next".  Well, I don't have a "next" planned, so I'm going to finish up a couple of UFOs, and maybe do some playing with odds and ends.  I've been experimenting with a very nice piece of hand dyed fabric, but the project only started to come together yesterday,  It will require quite a lot of hand stitching, but there are a couple of events coming up where hand stitching will be allowed.  Sorting out this project sent me to my stash of "threads".  I'm amazed at what sort of things I have accumulated over the years.  I found a large skein of Silk Mori that is exactly the right colour for the project, and a spool of  Trebizond that works as well.  Why I've held onto them over the years, I'l never know, but for today, I'm glad I did.

Overwhelmed with beads!

Bought some beads in Fargo yesterday.  I believed that I needed some unusual beads to round out my collection, and found some, on sale.Then I spent last evening putting them away.  Boy, do I ever have a lot of beads!  The down side of this is that I will never have an excuse to buy beads again.


Now, I must start planning projects to use them all up.  I have promised my Ravenesque group first dibs on my stash, when I go, and I don't want those ladies to start fighting over the stuff! So, while in bed, last night, I had all these wonderful ideas running through my head.  I should have written them down, but didn't.

Part of the impetus to buy them was the need for the right colour of bead for a project I started awhile ago.  I should have taken the fabric with me, because I didn't do well matching the colours, and still don't have the beads I want for the project.  This same project had me painting shapes of Flexi-firm before I went away.  Getting the right colour was a real problem there as well, and the results were so poor that I need to start over.  I may try using the same shapes and just covering them with acrylic paint, rather than using fabric paint combined with acrylic (Bad Idea!!  Do not try this at home! Since the fabric paint is acrylic-based I had thought that it might work, but the actual acrylic paint is heavier in weight and sank down through the Flexi-Firm, so that one side is the colour of the fabric paint and the other is the colour of the acrylic paint.) 

Lots to keep me busy.  My sewing machine had to go in for servicing, so I'm limited to hand work for the next little while, and I was a little concerned aobut what I might end up doing.

Picture

I promised a picture.  This is a close-up of my latest in the Milky Way series.  Since it's for a show, I can't post the full view.

The spirit is willing, but----

Ruptured a tendon on my right hand a couple of weeks ago.  Have been wearing a splint on the finger ever since--the smallest cutest little thing-- that gives me a fair bit of function.  I have been seen by "Plastics" who referred me to an Occupational Therapist, who wanted to make a much more intrusive splint, but I convinced her to leave me with the one I like.  I have a bad feeling that when I go back to the Plastic surgeon, he will insist on the more intrusive splint, as with this one, I can use the hand almost as though there was no problem.

In anticipation of this, I have been working my fingers to the bone trying to get all of the intensive hand work done on my latest project.  Well, the hand work was finished late this afternoon and now it just needs to be FMQ'd and faced ( rather than bound).

My camera has also been repaired, and now I may be able to add a couple of pictures, when ever I can.

Inspiration and encouragement

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of my fibre art support group--Ravenesque.  One of our members had taped three episodes of the documentary "Why quilts Matter", and we watched those. We also discussed our individual reactions to the shwows, and one of our members shared wonderful news in that she has obtained a "One Woman Show", in a local gallery.
Reviewing the evening later, brought to mind the absoute need for this sort of support in the lifestyle we have chosen as artists.  How would we ever carry on without the encouragement, inspiration and general fellowship of like-minded people?

Teaching

I had another beading class yesterday, this one with 11 students, more than I've taught before--and they limited it to 3 hours.  So I had to re-organize the class.  I cut it down a bit by giving them instructions for the Peyote Stitch, but not teaching it.  I never use the stitch with fabric, and don't like it.  It also takes 30to 45 minutes of class time to teach.  So I broke the class into two sections and I demonstrated to one half while the other half worked on their samples.  It worked quite well, but meant that I was actively teaching for the entire three hours.  Since we had to drive 4 hours to get there and then 3 1/2 hours to get home,it made for a very long day.
But very satisfying.