Experiments – NanetteSewZ

Higher Plane

I’m in a transition state this week. Last month, I completed a couple of projects and now it is time to move forward with creating some new artwork. I started flipping through photos and found this tree quilt, “Solitude,” which I made in 2011. It is one of the first art quilts I ever made. I really like how I completed the background. It is a quilted whole-cloth design with an appliqued tree. After quilting, the fabric was painted with gesso, then layers of paint colors were applied with paint rollers.

I’m looking at how I handled the background and I’m still fascinated by the technique. I need to revisit this process. It was pretty intense to create. I used regular craft paint, so this quilt is stiff. I need to try it with fabric paint.

My brain is flooded with all sorts of stories about it. I remember creating it, exhibiting it, selling it and now I’m inspired by it again.

There was a time I didn’t like looking back at the pieces I made. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can be overly-critical about my art. That’s the perfectionist taking charge. A fun way to re-direct this thinking is to image the thoughts are coming from a mischievous little pixie who whisper in your ears. You could believe them or you can just ignore what they have to say. This is part of the journey. To overcome negative self-talk, we first need to recognize it is there then decide to ignore it.

I’ve come a long way since I made this quilt. I realize now that they all can’t be master pieces. Each is made by my hands and nothing hand-made can be perfect in every way. So it is important to let go and accept where you are. As humans we are forever metamorphosing, so we can value each step along the way as a learning process. It is all part of moving to the next higher plane.

Give it a try

My wildflower garden continues to bring me entertainment. Over the past month, I’ve seen a variety of winged beauties visit the withering flowers. After walking the dog or taking out the trash, I stop and look for movement among the overgrown collection of flower heads. Lately there has been an interesting collection of butterflies and moths showing up.
You know it!! These photos are generating textile inspiration!

My mind is wandering with ideas and I’m thinking about changing things up. I wonder if I should try something different? Its an energizing feeling, which also feels a bit stifling. Not because I’m stuck, but because I’m not sure about moving forward. I’m on a known road, safe to travel and less likely to find failure. Coasting is so much more relaxing, then pedaling uphill.

Unfortunately, coasting isn’t energizing. Am I excited about working with the same techniques? Well, I enjoy it… but my brain keeps telling me, “try it, you’ll like it.”

If you’ve been following me awhile, you know that many years ago I ran away from quilting. I was so fed up with my own personal negativity, so I stopped making quilts. I said, “this is suppose to be fun, but it isn’t.” I was tired of the quilt police nagging me every step of the way. So I ran off and explored mixed-media art which, interestingly, inspired be to come back to textile art with new energy. Because of this journey, I know that sometimes we have to push ourselves to find inspiration. Other times we find it by walking through open doors and exploring new ideas. And, then there are times where the ideas pop into our heads and we’re driven to give it a try.

footnote:
Have some fun! There are two possible outcomes to my “try it, you’ll like it” dilemma.
Pick one of these two YouTube video links to choose the outcome: Option #1 and Option #2 ]

Try and succeed

I’ve been reading “The Storyteller” by David Grohl (lead vocalist for Foo Fighters). If you followed the “grunge” scene of music, you might appreciate his story. Even if you don’t know about much about grunge, its a good read because it’s a story about David’s creative journey. If you’re reading this you are probably on your own creative journey.

As I’m working through the last few chapters, he’s spending a lot of time reflecting on the people he met along the way. He looks back in amazement that a young kid raised in Springfield, Virginia could be living the life he currently has. Many of his idols and inspiration growing up are now counted as friends. He’s humble about his journey and finds it difficult to believe that he stumbled his way to this success. He wasn’t discouraged because there was a challenge ahead. He frequently refers to his journey as “fake it until you make it.”

I know this sounds like a book review; not, something I usually do. But, I’m telling you this because I see something else in the chapters of his story. I see that he showed up!! He had self-doubt and lack of experience, but he looked at opportunities with courage and tried. That to me is the lesson.

How many times have you felt discouraged and gave up, maybe even before trying? Have you ever said, “I’m not good enough, so why bother?” I can remember a few times I did. I also remember a few times I thought it, then convinced myself to generate the courage and try anyway. It is easy to look back in hindsight at the opportunities where we said “yes.” I see that each one of my “say yes” moments placed me farther down the road. That’s especially true when the opportunity turned into a complete failure!! They taught me what worked and didn’t work, making it easier to move forward to the next challenge.

If we give up, we’ll never completely know what we missed. However, I’m confident that when we say “yes,” we will grow. Its scary to take chances, but if you really want something you should try. This is important step to making art. To learn, we must try and fail. If we accept that, then we’ll only be able to try and succeed.

Permission to play

Throughout my life, I’ve explored new ideas. I remember as a kid making papier-mâché masks. My mom taught me how to sew and crochet when I was 10 years old. I messed around with paints and drawing. In high school I “minored” in art and had the most wonderful opportunities to study Chicago architecture and stained glass. Special bonus in my youth were field trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry, each captivating my creative eye.

Later in my life I became more focused in what I created. You may have even found me through my art; nature-inspired mixed-media textiles. Even though my art is focused, I still dabble in a lot of things. My love of wool is pretty strong. I love to knit and felting is addictive for me too. This week I took some time for creative play and made these felted bowls. (Do you ever take time for creative play?)

Sometimes I forget about the importance of creative play. I get focused on what needs to get done – NOW! I frequently push back on the idea of taking time for fun creativity. Sometimes I almost dread it, because I know I’m going to create a mess, which means I’m going to have to clean up too (more work- ugh!). However, I truly believe its an important activity to add to your life. The easiest way to proceed is to take a class … explore something new with the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor. I do this occasionally. (Pro tip: one of the perks is you won’t have as much clean-up afterward. YAY!)

Playing is a way of learning. And, if you let go of expectations, it can also be a mindful experience. Felting is one of those crafts that you almost have to let go of expectations. As I built the bowls, I chose fibers from my stash that I had no idea how they would react with the process. I also selected colors that I wasn’t confident would work together (e.g. purple and orange?).

My point is by playing without expectations we can be present in the experience. If it fails, so be it. If it works, bravo. But either scenario, we learn and likely improve our skills. Best of all we take time for ourselves and let go of the other junk that consumes our brain. I give you permission to play!

Little Secret

I have a confession. I sometimes wonder if I’m “cheating” when I make my art. In last week’s post, I shared progress on my newest artwork (a red-shouldered hawk). I used a similar process to create my little saw whet owl pictured in today’s post. Underneath all the thread work on this owl is a photograph printed on fabric. I left his bright eyes un-stitched and that’s probably why it looks so impressive.

I also ask myself that … this is all my creative work, so how is it cheating? I guess I’m remembering school day discussions of what is and isn’t art.

I took the photo of the bird at an avian rehab center I visited. I also had processed the photo, reducing some of the complexity, in Photoshop. And then I had to successfully print it on fabric. After all the prep work, it was finally time to add the stitching, which, I definitely does take a certain level of skill. After all the threadwork, I then had to complete the design by giving him/her a branch to sit on and, finally, finished it all with an interesting quilted background fabric.

My process is complex and takes a great deal of time to complete. I’ve been fine tuning my skills for many years. I think it’s Ok to sometimes doubt myself, but then I also remember why I shouldn’t. Instead of cheating, let me just call it our “little secret.”

Practice makes precision

I teach a “Paint with Thread” class. The class sample is really quite simple, but when you understand the basics of what I teach you can adapt the technique to work on more detailed projects. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about in the hawk foot that I’m currently working on.

I modified a photo that I took of a hawk and had the image printed on fabric at Spoonflower. I then chose about 16 colors of brown, beige, and yellow threads to fill in the design. In the photo, you can see a detail of the hawk’s claw. On the left is the printed image. On the right is after about 4 different colors of thread were stitched over the image.

I think it’s clear with this comparison, that the more colors you use in thread painting, the more blended and realistic the completed design looks. I have a few more hours of stitching to do on this piece, but I’m happy with where it’s going. There is no such thing as perfect, so I say “practice makes precision.”

Rest in Peace

My life is starting to normalize into this new groundhog day style of normalcy. In December things were in upheaval and in January it slowly started to return to it’s daily drumbeat routine. I am actually catching up on things.

Yesterday I mailed this 23″ x 26″ (finished size 20″ x 24″) block to Social Justice Sewing Academy’s (SJSA) Remembrance Project. Rashiya Melton was an 18 year old woman who was killed at a Halloween party on Oct 28, 2018 in Cedar Grove, NC. She was with her twin sister, doing what young people do: have fun. An innocent victim of gun fire.

The morning after the shooting, I remember hearing the story in the local news. I volunteered to make a Remembrance block and I was honored when SJSA asked me to memorialize Rashiya. They warned me going into this that it may be emotional. All I had was a name, it was up to me to find out the details.

I found very little information about Rashiya, just a few pictures of a beautiful young woman and a couple news articles. Her twin (who also was dealing with the death of a younger brother 6 months earlier) expressed her deep loss and said, “she was the funniest person I knew.” All I thought was I had to do this well!

This style of tonal applique is pretty common these days in textile portraits. The photo I had was very grainy and I struggled trying to make it work. In December I came close to finishing the portrait. When I was nearly done, I said “no way!” There were details that I thought didn’t show her beauty and the fabric colors weren’t working. I mean “really” weren’t working. I have never tried anything like this before and I needed to take a break. There was too much going on and having me rush to finish this wasn’t going to give Rashiya the respect she deserved.

About a week later, I received an email from the Pixeladies. Their newsletters frequently include tips and tricks for using Photoshop Elements. This particular edition included directions on how to render a photo into comic strip style illustration. I was inspired to try their method with Rashiya’s photo and I was able to create a pattern that was more user-friendly than my first attempt. It also proved to make a more elegant portrait of Rashiya.

Lately my blog posts have been about learning by experimenting. That’s true in this block, but it’s also is true how important perseverance is. I shredded my first attempt and am ever so grateful SJSA gave me time to recover. I could have given up, but I didn’t. I’ve learned. I’ve grown. And I hope my efforts honor Rashiya and her family. My heart is full, may she rest in peace.

What brings you joy

The past couple weeks I have been working on a commission art quilt. I’m re-making my “Goldfinch in My Garden” quilt from the Sacred Threads Backyard Escape exhibit. It’s not going to be exactly the same, but very similar. This new version will be part of a permanent collection at INOVA Schar Cancer Institute – Fair Oaks in Fairfax, VA.

It’s kind of fun re-visiting something I made before. The best part is I KNOW how it’s suppose to go together. Usually when I make something new, the entire process is play it by ear. I envision how something will work, but I’m not that sure that it will. This time around the construction was much easier.

The size of this quilt is different. I knew I was going to make the same goldfinch, but it needed to be larger. The new quilt is square versus the rectangular version I made last time. The process of making the applique bird is the same. I documented it on a new YouTube video that you can watch here. I’m having fun making these videos, so expect to see more soon.

I’m also working with the Global Quilt Connection (GQC) again. So many of us want to take classes and with this pandemic our opportunities are limited. So GQC is partnering with teachers who offer online classes for individual enrollment. After I finish this commission piece, I will be back to work on building new classes. My plan for early next year is to offer some live Zoom classes you can sign up for where we can create together. GQC is offering teachers, like me, the opportunity to show what we offer in classes. There are some great teachers lined up to present. So if you’re craving some new ideas on things to do from home be sure to check out the presentations at http://globalquiltconnection.com/studentmainpage.html. I will be presenting on November 17th.

I hope you are staying inspired and finding time for your creative passions. Above all things…find time for what brings you joy!

We shall see

Over the past few months, I’ve spoken to several of my friends about how they are coping with this “new normal.” Everyone I know seems to be re-evaluating what’s important to them and trying to figure out where they belong.

Speedweve tool for mending holes in cloth

I have frequently written about the treadmill mentality. Every day you step on the treadmill and let the belt drive your movement. Sometimes there are so many things coming at you that there’s no time to think, you just have to keep moving…and sometimes it feels like you’re not going anywhere. This covid situation has broken the patterns. Most of us were given forced time to stop.

Now what? The future we planned isn’t there. Those of use who are working artists/teachers are forced to find new ways of working or be unemployed. For some, this is a good thing, because they received the extra push they needed to finally retire or stay home to care for their family.

What I’ve noticed is, creative people don’t stop being creative. They find another way to focus their creativity. Maybe they move into the kitchen and experiment with cooking. Or they change their focus from art quilting to making functional quilts (blankets) for family. How are you coping?

I personally have started pulling out materials in my stash that I haven’t used in awhile. My wool for felting, that I excessively hoarded a few years ago, has become an opportunity to explore and share a fun craft (see my classes at Artworks Vass). I’m also going through craft books that I purchased over the years and revisiting ideas.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any fabric stores within 25 miles from my home. So, I’m forcing myself to use what I have. By reading the books, I’m re-thinking how I buy and use fabric. I’ve become fascinated with mindful repairs and hand stitching. It’s a calming, productive use of time. I’m pondering how I can use these skills going forward. Do I keep them as handy projects to keep me busy while watching TV? Or does it become part of my art form? We shall see.

Feed your soul

I have a pretty big to-do list for the next few month. Less computer work and more time in the studio manipulating fabric. I’m looking forward to this change of focus. It’s always a challenge to find the right balance of creativity and business time. Both are equally important to me. For other’s it might be more about finding time in your daily life for your creative outlets.

In my life, I try to include events and activities that encourage my creative being. I don’t want to lose the joy of creating by focusing only on the commercialization of art. I frequently find projects that are just fun. Sometimes I just want to do mindless knitting or sew squares of fabric together for no other reason than just to sew.

Earlier this year, I challenged myself to spend a few minutes every day drawing in a small sketchbook. I didn’t set a specific time limit, but I usually didn’t give it more than an hour. Over the past few days I have been flipping through these sketches. Some I think are ok, others not so much. Some I’m considering making into an art quilt.

If you are a creative person, I think it’s important to find time for your art. It doesn’t have to amount to anything specific. You don’t even have to show it to anyone, if you don’t want to. I just encourage you to find time for it. I promise it will feed your soul.