Uncategorized – Page 15

Bring you peace

As a textile artist, I have plenty of fabric. Even with a closet full, I still find it hard to resist purchasing new yardage when it inspires me. Sometimes I store it away and occasionally pull it out to pet it. If you’re not a fabric person, this may seem odd. I understand, because when I started quilting years ago and purchased yardage I would use it all up before I purchased more for the next project. My friends sort of giggled at my “conservative” approach.

Eventually, I realized that fabric makers have a hold on us. Fabrics usually only have a limited run and then they’re gone … forever. If you purchase a little for a project and decide you need more, you may never find that fabric again. So that’s when my hoarding collecting began.

Sometimes I purchase a fabric just because I like it. Other times, I have a clear vision. That clear vision is what happened with this art quilt, “Seductive Tranquility.” The background is one piece of batik dyed fabric. The horizontal gradient of colors from blue to pink to purple is all one piece of fabric. It reminded me of a sunset and I had to purchase it.

When I made this quilt, I added the mountains, the foreground of grass and the tree. I feel peace when I see this quilt. It reminds me of sitting in a mountain cabin with the building lights behind me and the sun majestically setting in front of me.

Nature can be a very calming and meditative place. But, you have to take time to stop and look. It doesn’t require a big production or hiking adventure. When you see something, like a sunset/sunrise, cloud formations, falling leaves, an acorn in the road, a bird in a tree, whatever …. take a moment and a breathe. Observe, even if for a split second. The tiny respite will bring you peace.

Never one way to do anything

Last month in my newzletter, I explained my desire to engage more with my readers who don’t live in my local area. For a variety of reasons, this year has really grounded me to my local community. I exhibited locally this past June and have been focusing on teaching live workshops at a local creative space. My blog posts tends to be more about the mental/emotional aspects of being a creative. I don’t usually show too many how-tos here. I’ve been thinking maybe I should change things up the next few weeks and see how you like some occasional insight into my process.

So … let’s talk thread painting… one of my favorite things to do. The butterfly image is an example of a before and after of thread painting on a fabric known as “quilters cotton”. Quilters cotton is fairly lightweight and flimsy. And if you’ve ever tried to sew on it, you might notice that it starts to draw-up (pull in). You may even notice that the stitches don’t look very neat. So how do you apply such dense stitches onto this fabric without making a mess?

Stabilizers.

By definition a stabilizer is “a thing used to keep something steady or stable.” With lightweight fabrics we need to add something to the fabric to make the material more “stable” and less likely to draw-up. What’s fun is we have lots of options to choose from.

Interfacing: This material is attached to the back of fabric (or between 2 layers). Most commonly they are used in clothing construction to stiffen shirt collars or cuffs. There are interfacings that need to be sewn in and others that have a heat reactive (fusible) glue on the back that can be ironed in place. Every thread painter has their own preference. My go-to is Pellon 809 Decor Bond (fusible). It’s fairly stiff material giving me plenty of support and I can easily remove the excess material from the back of my work.
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Quilt batting: Think of the thread painting as dense quilting. Fuse or pin the batting to the back of your work and stitch. You may get more draw-up with batting than other products, but it has the bonus of creating a 3-dimensional (trapunto) effect.
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Canvas: A dense cloth used for boat sails, tents and painter’s canvases. Needs to be pinned or fused to the back of the fabric and draw-up is very minimal. It’s challenging to remove any excess, so plan to leave it in or add extra to stretch the finished thread painting onto a stretcher bars to make a finished art piece.
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Stiff Interfacing: A very dense, thick non-woven polyester material that does not flatten or distort with steam, example Peltex. Used most commonly for crafts, like purses, fabric postcards, etc. Used when you want a really rigid finished project.
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Embroidery hoops: Yep! just like the ones hand embroiders use. It’s common to find hoops that are 1/2″ thick in the hobby stores. However, the foot of some machines won’t raise high enough to get the hoop under it. I’ve find 1/4″ thick hoops work with any machine. Hoops that are 12″ wide (diameter) work best for most sewing machines. Note: when you use a hoop for thread painting, you want to the fabric in the hoop to be in contact with the bed of the sewing machine. Look at hooped fabric, one side looks like a drum and the opposite side looks like a tray. When thread painting, the tray side is facing up when we stitch.

I always encourage everyone to experiment. Try new materials and look at your results. Which do you like? There’s never one way to do anything.

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Want to learn more about thread painting? Take my online on-demand course Paint with Thread to learn how. Learn at your leisure, with unlimited access to the materials.

Find time to create

A lot of things can be life changing events like getting married, having a child, moving to a new state, death of a loved one, change in career, etc. None of them usually happen to a large group of people at the same time. Its possible that a similar event might happen to a few people around you, but not everyone in your community.

This is what’s weird about what happened with the pandemic, everyone in almost the entire world had some form of lock-down in early 2020. The uncertainty of the event affected all of us. The interesting phenomena I see is that so many people have emerged seeking a new direction. Resurgence in creative activities is definitely one these new missions people are gravitating to. ~ Why? ~

Many of us turned to creative projects to get us through lock-down. Hobby, craft, and hardware stores were booming. Cooking became a fun alternative to binge watching. Musicians were writing songs and performing live on Zoom, YouTube, and other social media platforms. Writers were writing. These are all creative outlets. Many of us found indulging in new (or revisiting old) creative skills was a great way to fill time. (Are you one of these people? — Tell me what you did?) Ultimately, we had time to create and we loved it!!!

Now that we’re getting back to old patterns of routine, the question is do we continue? There are good reasons why the answer should be YES!

Did you know that making art is proven in scientific studies to:

- - reduce the stress hormone cortisol
  - reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety
  - and, improve the connections throughout the brain; making us better thinkers.

Bottom line is being creative can make us feel better. My advice is if you’re craving creative time, then by all means, go find time to create!

Understanding of color

I find inspiration walking outside in nature. I don’t even have to be in some remote, exotic location; I could be in my own backyard or a city garden. I’m always finding interesting plants, animals or landscapes that catch my attention. If I find something really inspiring, I’ll take a quick photo. I try not to be too obsessive about picture taking, because I don’t want to distract from the ultimate experience of being in the moment. Being with nature is an opportunity to have all our senses engaged. What do you see? How do you feel? What are you smelling? How does the air around you feel?

Although I try to limit my photo taking, I do love the collection of images that I’m building. When I flip through them, its like being transported back in time; the memories, the senses, my emotions…I’m there, in that place, once again. Having this collection of images is also a great reference for art making.

Recently one of my blog subscribers, Cindy, wrote to tell me about a quilt teacher she once had. This wise instructor told her, “don’t worry about color; look to nature for combinations.” What a fabulous lesson Cindy learned! And it is so true!! My collection of nature photos work as a color reference too.

In my blog post last week, I questioned the purple and orange combinations in one of my felted bowls. Yes, of course it works! That combination occurs in many flowers, like the purple irises that grow in my backyard.

Flipping through my pictures, I find an amazing sunrise over a salt marsh with beautiful combination of neutrals. What a pretty quilt that would make with its rusty browns, greys, blues, a touch of green, and brilliant orange and yellows! Wowza!

Stunning 2-tone combinations can be found in the pink and green samaras (aka, helicopter or whirlybird seeds) of my Japanese maple. And, the chartreuse and brown of redwood trees could be the colors of wonderfully rich masculine/earthy quilt.

For creatives, mindful observation doesn’t just comfort our mind and soul when we’re in it. It can also open inspire us with new ideas and provide an intuitive understanding of color.

Observe

How do you look at the world? Do you rush through life in a fast-paced race to the “next thing?” Most of the time, I think we all do.

As a creative person, I frequently stop (or at least move slowly) and observe life around me. When you go for a walk, do you smell the air, feel the temperature, hear the wind, see the small details, and check in with your emotions?

I call this mindful observation and its what inspires me to create. Fortunately, I carry my cellphone with me almost everywhere. I love it’s easy to use camera and I’m always taking pictures of interesting finds. The photos are great references when I make a new art piece.

The little details are important. Maybe the sunset colors inspire a quilt. Or, the visit to the mountains inspire you to create a landscape painting. Or, maybe the smells combined with your emotions inspire a sweet poem or song.

Creative inspiration is everywhere. Stop and look close…do you observe?

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Do you see the tiny red floret in the center of the photo of the “Queen Anne’s lace” flower? Legend says the plant was named after Queen Anne of England who was a lacemaker. She pricked her finger and a bit of blood landed on her lacework. The red floret represents the blood droplet of Queen Anne.

Live life to the fullest

My life has been on overload this month. I can’t complain about any of it, but with the past 18 months of not much going on, this month is making me feel tired. Good news is October starts on Friday and I’ll be able to look at September in the rear view mirror and an emptier calendar.

I recently watched a Ted Talk given by Jean Shinoda Bolen. Her discussion of Liminal Time has been heavy on my mind.

Liminal time is a transitional period between events. Bolen focuses on our current transition between pre- and post- covid times. This threshold period between the two life events is called liminal time. Its easiest to understand in architectural terms, as the hallway between two buildings (liminal space). As you walk through the passage way, you transition from one building to the other. Its almost like being in limbo as you walk the corridor. Maybe you even have time to gain strength to face what’s in the next room.

This all resonates with me because I am transitioning again. Pre- and Post- covid for sure, but also soon to hit another milestone birthday. The questions on whether I have I lived my life to the fullest are weighing on my mind. I’m re-evaluating and looking for what makes me happy. What do I enjoy doing vs what I am doing? Its healthy to do regular litmus tests on your life. Check in. Are you happy? What could you change? What needs to stay the same?

My bearded dragon thread-sketch reminds me of the journey of the dinosaurs. Did they realize they were becoming extinct? I doubt it. I bet they lived life to the fullest. And, that’s what I plan to do, too; live life to the fullest.

Have faith in your dreams

Last week I wrote about fear and how it may affect us when we make art. Fear is an emotion. It is there or it is not. With fear we can either accept the proverbial lion facing us or take action to change the outcome. That takes courage.

To find the strength to conquer our fears, we must want something bad enough. Courage takes passion. When you work on your art and you feel fear, its important to reflect on where the fear is coming from. Is it fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of succeeding, fear of change? Do you know?

When I face fear in my projects, I’m reminded of the children’s story, “The Little Engine that Could.” Do your remember? The little train engine pulled out all his courage and said, “I think I can!” — That’s faith.

Courage and faith go hand-in-hand. When I face my fears eye-to-eye, I think deeply. Do I have the passion? Do I want this bad enough? Am I willing to put in the time? Am I strong enough to stay focused to complete the project? I gain courage by deciding to have faith that no matter what the outcome, I WILL BE OK!!

When facing your art challenges, you must believe you will be OK. Don’t worry about what any else thinks or says. Drum up the courage and have faith in your dreams.

Have to keep trying

Fear. Why do we have fear? By definition: fear is a response to perceived danger that leads to a confrontation or escape from the threat we’re facing. In other words, what is approaching us is either something we must fight or flee.

Ok…makes perfect sense. However, I’ve been wondering why the sense of fear arises when making art? I don’t know that everyone has experienced fear while they are working on an art project, but many of us do.

I’ve definitely had times where I felt overwhelming fearful anxiety while creating. My over-thinking shouts at me, “What if, the very next step (process) you do on this piece ruins it?” It’s not like its a life or death situation. Is fear really necessary here?

Well, I guess what’s really happening is the next step in the process is unknown. It could all go wrong. But that’s life, isn’t it? We don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I’ve been thinking, I still have 2 choices; fight or flee. I can also chose to do nothing and see what happens.

If I’m facing an art challenge, the choice to do nothing means nothing happens to my artwork either. It will remain incomplete. If incompleteness is OK, the threat goes away to … or, maybe not. It may nag at me every time I look at it.

However, if I’m passionate about what I’m working on … that’s where I have to really make a choice. Am I ready to take a deep breath and get ready to battle the obstacles? This choice is about courage; aka the hero’s journey. I’m ready to fight for my vision. I know what it can be. I also know that if it defeats me and I’ve ruined what I was trying to make, that’s OK, because I tried. What I know is, if you want it bad it enough you have to keep trying.

Let’s bring on the challenge

Toadhouse (pottery) made by me. I tried it. I liked it, but I’ll leave this one to the pros.

I recently had some experiences that made me reflect on how artists compare themselves. We all frequently compare things. It’s an important tool when you go shopping for a new car. Even little kids are taught to compare things, like apples and oranges. It’s how they learn. We can easily list the qualities of something that make them different and a number of things that make them the same. But, all things are not the same.

I’ve thinking about all this, because I’m wondering about how we compare ourselves to other people. It’s not so much about the comparison itself. We definitely notice differences between ourselves and other people. It’s a natural human behavior. We look at what kind of car someone drives, how old they are, their body features, etc. And we compare how what we have is different. It’s normal, right?

What I’ve been thinking about is how sometimes we use the comparison as a personal self-judgement.
Am I good enough? Good enough compared to what?

Among artists, I see this comparison going on all the time. Over the years, I’ve witness a lot of self-defeating behaviors. I’m not perfect. In high-school, I remember talking to a friend about going to college. I told her, “I’d like to go to college for art, but I’m not good enough. I’m going to major in science instead.” WOW!! Yes, I started young with this self-defeatist thinking.

While I was finding my artistic voice, I definitely had my share of “I am not good enough” moments. I still have them, but with much less frequency. It’s not that I think I’m “awesome” now — I have a lot of things I want to learn about my art and there is a whole list of ways I want to do to improve on my skills. What’s different is my mindset.

It’s easy to look at someone else’s talents and admire their skills. But, before I start comparing myself and thinking “I could never do that” … STOP! … let’s take the comparison a few steps deeper. I ask myself, “how long have they been doing this?,” “What education/training do they have?” Most likely its more than I have.

Now, think about it. It’s very rare to find someone naturally born with talent. They call those prodigies. Most artists have worked to refine their skills. So I tell myself, if I put in the same amount of time I could potentially be as good as they are. OR… I could learn the same skills and run with them in a totally unique way that makes them completely unique to me! Wouldn’t that be awesome?!! OR… I can learn this new skill and decide I don’t like doing it.

Defeatist comparisons can be crushing to finding our own joy. I can personally tell you it is more empowering to compare the differences as a source of inspiration and motivation. Your mindset shifts. Instead of “I could never do that,” I consider standing tall and saying, “I would love to do that! Let’s bring on the challenge.”

Which one works best

It’s almost September. The days are rushing by and I wish the cool weather was already here. I also wish things would slow down a little too. My September is going to be a busy month. It feels good to have deadlines to keep me focused, but there’s less room for dawdling.

Our lives go that way, don’t they? Sometimes we’re streaming through life at a rapid pace. Then there are the occasional pauses for quiet and contemplation. I try to keep a balance, but it’s been a crazy summer of attending to things outside my “work” life. Mental distractions.

Over the course of this year, I’ve been seeking down time to contemplate. What is my purpose?

It’s always a good thing to self-reflect. Are you feeding your soul?

I’ve had some recent “ah-ha” moments that were real revelations. And, soon afterward, affirmations appeared that confirmed I’m on the right track. There will be some changes as I take a few slight detours along my journey. We’ll see how this newest edition of my journey goes.

It’s ok to look at all the options. Think of it as picking thread for a stitching project. You have thousands of colors to choose. Which is the perfect option? Maybe you have to audition a few to see which one works best.