Page 40 – NanetteSewZ

This New Quilt

Well hello there 2016!

Sometimes it’s unbelievable how time flies. Occasionally, I’m reminded of things that happened in the past and I’m frequently baffled how long ago that event happened. I guess that’s what happens when you get older. Time flies faster.

At the beginning of the year, I try to come up with new goals. Not really resolutions, but just ideas of things I want to accomplish. My biggest goal this year is to create enough artwork for the exhibit I’m in this coming November. I have some pieces, but I need quite a bit more.

The entire concept of creating enough to fill a gallery is a bit intimidating. Its also very inspiring. I have a ton of ideas buzzing in my head. Some things are similar to what I’ve done in the past, but I’m also thinking about some innovative ideas like 3-dimensional construction. This could get interesting.

The last 2 months I was working on a large piece and decided that it would be better left for when I own my new mid-arm machine. The new machine can handle the bulk of a larger quilt better than the machine I currently have. I’ve placed this large quilt on temporary hold and am working on ideas for smaller quilts.

The last few days I’ve been creating outline drawings for my next piece. I’ll use the drawings as templates to render my little feathered friends in fabric. I could just hand draw the images, but I like to create them in Adobe Illustrator. It takes a bit of effort to get them into the program, but I find the end results easier to use. I can take a couple of base images and alter them easily in Illustrator. If the originals don’t work, a little tweak here or there and I have an entirely new character. This is helpful when I’m making a piece with multiple components of the same thing. Working for over a decade as a web/graphic designer has offered me the tools and confidence to work this way. Without the aid of the computer, I would be drawing and re-drawing my images to get the look that I want. That’s just not something I’m excited about doing.

I have ideas for several bird quilts I want to make this year, but this will be my first attempt creating them. We’ll see how this one turns out. The end result might alter my ambition for the year, fingers crossed it works out as well as I envision.

By the way, I’m curious, when you look at my line drawings, can you tell what specific bird species I’m featuring in this new quilt?

Happy New Year

Every year at this time, I reflect on what I’ve accomplished and where I’m heading. The new year is a good time to do this type of inventory, because there’s a virtual line between old and new. Say goodbye to the old and hello to the new, so to speak. In reality time is just one continual blur, so any date could be used as a reflection point. Deliberately or not, I always tend to reflect more at this time of year.

Looking back, I really did a lot this past year. I produced 2 art exhibits, entered several shows, and applied for and received a grant. I spent a lot of time last year helping others on their journey. I’ve learned a lot.

This year, it’s time to work on me. It’s time to put the energy into my own artwork as I get ready for an exhibit in November 2016. I realize I’m easily distracted [dutifully noted, as I just spent 2 hours working on my website]. I find it easy to help other people, but find avoidance in my own productivity. This is going to change this coming year. I’ve been clearing my plate of many things so that I can find more studio time.

One thing that I’ve been doing the last couple months is search for creative inspiration. Every day, I try to look for and photograph things that inspire me. I tend to find the most beauty in the natural world. I enjoy seeing the color pallets that naturally occur around me. The form, structure, and design created in nature is pretty amazing too.

When I can’t be in the studio, these photographic essays are a way for me to entertain my creative sprite. They also inspire me with ideas for my art. I’m not sure how all the images fit, but having them in my “library” will prove to be a great resource when they’re needed.

It will be interesting to see how this next year advances. Right now, I don’t have many hard core plans yet, but that’s what January is form…thinking and dreaming about what I’ll make of 2016. As always, I’m looking forward to a new year and I hope you are too!

Happy New Year!

No Guarantees

The end of the year is almost here. There was one last thing I promised to do before the end of the year. I’ve been kind of quiet about it, because you just never know what will happen. Although people cheer me on…after the fact… that they knew I would get this or do that, there is always the realist in me who whispers…”don’t get cocky.” There are never guarantees in life, especially when you put yourself in competition with people. I’m sure some enter a competition and say to themselves, “I got this!” But personally, I think that sets me up for major disappointment when I don’t win.

My personal philosophy is to keep a low profile. I don’t make a big deal about any competition I enter, because I understand that as much as I may want to be accepted…there are no guarantees, no matter how much my friends and family tell me they believe in me.

This year, I submitted entries into 4 different shows. Entering shows is a competition. Everyone who enters is competing for the few slots available in the exhibit space. Each of us believe we are worthy of acceptance, otherwise we wouldn’t be entering. But there again, no guarantees. At year’s end, I’m ranking 2 for 4; a 50% success rate.

Right now, I’m trying to work on a large piece, but my procrastination has been high. I really haven’t been excited about finishing it, life is getting in my way. I wanted to enter it for consideration into a call for entry that opens in January. But, it just has been plunking along with little progress. I’m lacking motivation. I even considered backing out of my exhibit this November. I just wasn’t sure how I could make enough pieces. Sigh…self doubt can strangle you.

And then this past Saturday, I received a plain manilla envelope in the mail…more junk mail? I opened it with curiosity and then, seeing the contents, I immediately lost my breath.

You see, from the start of this year, I had planned to enter another competition. A very selfish competition. I was required to write a proposal and share a dream. I had to pull-together supporting documentation and get letters of recommendations. I attended meetings to learn more about the process and asked questions from people who believed in me. I applied for a grant and have been waiting for the news since October.

This past Saturday, in the plain little envelope where the words which today inspire me to keep going. I received full funding for a Regional Artist Grant. I’ve learned since then the very few people get full funding for this highly competitive “selfish” grant; I was only one of 2 who received full funding this year.

I call it selfish, because it’s all about the recipient. As an artist, we get to dream big and ask for money to fulfill that dream. My dream is to own an industrial-style sewing machine that will allow me to more accurately and proficiently stitch larger quilts. Thanks to the Arts Council and my tenacity to apply for this grant, in 2016 I will own one of these machines. Wow! I’m excited!

My artwork will improve because of this machine. But until then, the large quilt I was procrastinating about will go on hold so I can do it right on this new machine. And, until then, I will place my focus on making smaller pieces on my domestic machine.

Sometimes I think destiny dictates how my art is suppose to happen. When I get upset with my progress, or lack there of, I have to remember to step back and just accept what’s happening. I’ve always believed the pieces I make speak to me; some times I forget to listen. As in this case, I think my swampy quilt knew what was coming.

I like not knowing the outcome, because when things happen that I don’t expect I’m overjoyed. Life’s fun that way. I like having no guarantees.

Use for the Leftovers

The other day I was watching an episode of Quilting Arts TV. The host, Susan Brubaker-Knapp was interviewing Mark Lipinski. For a couple years, I’ve heard of his “Slow Stitching Movement.” I don’t know much about this iconic quilter, but I suspected what he was talking about was hand sewing. Slowing down and enjoying the stitch.

Well, it turns out I was half-right. His concept isn’t about doing hand work, but it is about slowing down and experiencing the process. I’ve been a similar journey for many years, I know it as being mindful and present in the moment.

It took watching this program, to realize that I could, and should, be applying the same concepts to my sewing. One concept Mark addresses is taking inspiration from things around you. He says that each day he takes a photo that inspires him. In the land of cellphones and iPads, this is pretty easy to accomplish. I’m trying to do this. I’m not so faithful about doing it everyday.

Another thing, Mark says he does is sew mindfully for 30 minutes, twice, everyday. In his demo he was just sewing strips of fabric. As he was doing it, he was paying attention to the sound and motion of the machine. It put him in the present moment; mindful. Brilliant.

I’m still in my little rutt, but doing what I can to keep the creativity flowing through my veins. Last week I tried Mark’s sewing technique. For the past 6 years, I’ve been collecting the interesting cut-aways from my quilts. These cut-aways are the pieces that I remove when I square up the edges after finishing a quilt. Last week, I trimmed these pieces into strips of various widths and then randomly stitched them together to create colorful quilted panels. I have a couple ideas about how to use them.

These panels inspire me because they show a bit of my history. I know where each piece came from. Some of the original quilted fabric were deconstructed from artwork that didn’t quite make it the first time around. I think I’m going to do more of this. Instead of piecing fabric, I could do free motion stitching 30 minutes each day. That could be fun and now I’ve found a use for the leftovers.