it seems a lot of people are taking stock of our tendencies toward overthinking what we do. i know i have mentioned it before here on manhandled threads. but that doesn't always mean that we are good at following our own advice!
recently, dee mallon wrote a post called "don't think too much" over on her blog. it caused me to stop and take a look at how i've been overthinking my art once again. worrying about whether i'm creating too many unfinished projects. thinking about which ones i should complete next. should i finish them all before starting another...or create a well-thought out schedule to balance old and new project completion? as a wise bear once said: "think.... think.... think. think. think." and "oh bother!"
i really liked dee's idea of living with one's unmanifested art. or rather...with one's ongoing art. and her gentle way of allowing the piece to make suggestions even when you are not looking for them, like how her beautiful woven cloth spoke up and wanted to be an apron while she was taking a break from her stitching to allow a movie to end! while i don't have a lot of wall space in my tiny home, and what i do have is filled with art, folk instruments, antique masks from the ivory coast and the congo, and the like...but i do have a plethora of surfaces! it's time to dig some of those ongoing pieces and live with them on a more daily basis, rather then the odd stolen moments while digging through my project baskets or when i actually take the time to sit in my studio and gaze at my design wall. not that utilizing a design wall is a bad thing...but i am curious to see how taking a more active roll in actually living with my art will make a difference in its culmination.
if nothing else, it will be an interesting experiment in seeing how i function...
namaste'
like the idea of you living surrounded by your ongoing art (projects)
ReplyDeleteand yes: how difficult it is to stop (over)thinking!
yes. me, too. i shall have to scare the cat and get the camera out and take some pictures of how i've been implimenting this!
Delete"Living with it"...Mmmm...sounds good. Off to Dee's
ReplyDeleteOver from Nancy and what a intruiging blog you have....
ReplyDeletethank you, yvette! i've long been an admirer of yours. i was especially entranced by your recent "survival" cloth!
Deletegentle way of allowing the piece to make suggestions . . .
ReplyDeleteI love that sentiment!
yes. i'm so pleased to have found dee's mention of it. it really got my process moving.
DeleteHi Joe... it's funny you link to me right now because I already have a post planned to link to yours (about the 'cutter quilt' (stay tuned!))....
ReplyDeleteThis 'living with one's work in progress' is something I have really deepened by being one of Jude's students... I line chair backs with unfinished quilts, pin them to curtains (this is how I started exploring light-passing through cloth as a design-element), and use one-inch insulation covered in black felt as design boards that I can easily move around the house depending on what I'm working on or want to look at (some are 6 feet tall and sit on the floor, some are three feet tall and can go on mantel or furnishings).
Also, because I really get stuck a lot - particularly on my bigger quilts - I have become a master at putting a project away!!! -- for a long time, sts.
ha! jude has a way of affecting us all in wondrous ways, eh?
Deletea friend yelled "because you think too much!" at me just the other day. she wasn't the first. learning to live with and in our art is such a letting go for some of us. i'm finally learning to feel safe in it. these are some good thinks here.
ReplyDeletei look forward to the day when i, too, learn to feel safe in it. i am still fraught with anxiety and doubt. i simply need to find the "off" switch on my brain!
DeleteCame over from Jude's Diaries to enjoy your creative blog. This is a thoughtful post worth ruminating on a bit--but not too much! Lately, I've thrown caution to the wind and have started and worked on whatever I felt like. Which just generates more ideas. It's a good place to be. Looking forward to seeing you over at Jude's.
ReplyDeletebest from Tunisia,
nadia
welcome and thank you, nadia! yes, i've spent many years throwing caution to the wind and always seem to end up with too many unfinished cloths. but when i try to force myself to do just one or two, they stall and everything comes to a halt. so i'm back to picking up and working on whatever the moment moves me to...
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