Thursday, February 21, 2008

Raising My Game

While at the opening of Craft 08, I was overcome with an incredible desire to raise my game. As to how exactly I am going to do this, or in which direction I'd like to go, I can only come up with words.

I have been unwell for a while now; nothing serious, only exhausted by the constant output of the last year-plus, with no serious down time to replenish ideas, imaginations, inspirations. And my eyes don't focus well. It's what I call my debilitating laziness.

The cotton pieces, from design to finish, was done on autopilot, and I didn't get the usual satisfaction I receive from the process. I was also unable to press and wrap the six pieces as carefully as I think I normally do, and was unhappy with the way the pieces appeared at the Refinery. (I wonder if Deb would let me iron them after hours.) So this kind of technical/common-sensical thing is easy to fix.

Colors are something I need to be more comfortable with. And dyeing.

I have a 16-shaft, computer-controlled loom, and together with my Fiberworks PCW, I am able to create complicated-looking stuff, but I don't want to end there; I don't want my cloth to be a gimmick simply because I have these tools. I would like the end pieces to be more than the sum of design, texture and colors. I want my cloth to be inevitable, not incidental.

I long to create what Randall Darwall calls "achingly beautiful" cloth.

And that's going to take a few more throws of the shuttle, I reckon.

8 comments:

  1. A laudable goal.

    Achingly beautiful cloth is not always synonymous with complex cloth. Mastering the basics in color and design are vehicles that will give you a lot of mileage.

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  2. Valerie is quite right, I believe. All a person can do is get to work each day. Here is the link to an article in the Wall Street journal that you might find helpful. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120311487595072493.html

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  3. I don't agree with Valerie. I believe everybody is free to have a goal/direction one chooses; me, if I didn't have a goal/direction, my creativity will stagnate.

    That achingly beautiful cloth is not always complex is exactly what I said.

    Peg, I don't know what to say; Importantitis? Grandiose? I just want to move on to the next step. For me, just showing up to work, though it helps, is not enough; I seek meaning and rationale in what I do from time to time.

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  4. I was not suggesting you are grandiose! I was hoping you would find Balanchine's work habits of interest......... I know about seeking meaning. Everyone knows about that. Just find your next step. I think you might find it in those beautiful scarves......... I think searching for meaning is like searching for happiness. If you search for them, they elude you. They come only when you're not looking.

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  5. Form follows function.

    Next week remind me to send you a PM about when I lost my eyesight for a month. To cut to the chase....terribly liberating and I learned to 'see'.

    Perhaps your inner artist is screaming to play?

    Please be patient with yourself....the pattern will emerge.

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  6. Yes, I would like to hear about it, with all the problems I'm having with my eyes.

    Inner artists? I think you hit the nail on the head; I've been thinking out loud in the presence of a good friend Nancy, and I see a change in the way I see what I do.

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  7. I think you are tapping into a wellspring of inspiration!
    How fun is that?! NICE!

    remember when I sugested weaving a scarf for your beach walking friend......the cadance, the colors, the length of stride. It still might be a worthwhile opening experiment?

    please have faith/trust in your eyes, your mind, your body. Let them guide you. Try to let the inner voice for control and perfection take a breather.

    Yes, I think there is a time and place for this perfection/control. At those moments, only those exact moments, I flog myself with it.

    balance brings peace.

    enough late night musings...

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  8. Lynne, it is fun. Having a direction, but not knowing the destination is not at all me, but kind of thrilling in a "walking blindfolded into a surprise party" kind of way!

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