Making My Way

Once again my work table is filling up with ideas.  Fabric, threads and even doo-dads.  I'm getting very excited about starting a new punchneedle project.

My mental thoughts are of flying a kite.  What direction will it take?  How high will it fly? Can I truly give the work over to my hands and heart - without my critical mind taking over?

"Day dreams are fertile ground for the imagination.  While day dreaming rational thought goes out the window, so new perspectives can find their way in." -Linda Naiman

"Tidiness"

Do we ever stop learning about ourselves?  Does discovery somehow disappear when we turn a certain age?  I am of an age where I'd better 'figure' myself out, if I'm ever going to do so.  And so the subject of 'tidiness' has entered my thoughts.

Moving from mice (who were quite tidy in their pattern and design) back to punchneedle, my first thought was that I would like to  be a little 'looser' with some new-to-me designs. Perhaps more mixed media.

My second thought was: 'where will I put whatever I make after its finished'? And that meant that it 'had' to stand since I have little to no wall space. Without much thought at all I gave myself a framed 5"x7" space for each piece.

 My original idea was to use both regular punchneedle and reverse punchneedle.  As mentioned before I wanted to incorporate some trinket that I already had on hand.  Of course the colors I used had to be appropriate to the trinket(s).  Can you see my limitations growing?

 Now that it is finished, and sitting neatly on the shelf, I feel as if I have trapped myself in 'tidiness'. While I had an 'earth' story in mind, my finished piece told me no story. I ended up with something boxed in, very tidy in design and pretty boring, even to me.  I think its time to let go of limitations and rules.

"Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties." - Gail Sheehy

Finders Keepers

Cleaning out, as I have recently done, has revealed all sorts of this and that - those things that came into my possession at one time or another.  Neatly stored away (or not so 'neatly' stored) they have been sitting here waiting patiently for one of three things: a)to be given to someone who would actually use them b) to be thrown away as if they were not worth a thing c) to be used in something new, something unknown at the time of their rediscovery.

I'm not sure whether having a 'treasure' hunt in my own studio is a good thing or a bad thing.  On the good side I say "Oh, I remember this -- I must use it".  On the bad side I say "What in the world was I thinking".

And so a new-to-me series will begin -- hopefully using some of these 'finders keepers'.  My trusty punch needle comes out, threads of all color and shade find their way to the top of my table and the fun begins...

"Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself". - George Bernard Shaw

Where Have I Been?

I'm truly sorry for not getting back to each of you over the past week.  We traveled out to Nevada to visit our family and I didn't even look at the computer nor my blog the whole time I was gone. 

It was so lovely to visit with our family -- almost all of them at the same time.  Truly a magical, fun filled week.  

Each day I was surrounded by my beloved desert.  Beautiful deep blue skies above me. Mountains in the background (once even sprinkled with snow).

Sunshine that kept us warm, as only the sun can do - but never too warm.  

We looked for water everywhere we went because it is in such scarce quantity.  It was always a treat to see a stream running or ripples on a pond.

It was a lovely time-out-of-time trip. 

"The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands." - Sir Richard Burton 

Wow!!!

Recently you saw my 'messy' table -- filled to the brim with this and that -- all leading me toward a new experiment.  And here that table is today!

Before beginning a new project I did a MAJOR clean out.  Oh my goodness -- it took me several days.  Not only did I clean off my work tables I cleaned out boxes.  Wow, what things you find when you take down a box and go through everything.

Who knows how long things will stay tidy -- but for now, not only is my studio cleaned and ordered it feels like my mind is also.

"It must be great to know what you want to do.  I've got no idea at all.  I just go from one day to the next." Whisper of the heart - 1995"