"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

A Path Often Taken

What draws me back and back to figure/doll making?  For my path always seem to take me that way - or perhaps it is not back as much as sideways.  Like forks in the road, I work on one type of craft for awhile and then take the turn and head back into the realm of figure work.

I am most attracted to work that tells a story of one kind or another.  It can be a story-story or it can be the tale of the artist and the thought of seeing the world through the artist's eye.  For some reason using the figure as my medium always allows me to tell a story -- it forms in my mind as my hands are working.

Perhaps it is the 'personality' that develops as the work progresses.  Perhaps it is the 'mother' in me that wants to shape and create a new 'life'.  Whatever it is - when it hits it is best for me to go along for the ride.

"To learn something new, take the path that you took yesterday." - John Burroughs

"Tell Me A Story"

I've been wanting to incorporate some words into my work these days.  Thinking about it brought up all sorts of memories of being read to, learning to read, reading to others -- as I think about it I realize how much books and reading have been an integral part of my life.  

I was read to as a child and reading became my main pastime growing up.  My adult reading involved reading to my own son, grandchildren and other children through work at schools and daycare centers and to volunteering and working with an adult literacy program. 

At one point I spent several years reading books onto tape for the blind and also read the newspaper for a radio broadcast for the visually impaired. 

This stitchery is my ode to reading.  I think I shall continue to try to tell stories - but these days I'll try to pass the words through my stitching work.  [A special note of thanks to my friend Phyllis - who sent me a piece of this wonderful fabric filled with handwriting and a drawing of a hand holding a pen - thanks Phyllis].

"As a child, what captivated me was reading the poems myself and realizing that there was a world without material substance which was nevertheless as alive as any other." - Mary Oliver