Lack of Spontaneity?
Considering yesterday's post, it occurred to me that some might think my way of working is too methodical and lacking in spontaneity...and they might be right.
I refused to work this way for a long time because I thought the very same thing. I was interested in creating art quilts, attending an occasional workshop to learn techniques, flailing around trying to find what it was that I wanted to "say" with my art, and taking an occasional stab at actually making something.
I refused to draw a drawing, blow it up, make a pattern, and work from the pattern because I thought it would "lack spontaneity." Even though I knew this was completely within my grasp and made a lot of sense, based on other art I had created.
So instead I would chop up some fabric, throw it around a while, feel wildly creative doing so, and ultimately be disappointed with any of the results. I'm just being totally honest here.
Then one day I took a class with Jane Sassaman, and she said something that hit hard--she said that many artists working with fabric don't stop long enough to draw or conceptualize before they start "fondling" fabric. Well, I don't really think of myself as a "fabric fondler" which sounds just a bit kinky to me, but I had to agree with the lack of drawing part. And to make it more shameful, I'm someone WHO HAS ALWAYS DRAWN. So why on earth was I trying to avoid it?
I think it was that I don't like manufactured, stiff-looking art, and I had this idea following a drawing would create that. Or maybe it was because I saw what I thought other people were doing, and wanted to do that too (although who even knows if I really knew what they were doing.) But mainly it was because I thought it would be boring to follow a pattern, even if it was my own. Silly.
I decided to give it a try and found it was not boring or lacking in spontaneity at all. First off, I had to start with a drawing and a concept that I REALLY loved and that helps carry me through the project, but then that's just common sense.
What maybe isn't so obvious is how translating a drawing to fabric creates something entirely new. It's not just copying one thing to another. The fabric has it's own personality and either augments the drawing or takes away from it. So I'm working more towards the augment effect, but I don't always know what will work until I try it. Sometimes I think a fabric is just perfect, but it looks horrible when I cut it into a shape. Sometimes the most unlikely fabric is a real sleeper, it's either perfect for the part or funny as heck which is just as good in my book.
Sometimes the same fabric has a totally different look if it's just laid out a little differently, like plaid that's a little skewed. Some day I'll take some photos of all my little cut-out rejects, because often I make the same object several different ways before I'm satisfied.
But back to spontaneity--then there's the cutting part. The raw edges cut by scissors have a kind of spontaneous energy all their own. And then there's the stitching. If I can, I like to design new and different patterns of quilting for each project, patterns that communicate some idea or emotion related to the theme. And although I practice on tracing paper and samples, the real stitching is all done without any drawn lines, so for me it's very creative and satisfying.
So I'll get off my little soapbox now, because I realize what works for me isn't going to work for everyone else. There are a lot of people doing wonderful work out there, and I have no idea if they draw or use a pattern. That's just what I'm doing right now.
I refused to work this way for a long time because I thought the very same thing. I was interested in creating art quilts, attending an occasional workshop to learn techniques, flailing around trying to find what it was that I wanted to "say" with my art, and taking an occasional stab at actually making something.
I refused to draw a drawing, blow it up, make a pattern, and work from the pattern because I thought it would "lack spontaneity." Even though I knew this was completely within my grasp and made a lot of sense, based on other art I had created.
So instead I would chop up some fabric, throw it around a while, feel wildly creative doing so, and ultimately be disappointed with any of the results. I'm just being totally honest here.
Then one day I took a class with Jane Sassaman, and she said something that hit hard--she said that many artists working with fabric don't stop long enough to draw or conceptualize before they start "fondling" fabric. Well, I don't really think of myself as a "fabric fondler" which sounds just a bit kinky to me, but I had to agree with the lack of drawing part. And to make it more shameful, I'm someone WHO HAS ALWAYS DRAWN. So why on earth was I trying to avoid it?
I think it was that I don't like manufactured, stiff-looking art, and I had this idea following a drawing would create that. Or maybe it was because I saw what I thought other people were doing, and wanted to do that too (although who even knows if I really knew what they were doing.) But mainly it was because I thought it would be boring to follow a pattern, even if it was my own. Silly.
I decided to give it a try and found it was not boring or lacking in spontaneity at all. First off, I had to start with a drawing and a concept that I REALLY loved and that helps carry me through the project, but then that's just common sense.
What maybe isn't so obvious is how translating a drawing to fabric creates something entirely new. It's not just copying one thing to another. The fabric has it's own personality and either augments the drawing or takes away from it. So I'm working more towards the augment effect, but I don't always know what will work until I try it. Sometimes I think a fabric is just perfect, but it looks horrible when I cut it into a shape. Sometimes the most unlikely fabric is a real sleeper, it's either perfect for the part or funny as heck which is just as good in my book.
Sometimes the same fabric has a totally different look if it's just laid out a little differently, like plaid that's a little skewed. Some day I'll take some photos of all my little cut-out rejects, because often I make the same object several different ways before I'm satisfied.
But back to spontaneity--then there's the cutting part. The raw edges cut by scissors have a kind of spontaneous energy all their own. And then there's the stitching. If I can, I like to design new and different patterns of quilting for each project, patterns that communicate some idea or emotion related to the theme. And although I practice on tracing paper and samples, the real stitching is all done without any drawn lines, so for me it's very creative and satisfying.
So I'll get off my little soapbox now, because I realize what works for me isn't going to work for everyone else. There are a lot of people doing wonderful work out there, and I have no idea if they draw or use a pattern. That's just what I'm doing right now.
posted by PaMdora at 8:56 PM
4 Comments:
You are so smart to identify what works for you and CLAIM it. Jane is right about working out the idea in the drawing stage, as it is an essential to the kind of work you will eventually create. It is the backbone, the foundation to the finished work. And your are really bringing your drawing to life with the fabric, quilting etc. Good for you and us all that you have identified the right way for you to work.
Wow! I really got a lot out of this post. I have feared that being to methodical could be 'boring' but lately in my work I am seeing the benefits of it and in the satisfaction of getting what you want, instead of something that makes you frustrated and hurts your self-confidence. Thanks for sharing these insights.
I think what is great about this process (and sometimes I do this and sometimes I do not) is that it breaks things down into managable pieces. That is, in the sketch, you can focus on just the design elements and worry about how the color and texture speak separately. Thanks for sharing, I love to get a glimpse of how others work. Jen
The piece I'm working on now I'm doing like that. I blew up my illo and I found it much easier for me to focus and plan. I had to tweak it a little, but that was the challenge of it. I think I'll try it again in the future because it is so much fun! Thanks Pam, Melody (and by default Laura W.) so much for inspiring me to try this method!
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