There are heaps of great quilts in my sketchbook...

....but for all of them to come into material existence before the entropy death of the universe, some things must change. Some of these changes are relatively easy, or at least, relatively obvious. Skills acquisition is one major area. For example, several of the ideas really want custom-dyed fabric. I'm not yet confident enough of my abilities in this area, but I also doubt that what the quilt wants is out there waiting for me to buy.

Another significant change needed is to STOP some kinds of quilting. There are works I make purely because I can do so comfortably, or because I already have the fabric, or because I'm copying someone I want to be like. These aren't bad reasons in themselves, but it dilutes the 'real' works.

Lastly, and most difficult, to make my own original work the first priority use of my time. Picasso did that. Georgia O'Keeffe did it too. I don't see myself as possessing talent on their level, but until I make that change, I'm not making the best of the talents I do have.

1 comment:

Sally Cummings said...

Gosh, I know exactly what you mean! Crafting can be for comfort, but to really satisfy those creative urges we need to be learning new skills and techniques to bring our ideas fully into fruition. I can't wait to see what you come up with this year :)