Do you ever feel like you're better at thinking about art than doing art?  While it hasn't stopped me from working my way through a list of techniques I want to try this summer, that nagging feeling is definitely taking its toll.  Yesterday I spent a couple hours in the morning working with my mentor (painting on silk!) and then a couple hours in the afternoon cleaning my studio -- thinking a clean slate would help.  And maybe it will. 

Meanwhile, I'm going to just keep putting one foot in front of the other with my textile experiments.  Here's one I worked on last week -- and so far the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.  I enjoyed finding quotations to use and writing them out, I loved seeing how they looked printed on fabric, and I don't mind the tedious cutting and piecing.  But when I got it all together, it wasn't so exciting.

 
Another technique for my toolbox.  I'm trying to keep an open mind about ideas that don't work now -- but may be useful in the future.

Comments

[Jane]

I feel this way all the time! I am regularly coming up with ideas and then either do not take the next step or try it and get frustrated because it seems like my idea is always better than the product. Thank you for sharing this!

[chel]

Story of my life! And I always find myself wandering outside to try and clear my head and get motivated to start working, and then two hours later, I wander back in, dazed from the heat and too zapped to do anything. I think I need to start bringing some supplies outside with me...

[Claire]

I know how hard it can be. But your fabric piece is absolutely beautiful. Can I ask what you use to write on the fabric, and how permanent/washproof it is?

[lettergirl]

Claire, I haven't had great luck writing directly on fabric (since I like detail, and so far haven't found the right tool for that). These bits were made by scanning some of my artwork and printing it out on inkjet-printable-cotton. (There are lots of brands out there, I used Blumenthal Craft PhotoFabric, because that is what was on sale!) Supposedly the fabric is hand-washable, though I haven't tried that yet. Good luck!

[Cheryl Jaeger]

I seem to spend a lot of time thinking about what I will make, so I am having this issue as well, along with thinking about exercising, thinking about organizing projects, etc. Ugh!