Supporting Evidence

At what point does being intrigued with oneself become vanity?   Being in my own space to work has me studying myself...the discovery today is that I really love auditioning fabrics...having a focal point and placing fabrics around it to imagine the finished piece gets intense...let the images stew, the ideas shape and shift around in my head gets in my body physically, not just in thought.  When I'm stuck I pick up something else that involves my hands moving and giving my mind another focus. 

Today I was working on the piece in the previous post below...(the fertility doll was taken out of the equation, just didn't command enough attention with the fabrics surrounding it)...but when I reached a point that I liked what was up but not yet ready to commit (letting it stew), I moved onto beading on a study (the blue grid), then back to the design wall, sorted fabric looking for "perfect pieces" to compliment the focal point...the sorting of fabric generates new ideas for a totally different piece (set aside for later), then relax in the comfy chair while staring at the design wall. Moving from one thing to another creating a cohesion and order and chaos at the same time.

I'm so intrigued with how I work in the space and how I move around.  I'm using the desk much more than I thought I would...I bead on it, I read at it, I paint on it, I sketch at it...my mother's ironing board is too low and it hurts my back...I have an ironing cover on the cutting table but the mats are on top of it and I don't like moving them to the side to iron.  When I'm relaxing I replay back in my mind what I've done and how I'm utilizing the space...I work unhurriedly but steady.

I missed a deadline to submit to a juried show.  I'm giving myself permission to concentrate on working at creating quilts this year and will hold the goal of learning to submit to shows in a timely fashion  for next year.  It seems too overwhelming to me right now to jungle both aspects of creating and submitting.

I went to Artist & Craftsman Supply today to pick up an acid dye (will need to order silk soon) and right beside them was a new Jacquard product (packaged very well) that caught my eye.  These little dye packs for a cleaner and simpler process.  One for cotton, silk, linen, rayon and wool and one for poly and poly blends.  According to the packet directions each one will dye 2-3 pounds of fabric...the iDye Poly requires simmering for 30-60 minutes in a pot with just enough water to cover the fabric. There were about 8 colours for poly and about 20-30 colours for the natural fabrics.  I picked up about 10 packets and will give them a try sometime next month.  If anyone uses them before I do I sure would like to hear from you on how they perform.  There is even a colour remover...you can click on the image to enlarge-   

My mother has asked me three times in less than a month, if I sell anything.  I think this means that she like what she is seeing.  My mother is short on words and although she is much more mellow these days, while growing up, she advocated strongly to me that a woman needs to generate and have her own cash.  That is what I thought about when she stands staring at my design wall followed by the question of selling.  My mother is near 80 and I don't have half of her stamina or good health.  She is a blessing in my life.