I have been inspired! I have been inspired by that wonderful woman Gabrielle! After a long dry spell with absolutely no sign of creativity on the horizon I have suddenly found my voice again and I'm raring to go. In fact I had to rush to my workroom and grab fabric and scissors and leap right in. So far all I've done is cut out shapes and place them on a background. I seemed to know instinctively what I wanted and just kept going until I'd got it all outlined and lined up. Now I have a niggle. Do I leave the pink out? Do I have it horizontal or vertical? I had to do it on a horizontal plane as I had no clear space to lay it out vertically. I like both aspects but I can't decide about the pink. What d'ye say? Looking at them on screen I think I like the vertical aspect with the pink. Hmm?
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The fabric was some that I'd done some time ago playing with stencils, rubbing mats and markal paintstiks. Ever since I got Gabrielle's DVD on Borrowed Tools I've been gee'd up to make marks on fabric and although these pieces were fun to do they didn't come out quite as I expected and wanted. However for cutting up for this piece they were perfect. See, everything comes into its own eventually. I can't wait to get Gabrielle's latest DVD which I want like yesterday! I know it will be full of words of wisdom and inspiration and give me a push in the right direction. One of my student's once asked me why I watched instructional material from other 'artists' when I could do most anything already. My reply? It was to say that one can never, ever, know everything and sometimes one could become blase with knowledge so that watching (better than reading or listening though those are pretty good too) could open up new worlds, new ideas, and new directions. An open mind is the one essential to a creative spirit. I think this is why I so love to teach because that moment when a light goes on in a student's head and she/he starts to run with ideas is so fulfilling. And the joy to me is that no one looking at my student's work could tell that I was their teacher as right from the word go I encourage, no push, them into being an individual. And I can learn so much from them too!
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My next step is to take off the backing paper and fuse some of the pieces in place. Without the crinkles of curled up paper I could get a different viewpoint! Who knows! I only know I'm breathing again!
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The fabric was some that I'd done some time ago playing with stencils, rubbing mats and markal paintstiks. Ever since I got Gabrielle's DVD on Borrowed Tools I've been gee'd up to make marks on fabric and although these pieces were fun to do they didn't come out quite as I expected and wanted. However for cutting up for this piece they were perfect. See, everything comes into its own eventually. I can't wait to get Gabrielle's latest DVD which I want like yesterday! I know it will be full of words of wisdom and inspiration and give me a push in the right direction. One of my student's once asked me why I watched instructional material from other 'artists' when I could do most anything already. My reply? It was to say that one can never, ever, know everything and sometimes one could become blase with knowledge so that watching (better than reading or listening though those are pretty good too) could open up new worlds, new ideas, and new directions. An open mind is the one essential to a creative spirit. I think this is why I so love to teach because that moment when a light goes on in a student's head and she/he starts to run with ideas is so fulfilling. And the joy to me is that no one looking at my student's work could tell that I was their teacher as right from the word go I encourage, no push, them into being an individual. And I can learn so much from them too!
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My next step is to take off the backing paper and fuse some of the pieces in place. Without the crinkles of curled up paper I could get a different viewpoint! Who knows! I only know I'm breathing again!
Val, this piece is magical, dare I say lyrical. I can't wait to see where you go with it . Dearest, you give me far too much credit....but thank you for letting me know that my attempts can inspire. You are so talented and have far more skills than I so it means tons to hear that you enjoyed the DVD. Thanks also for the great critique of the construction...occasionally I am a little too married to an original idea....translate stubborn. Good to see you working. Hopefully our fallow period was a contemplation time bringing new, exciting experimentation. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteNice to have you back, Val!
ReplyDeleteI quite like the vertical with the pink too - but I can't make my mind up with or without... Is that the colour of your background?
I like!
ReplyDeletewoot! nice one Valerie, so glad you found your creative zing again! look forward to seeing more. congrats
ReplyDelete