Saturday, August 30, 2008

Mezzo Termine

I started this in June, set it aside because it wasn't working, added more in July and it still bored me, so here it is worked some more. Now we are getting somewhere. The challenge this month was balance. Balance is often a middle ground--that place between our obligations and our desires. How much we take on is often curtailed by the things we need to do. It can be tricky balancing what others want from us and what we are willing or able to give. Of course, some times it feels like the gap is wider, and the balancing act harder.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Studios and Such

Where we work affects how balanced our time in our studio feels. My studio is quite out of control. Between fabric and painting, there isn't close to enough room. Using a journal has only emphasized the problem. I start cutting fabric for a project, and it gets scattered over my cutting table. Then I want to work in my journal and have to move everything.


At the beginning of August, my youngest moved out. Sniff. Out came the primer, and three coats later, the chocolate brown room was white. Now I'm painting it periwinkle in anticipation of a new studio space. The room is larger and has a closet I can store seldom used items (like my patterns). Woo hoo!



This month I've also spent much more time with friends than I often do. A friend recently moved back from Calgary, so we've spent time together reconnecting. Plus, Eduardo is here from Argentina this month as well, so I've spent more time at tango than I have in the last few months. These things all take time away from stitching. Does paint on a wall count as a project for the TIF challenge? Hum, how to balance everything!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Balance

This month Sharon's challenge is: "What is balance to you? Do you maintain a balanced life? How do you balance aspects of your life? That is the challenge this month - balance."

I've written about balance before. I re-read the post (and fixed a typo!) and still agree. For this month I could look at the challenge as a balance of time. Right now my time is crazy. I'm working on several art projects, have one more lesson left in the studio journal course—because one week after receiving it, I haven't even started it yet. The next Exquisite Corpse is waving at me—pick me, pick me—but I don't know what to do with it quite yet. Hum, pulls over journal and doodles some ideas.

I'm making great progress on my black and white quilt. Most of the fusing is done, but the quilting will take forever. I have a great idea for further dimensionality after what I did last month with the chicken wire/gel medium experiment.

I'm starting to realize that although deadlines are great, I need a vision for where I'm headed before I set out. For the first half of the TIF challenge, I'd dive in before I knew where I was going and rarely liked the results. The journal course was exactly the push I needed to see that. Thank you Sharon. I highly recommend any one of her courses as she is a wonderful facilitator.

So I'm going to drag the journal a little closer and map out a direction for the next TIF. I already know that it will use the July TIF and go further with it. After I completed last month's challenge, I was musing on the meaning of middle ground (mezzo termine), thinking how it can be a place in physical space, but also a place of balance between two points of view. Then Sharon posted her challenge. Ha! I was already on that wave length (again).

In my journal today, I ruminated further about this idea and realized that for artwork, I work better if I work slowly. It gives me more time to flesh out ideas from start to finish, to see where something will finish before I start it. This is tricky as one of the things from this challenge was to complete a project each month, so it feels like a failure if I don't. Although I could consider July's finished it is still lacking oomph so is it better to leave it incomplete or take it further and actually like the end result? I realize I need to stop over-extending myself and actually balance my time.

Oh right, I also need to make a 13x13 quilt on the theme 'caffeine' by August 15th. Too bad I quit drinking coffee. That sound you hear--it's only me going out of balance.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

New Knitting Ideas

Hey I used to knit. But I wonder what you are supposed to do with this? Decoration for sushi maybe?

japundit.com/archives/2008/08/06/8792/