Ever Shrinking Art

Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things. -Vernor Vinge

On Saturday, I taught my "Ever Shrinking Art" class at Quilters Quest in Woodridge, to a great group of women. Joy left before I took this photo. I think they did great! We started by making postcards then moved to making ATCs and finally inchies.  I remember thinking that I could never make tiny pieces of art and now I just love it! And I love that I can now get other people to love it too. I hope that I gave my wonderfully creative students an avalanche of ideas and inspiration.

My small group that did trades has disband so I decided to join the Artistcellar ATC Facebook swap. I kept it simple. The only rule was that you had to use an Artistcellar stencil so I wanted to make sure that my stenciling was apparent. Lisa Cousineau, the owner, lives close--Wheaton, but we have never met. I do love her "Art is Not an Option" bag that I use all the time. Isn't that a great message.  I am trading 5 for 5 so obviously I made an extra. I'm keeping the "love" one because I tried using paint with the stencil and while I like the look, it does not look like the stencil. It will become a Valentine. Cannot wait to see what everyone else has done.

Tonight I am off to give my first clay presentation--"Gone to Pot: a Little History and a Few Technique" at the Lemont Artists Guild. I am bringing different kinds of clay for everyone to touch plus a whole bunch of pottery to show including shards that I dug up at an archaeological site (with permission) when I lived in Aruba. I feel it is important for me to continue to do things that push my comfort zone. What are you doing to get outside your comfort zone?

The ABC's of Life- A, B, C, D

I am not planning and that is definitely causing some challenges. Obviously, I must like challenges.

It is fun! It should be interesting to see how the second book evolves. From experience, I know that practice usually creates improvement, but it doesn't always create enjoyment.

The young man (early twenties) in my sculpture class dropped out. It was his first art class and he seemed to enjoy it. We only heard positive comments from him during class. Jon, the instructor, spent more time with him than anyone in class and yet the young man didn't feel it was enough. I have seen this happen when I teach. Some adults seem to think that they should be able to have perfection right out of the box. That learning something new shouldn't involve being uncomfortable and failure is out of the question. I try to embrace putting stretch marks on my comfort zone. I have learned that even when I fail, I can always make something new. It is liberating. It is even better when the recipient of your efforts is kind and appreciates your efforts even when they fall short.

What have you done lately to put stretch marks on your comfort zone?

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

You must do the thing you think you cannot do. -Eleanor Roosevelt

If someone had told me that a year after taking my first pottery/ceramics class that I would be creating sculpture, I would have looked at the person like he/she were crazy. It is still a work in progress but I wanted to share with you what I have been working on for the last two months. I think I have convinced my teacher that I don't need three detailed drawings to create. 

There will be a broken heart hanging inside the hole and a white crow on the shoulder. It is two pieces and will be epoxy together once it is all done. There are wings too. They are on the shelf waiting to be fired. They are bird like instead of angel like.) It was created in two pieces (newspaper separating them right now) so it will fit in the kiln. 

The piece is autobiographical. It deals with a lifetime of not being seen or heard by people who claim to love me. It also deals with coming to terms with life and finding flight. It has been an interesting experience and I will be creating another sculpture that deals with loss. 

Why clay? It is just another tactile experience, another creative outlet. I think pottery and quilts have more in common than one would think. There is the kaleidoscope of forms, colors, textures, sizes and function. There is traditional and contemporary. All I know is playing in the mud feeds my artistic soul. 

What feeds your artistic soul?

Pushing the Limits of My Comfort Zone

I continue to push the limits of my comfort zone. First, I have been writing again. Real Simple magazine is having their sixth annual Life Lesson Essay Contest. You are to answer the question, "What is the bravest thing you have ever done?" I am writing about my first trip to Georgia. People have continually told me that I need to write a book on my adventures. This is helping me decide if this is something I can and want to do. Vote is still out. And no, it won't be determined by whether or not my essay is chosen. I know that it's a long shot if for no other reason than the confusion over the country.

I've been doing a lot of cleaning. My husband was teasing me about my "productive procrastination" until he read "The problem with writing was expressed well by the writer, Ernest Hemingway. A reporter once asked Ernest Hemingway what he did first when he was beginning a new book. Hemingway responded "First I defrost the refrigerator.""

I am also continuing to challenge myself with clay. My morning walks are usually along the DuPage River. For several days, I spent time watching an egret fish which became my inspiration. Since I am also trying to combine fiber with the clay as often as I can, I made the wings and other details out of fiber then added other fun items I had hanging around. The beak got broken along the way (this happens when so many different people are involved in the process) so the rope and hanging crystal hide the break. Now you know a secret. Shh. Don't tell.

He was created in four pieces because he would be too large otherwise to fit in the kiln. And because my friend Marti will remind me if I don't share, he is 30 inches tall. I guessed on the shrinkage (the clay I use shrinks by 12%) and was floored that he fit back together! The planets must have been aligned!

The poem "Egret" by Mary Oliver is carved into the blue box that he stands on. This remains one of my favorite pieces.  He sits in my family room.  I keep hoping inspiration will strike again and I can create something similar.

How are you pushing the limits of your comfort zone?

Courage, Fear, Growth, Friendship

Courage is resistance to feat, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.  -Mark Twain

During a conversation with my friend, Marie, I was suddenly struck with the thought "I want to be a better person. I want to be the person others see when they look at me." I remember years ago hearing someone say, "Friendships that work are relationships in which women help each other to belong to themselves." Fortunately for me, I am blessed with friends that are doing exactly that.

Being in the different groups which I belong is definitely helping me as an artist. ClaySpace is a huge factor in this too. I am learning something new, pushing myself to create outside my comfort zone. The funny thing about a comfort zone is the more you stretch it, the more it grows. My interview to become a resident artist went better than I could have imagined and now I am on the waiting list. My sketch book is growing with ideas on how to combine fiber/quilts and clay. Leaves are being to pop out on the trees and even in my fuzzy allergy state, my heart sings! I feel I am truly living a creative life. How about you?

Pushing Yourself to Try What Isn't Easy

It's interesting to be in the "student mode" again. I've returned to ceramics/pottery after a month's break and in many ways feel as if I am starting all over again. Ugh. I know that the only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice. I also have to work at silencing the voice inside my head that keeps telling me I'm never going to be any good on the wheel. This comes from a teacher who told me that I needed to give up pottery. "You will never be any good."  At the time, I was living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the class was at LSU and we were using kick wheels. I was not very coordinated (not sure I still am) but she was one of the most discouraging teachers I have ever experienced. I'm still amazed that I made it through the entire semester. Anyway, hand building and specially being able to make masks and the wonderful community at Clay Space are keeping me going. I am determined!

I know that when you push yourself to try something that isn't easy is when you gain the greatest reward and satisfaction in the end. I've noticed in my teaching that adults seem to think that taking on a new skill should not take time and effort and yet I believe that doing new things keeps us young and interesting. I call it "putting stretch marks on your comfort zone." How have you pushed on your comfort zone lately? Have any plans to do so in the future?

Panic and Something New

I dropped my sewing machine off today to get what I am calling "an attitude adjustment." The tension is off so it simply isn't sewing well. I've put this off as long as I could. I am feeling the loss already as several ideas popped into my head. And no, I don't have a back up. I think the only thing that might save me as I wait 2-3 weeks for my machine to be returned to me is the ceramic's class that I am taking with my friend Barbara. We had our first class on Monday night. I love pottery but was never particularly good at it. Amazingly, I do have a piece that I made in high school. I lives out in my yard.  My teacher wanted us to make molds of our faces and almost everyone was scared to do it, but not me!  I lost quite a bit of my bangs which got stuck in the plaster of Paris. She didn't mix enough so the tip of my nose was not part of the mold which always bothered me. Anyway, it was interesting to be once again doing pottery. It's been a while since I have felt so awkward and uncoordinated. I think this is a good thing!  I have had to keep telling myself that this time I will be a good potter. I just need to practice and be open. The class is 10 weeks so we shall see. I did manage with the help of the teacher to make three small pots. My friend Barbara did a much better post on our experience.  Check it out and you can also see the great piece of pottery she inherited. When was the last time you did something outside your comfort zone?

No matter how one may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a new language, science, or the bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born into the world.  ~Frances Willard, How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle

Thoughts on Putting Stretch Marks on Your Comfort Zone

I have fallen in love with creating an art journal. It has me thinking in some many different directions. Maybe I wasn't ready for keeping this kind of journal until now. I could use the excuse of time but I have always believed that time is a created thing. I make time for what is important to me (or when my house is in desperate need of cleaning). It does show me once again that until we are open and ready for new experiences, it just won't happen.

When I teach, I spend a good part of my time helping people overcome their mean-spirited critical inner voice that tells them "I can't" or "I'm not creative," etc. and pushing them to move beyond their comfort zones. I jokingly call it "putting stretch marks on your comfort zone," but I am serious about how important it is as adults to do so. It took me quite a while but now I'm aware when I'm not pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. And while I don't think that my art journal is pushing much, it is allowing me time to explore, ponder, keep perspective, be curious, lighten up, release and try new things all in a safe place.  This new phase is creating lots of new ideas and I cannot wait to see what happens next! Do you think about your comfort zone and how to move outside it

New Direction

Crow's Delight

My new work seems to be a natural progression, at least for me. I'm trying to move myself to do abstract work.  I entered this piece in the Naperville Art League's themed exhibition As Crow Flies. (Each month the League has a themed exhibition.) It was the first time I had ever entered anything and frankly I was nervous. I actually sat out in my car for a few minutes before going inside to register my pieces.Turns out I didn't need to be nervous. My quilt was warmly embraced and I got lots of positive feedback (alas no sale). I did find it interesting that people felt very comfortable touching my piece and wondered how they would feel if someone did that to her work of art. However, I do feel that being accepted, having positive comments, etc. is worth having my work handled after all it is only natural to want to touch fiber.  This work included retail fabrics and my own bleached and dyed fabrics, hand quilting and machine quilting and hand beading (which is where the title originated). It was my attempt to create an urban landscape. The "love" was my homage to graffiti.  I feel the exhibition was one of the better ones for the NAL. I am pleased I pushed on my comfort zone because next time will be easier. When was the last time you pushed your comfort zone?