Ordinary or Extraordinary? Part 1

This past year my focus has shifted into making more fiber art and fewer traditional quilts. I still love to work on traditional, usable quilts but I find myself being pulled more into making art in ways that allow my soul to sing and embracing the itch that is scratching from within myself to be let out. My World Quilting Travel Adventure was my own test to explore myself from within. To my surprise, I overcame my fear of writing and designing, and most importantly gained an inner strength to do things in unconventional ways not caring or thinking/worrying how it would be perceived by anyone other than me. It is a freeing experience and one I encourage you to do as well.

My next push is to create good art consistently. I'm no Picasso or Mozart, but I can become good at my art and occasionally I may just create great art. Finding yourself and your own work is a process and it's hard work. Trust me when I say it is completely worth the effort if, you are in the same place as me, and want to make art because it is simply what you must do even when your work has become hard and you are unsure of where the next step will take you. You must push yourself.

Or as Gene Fowler stated: "Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead."

If we were able to speak with some of the famous artists throughout the generations, I would imagine them telling us that we must push through our uncertainties and actually make art to get better at making art. Crazy sounding I'm sure but think about it. How many unfinished projects do you have hanging around? Okay, I won't disclose mine and you don't have to disclose yours, but if you think about it, if you are serious about your art, you must finish your art so that you can move on to the next piece. Thus, the World Quilting Travel Adventure began and I began creating. It has helped me by starting the adventure because it has pushed me to finish so that I can share it with you and so that I can begin the next piece. My next goal is to proceed at the speed that I want. However, I also own a small business that demands normal business hours and spending time with my family is very important to me. So, I've begun carving out slices of time and actually scheduling it on my calendar so that I make sure to get in studio time. I may not be able to delve in with abandon yet, but carving out appointments with myself allows me to have time I would not have otherwise have had.

This will be an ongoing discussion with myself and you as I learn. I hope you will share your journey with me and others so together we can all grow.

Last but not least, please enter your art into as many shows as possible. Also, please think about other places where you can share yourself that is outside the quilt show venue.

Extraordinary Art is made by Ordinary People like you and me. 

I entered two of my souvenirs "View from my Window" and "England's Tea Room" into our local quilt show. I was delighted to see ribbons hanging on both of them. A big thanks to Terry Knott for her wonderful lesson on properly making a hanging sleeve.