Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Snow day!

There is something about a snow day that makes me feel creative!  Maybe it's the weather giving me a guilt free pass to stay inside...when the weather is nice, there is an unspoken obligation to go outside and enjoy it. Aside from a few mandatory dog walking trips outside, I spent the day in the comforts of my home.
Without anywhere to be at any certain time, I allowed myself to spend more time with my daily practice. It was extra relaxing today because I am at a point in it where I'm making rows of running stitches. I found myself focusing on the stitch length and the width between the rows. This relaxing focus had me starting a new row of running stitches long after my usual 15 minute time period was up. Here are few pictures of my progress from today.
 

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Daily Practice

Almost a year ago I began a practice that has transformed the way I begin each day. Typically my day would start with dragging myself out of bed, pouring as much coffee into my system as possible, and rushing through my morning only to grab some food to eat in the car on the way to work. Hectic, crazy, and usually accompanied by multi tasking with social media and thoughts of my to do lists.

Now it begins a little differently.  After waking and taking care of the necessary tasks such as walking the dog and preparing my coffee, I curl up in the corner of my couch and enjoy 15 minutes of mindful stitching.

I stitch without expectations or a plan. I allow myself the freedom to just enjoy the process of the repetitive stitch.  It is in this time that my mind is able to relax and sit in stillness. Once my time is up, I feel satisfied and ready to start the day.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

You have to start somewhere...

I can't remember how I was motivated to create my first art quilt. A recent college graduate, I was living in my first apartment and decided to take a basic rotary cutting class. I always had an interest in sewing...in fact, I attended Parsons School of Art and Design for fashion design in a pre-college program. But back then, I enjoyed making clothing- something USEFUL. After college, I again decided to make something USEFUL, a quilt.  Fast forward 15(ish) years and I no longer have any desire to make anything of any kind of practicality. I love the look of the new modern patchwork movement that is currently on the rise but damn if I can motivate myself to cut and sew a bunch of blocks together to form a pattern!

For me, I feel a strong need to express my feelings through my art. I need to tell a story. 

My first experience in using my art as my communication came from an unlikely source- a Tom Cruise movie. I remember watching Vanilla Sky and completely identifying with the social issues presented in the film.
 
Burning holes in some of the fabric, splattering paint on chiffon, unraveling the burlap...it was the process.  The process of the piece was synchronized with the theme of the piece. I was feeling what I was creating. I had found my release.