The Changing Face of Creativity

 

Lately I find myself on instagram pouring over the #memademayposts and feeling inspired by the creativity.  In case you are not familiar, during the month of May, people post pictures of themselves wearing their hand made items. It can be anything that you made but mostly it's posts of wearable items.

When I first started to sew, it was to make clothing. I always wanted to be a fashion designer long before the days of Project Runway.  I would spend hours picking out my pattern and make myself all types of clothing; from pajama pants to a lined suit!  Once I got to high school I even began making my own patterns.

Somewhere along the way I decided to quilt which then evolved into what I do now-  mixed media stitched art pieces as well as the meditative stitching on the side. I completely lost all desire to sew clothing of any kind.  And now here I am, back to the beginning wanting to make clothes.

Interesting how the desire to create is a constant but the subject matter is ever changing. Our life circumstances play a big role in this. Before I started my own business, time was never an issue. I think that is why doing something precise and structured like pattern making, garment sewing and even quilting was more enjoyable for me.  As my time became more scarce, the desire to be spontaneous and use creating as an escape mechanism took precedence over creating a functional piece of clothing. The meditative stitching grew from a need for more relaxation and balance.

So what does it mean that I want to get back into garment sewing?  It certainly is not due to an abundance of time!  Maybe the answer is not so deep. Sewing today is much different than when I was sewing as a kid.  Prior to the internet, you were limited to the small selection of fabrics at the local fabric shop and patterns from McCalls, Simplicity or Butterick. These days you can buy patterns from unique young indie designers, fabric of any kind from all over the world and see endless pictures for inspiration.  I already have a project in mind.  We will see what happens and if this creative urge sticks!