Body of Work
Debra Roby commented on her blog about my posting last friday about trends in quilt making.
She made some interesting observations. In particular she made some comments about the need to create a large body of work. This is a topic that comes up often among quilters and for some reason it is controversial. From where I’m sitting I can no longer understand the controversy, as an artist I don’t see how you can succeed without a large body of work.
I made a decision several years ago to enter fewer shows and to concentrate on becoming more established. Prior to that I did work here and there trying out new things and never really focusing. I’d enter every show I could find and rarely had enough work to enter very many shows at a time, always lamenting I didn’t have enough work. I certainly never had enough cohesive work to pull together a solo show.
If you look at my resume there is very little on there between 2000 and 2003. The shows I was in during this time were mostly invitational or group shows that friends organized and I didn’t have to be juried in. In fact there are only 3 juried shows the entire period, 2 at the beginning of 2000 that I entered in 1999 and Quilt National.
I chose to spend those 4 years creating a body of work instead of being distracted with shows. Debra suggests in her blog that I’m now “established” and so I can ignore trends and do what I want. I think about it differently. I think that I’m more established (although I still think I’m an emerging artist) because I finally did start ignoring the trends in 2000 and instead concentrated on my own work.
It’s hard to step out of the rat race of the quilt art world and seclude one’s self. People forget who you are. It didn’t help that I also changed my name during this time so when I reappeared in 2003/2004 I was virtually an unknown. I loved Melody’s comment on my blog when she discovered my former name .
Putting on the blinders and ignoring all the excitement when people get into shows or have their work published is very difficult but I’m very happy I did this. In the end I think it has made both my artwork and my commitment to the artwork much stronger.
While I’m not saying everyone should stop experiementing and get on with a body of work, I do believe at some point if you don’t do this you aren’t going to get very far in the long run. I know the time I spent experimenting and finding my voice was very important. I took classes from a variety of people and struggled until I finally had that “ah-ha” moment and realized that I wanted to do pieced work exclusively.
Posted by Lisa in: Motivation
Valeri said,
March 8, 2006 @ 1:50 am
I think what you have said is very pertinent. I too have found that I need to focus on me and my creativity and to build up a body of work so that I can see where I’m going rather than just talk or think about it. In my case it has meant less teaching and more doing. I love the way your work builds on itself. Hopefully I’m getting there slowly.
Omega said,
March 8, 2006 @ 5:01 am
My responding comment is too long to put here, so I’ve posted on the subject. I think that for many people embarking on textile art as a second career there has in fact been no career development guidance, and success or failure perhaps seemingly judged only by acceptance or rejection from juried shows.
Shan said,
March 8, 2006 @ 8:59 am
You nailed it when you said, “I think I’m more established because I finally did stop (but I think you meant start) ignoring the trends…”
In my opinion, work has to be authentic to be good. And it’s often fairly easy to detect when it’s not.
Lisa Call said,
March 8, 2006 @ 9:21 am
Shan - I totally agree - authenticity is so important!
And Oops - that was a typo - I fixed it. Thanks.
Omega’s post on her blog is interesting and I think the comment that many textile artists are lacking career guidance is really quite accurate. The large email group “quiltart” seems to be the largest guiding force and it’s maybe not always the place to look for such advice.
Valerie - keep on working - it’s a slow process but so worth it in the end.
Gerrie said,
March 8, 2006 @ 10:05 am
Excellent post, Lisa. In a sense, I am planning to do exactly what you did. I hope our move away from so many of my distractions and a better studio environment will help me find my voice. And I agree about QA!!
Deborah said,
March 8, 2006 @ 7:20 pm
Lisa, I’m just curious… what does creating this body of work and finding success in juried shows etc lead to? What is the follow-on goal? Is it simply to continue to make wonderful art? (which is perfectly valid, of course!) Or to support yourself financially with your art? Or to get a contract to write a book? Or to be invited to be a guest on the Letterman show? Or? Or? Or?
Lisa Call said,
March 8, 2006 @ 7:30 pm
Good question Deborah!
It leads to whatever I want it to lead to. Because if I want it I know I can go get it. I have a pretty good idea what my idea of success as an artist means to me personally but it is different for everyone. For some people it means supporting themselves financially, or to have shows in museums, or to be successful at public art commissions, or to become a successful teacher, or any number of things.
There is no one path for an artist to take and one of the important steps I believe artists need to take is to figure out what they are after. If you don’t know what you want it’s hard to get there.
And yet another plug for Alyson Stanfield (in my blogroll) - her classes and workshops are excellent and can really help an artist figure out what they want and how to get there. I highly recommend them.
Gerrie - I’m looking forward to seeing where you take your art in your new home! might be more releva
Melly Testa said,
March 11, 2006 @ 5:30 pm
I feel two ways about this subject. More often than not I want o make what comes to my mind. I want to explore. Many of my newest pieces are surface design oriented. But I still reach for and use many quilt oriented techniques, reverse machine applique, machine drawn line, collage. When *I* look at my work it says Melanie Testa. Do I want to get into a rut of making things that remind others of my “name”? Simply put, no. I make art for my soul, I love the process of making, not the finished product. I love what I have made when it is complete but it has lost the newness, the intrigue, the connection that I felt when I was making it.
Lisa Call said,
March 11, 2006 @ 7:11 pm
“Do I want to get into a rut of making things that remind others of my “name”?”
I’m curious what you mean by this and how this relates to making a body of work. Look at deKoonings work - he made hundreds of paintings - was he in a rut? Or Mondrian. Or Monet? Or any of the dead white men.
I don’t look at those works and see an artist in a rut - I see an artist with passion that chose to explore their passion in detail.
With repetition comes mastery of a technique and the ability to emmerse oneself deeply into a subject.
Everytime I start a new Structures piece I’m excited with the newness and the possibilities a fresh start can bring. Each piece building on the last as my craft and understanding of the subject matter is deepened. If you haven’t read what my work is about you can read some of my thoughts here: some thoughts about my Structures series
Kim Power said,
March 19, 2006 @ 12:54 am
Hi Lisa, I think what you are saying here is very valid. It is good to experiment, but then good to find a focus and see where that experimenting is taking you. I find that I choose an experiment, or challenge, and try and take it to the limits of its possiblities. Then, when I feel I know it, I tend to have an overlap into my next series or body of work, each time incorporatiing what I have learned previously. Whe I was in college a drawing teacher had us do a series of self portraits using different materials. I liked the feeling of depth in the exploration of the same subject so I continue to do this today. I think you can develop a body of work not only being material based but being subject based. This might be a way to go for those who still want to experiment but want some cohesiveness in their work. I’m fascinated to see where you are taking this structure thing.
Lisa Call said,
March 20, 2006 @ 9:02 am
I really like the idea of taking a subject and exploring it in detail in different media. As I get more into drawing I can see the tie between my quilts and my sketches - it’s really quite fascinating to explore another artform.