Structures #76
Structures #76 ©2007 12" x 12"
I decided to take my advice and yours and this past weekend I took some time off to relax. I also spent some time in the studio just playing. I made a sketch for this quilt over 2 years ago and finally decided to take the time to make it. I’ve been trying to loosen up with my work and this is definitely going in the opposite direction, but it was fun to just do something different for a change.
I need some small pieces for a few upcoming shows. I’m not sure this one will make the cut but I’m processing my digital images now to get some slides ordered from iprintfromhome.com.
Posted by Lisa in: Abstract Contemporary Textile Art
Diane Clancy said,
June 26, 2007 @ 8:43 am
Hi Lisa,
i am so glad you took your own and others advice and got some rest. I did some too this weekend and don’t feel as tired. Makes sense, but sometimes hard for hard workers!
~ Diane Clancy
http://www.dianeclancy.com/blog
tracy said,
June 26, 2007 @ 8:54 am
Lisa, I LOVE this piece! Very mod, in a good way.
Vicki said,
June 26, 2007 @ 9:25 am
This is an awesome piece - I sent the link to a friend that I think may have to have it!
Lisa Call said,
June 26, 2007 @ 11:20 am
Diane - I still put in over 6 hours of studio time this weekend. A lot less than what I might have done. I do wonder if I could really not do it at all.
Tracy - cool - mod.
Vicki - wow - thank you.
Wanda S. Hanson said,
June 26, 2007 @ 4:48 pm
I don’t think loosening up with your work is necessarily the answer. Your stlye of piecing and quilting is so wonderful, recognizable, and successful. I know you like to make big pieces, but smaller pieces would let more people own a piece of your work because it would be more affordable. Even postcard size in your close quilting lines would be great.
Lisa Call said,
June 26, 2007 @ 10:12 pm
I agree Wanda. I seem to switch between the more structured work and the looser work depending on my mood. I like them both. This just feels a more formal than my recent work.
I find it a challenge to work small - to make something interesting in such a small space. But I am working on making more smaller pieces, both because it is good to push myself out of my comfort zone and because I know my larger work is out of many people’s price range.
Thanks for the comment.
Jennifer said,
June 27, 2007 @ 8:11 am
Hi there,
I came across your site through Etsy. I read your old post about success and I wanted to agree with the other poster who said that everyone’s definition of success is unique. For some people success might mean finding enjoyment in the creative process. For others it might mean enjoyment plus monetary gain as a result of exposure. Maybe enjoyment is found in the creative process. Maybe it is found through acknowledgement by others, whether compensated by positive feedback or that paper stuff we trade for objects/services rendered. Whatever it is, I think it is most important to know what will make you happy and go from there. Know thyself and be at peace with it. The rest doesn’t matter.
Best of luck to you!
Lisa Call said,
June 27, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
Hi Jennifer,
Welcome and thank you for taking the time to comment. I agree with you and that was pretty much the point of the post, I think I was a bit round about with it though. Until you know what success means to you it’s really hard to work towards that success or even know if you reached it. So working through the exercise to figure out your personal “use case for success” is really something each person has to do on their own. Entering shows is great - but unless it makes sense for your idea of success it’s probably a waste of time and money.
The post she was referring is this one (which has comments close to reduce spam): How To Become a Successful Artist - the usecase
Marina Kamenskaya said,
June 28, 2007 @ 12:56 am
Hi Lisa.
At last I am reading your blog - and catch myself smiling here, nodding there.
Here is a poem by Pasternak (a great Russian poet) on success in art. Here is the opening stanza - it lost a lot in translation, of course:
Boris Pasternak (1890–1960)
The aim of art is self-discharge
And not the clap-trap of success.
It’s shameless to be looming large
For merits which are but a guess.
I could not find translation of the rest of the poem, but it goes more or less like this:
Life must be lived without false face,
Lived so that in the final count
We draw unto ourselves love of space
And hear the call of future.
So plunge yourself into obscurity
And conceal there your tracks
The way landscape hides in the mist
When nothing can be seen around.
Others will follow your still warm footprints
Step after step,
But you yourself should not be able
To tell your loss from your victory.
You should not betray even the smallest bit
Of your true face,
But be alive, alive - fully and only alive,
Alive until the end.
Lisa Call said,
July 10, 2007 @ 7:09 pm
Marina - great poem - thank you for translating the entire thing for us. I definitely like that line “plunge yourself into obscurity”. I know when I think too grand of thoughts my art tends to be crap. Much to think about in there in other places also.