Saturday, August 23, 2008

Pat on the Back and Back in the Saddle

It took hours upon hours and days and days to complete the Pages piece, a much longer time than I had planned for or anticipated. At times I grew physically tired, at times a bit frustrated in my drive to deliver it when I promised it, but always felt a motivating energy that kept me going. Once I delivered the piece to the University yesterday, I walked out the door and felt a huge release of tension. I had done what I had set out to do and felt tremendously proud of myself for having completed and delivered it in plenty of time for it to be installed before classes start in September. My friend Marcia took me out to lunch to celebrate the sale of the piece and kept me company for the delivery.

When I was nearing the end of making the piece and riding that wave of fatigue, I kept my spirits up with fantasies of all kinds of rewards for completing the work. A trip to the New England coast, a Toronto musical, serious couch time for reading, long, slow walks along creeks in the sunshine -- but here I am the very next day starting two new pieces!

I hopped out of bed at 6 AM this morning (truth be told I did go to bed at 9 last night after dozing on the couch for an hour!) and have been zooming around ever since. We went out for breakfast and strolled through the local farmer's market. I came home and cleaned and vacuumed the upstairs rooms, did laundry and made a blueberry cobbler. I put some fabric up on my design wall and whoosh! -- two ideas popped in to start working on. Then I looked at the clock. It was only 2 PM!!

As soon as that fabric went up on the design wall, I felt the artistic gears reengage and begin moving again. So there's the reward for my hard work, to be able to start into the process all over again!! -- and truth is, what could be more enticing than a new project? I thrive on the challenges and problems of translating ideas into form. There is almost no place that I would rather be than be in my studio or sewing room listening to music, singing along at times at the top of my lungs and leaping my way through the "what ifs" and "why nots" and "uh-ohs" and "ah-hahs." Life is good!

2 comments:

  1. Isn't that the funniest thing? Even when we vow to give ourselves a break from creating, we can't stay away! Sounds like you had a very productive and enjoyable day.

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  2. You day sounds perfect and I'm looking forward to seeing what you will create next. The "accidental" blue dyed fabric looks very promising, like the glimpse of the earth from beneath the cloud cover - I wonder how you will develop it, what areas you will preserve, what you will find between the folds.

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