My card for this week is "Do It Wrong"
Not something I often think I need much encouragement to do!! Still, the idea is - so what if it is not perfect. Will I quit art because one piece I do turns out looking like something a cat barfed up??? NO!!! I'll just learn from it and move on. OR maybe it ends up looking better than I would have imagined. Some of the world's inventions started with an oops! Besides, even if it doesn't work for what I am planning right then, it could fit into something later!! So, don't let the fear of not getting it just right stop you from exploring and experimenting. Do it wrong and watch what does or doesn't happen. Life won't end!!! In fact, unless you decide to share the experience, no one will even know you goofed!!
There is one aspect of my art I'm procrastinating on currently because I don't think it will be good enough and I don't really WANT rejection!! This is a good message for me. Just do it anyway. They will like it or they won't. They won't even have a chance to like it if I don't get it done and put it out there, right???
SO........ BE BOLD!!! GO FOR IT!!!! WHAT'S THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN???
The card for this week -- Capture Your Past
Look back at some of your early kindergarten fingerpaintings, etc. Well, I have NOTHING like that nor do my parents or anyone else for that matter. But some of them I see very clearly in my mind (especially my dino drawing in middle school!!) The best I can do is to look back in my Webshots albums at the earliest quilts I did and my early hand dyeing. If you want to check it out, you can see my earlier work at http://community.webshots.com/user/royalevents
I guess I haven't been at it long enough to really see a change except from traditional piecing to more art quilts. (although with all the babies coming - I've been piecing a bit more lately.)
YEAH!!! I'M FINISHED!!!!!
This quilt has been a long time on the design wall. Several times I had to stop and re-evaluate. Plus it took a bit of hand work.
OK, here is the story.
My niece has a new son - Octavio Luis Silva born Jan 30, 2008. I had made a quilt for their first son - Cai (short for Caitano) so I just HAD to make one for Tavi, too!!! <VBG> (If you want to see Cai's quilt, it is in my Webshot album. The link is in the My Creative Journey - week 15 post just before this one.) My niece told me she was getting the Zanzibar collection from Babies R Us for his nursery. OK, so I look up the pictures of the Zanzibar collection. It took several days for the design to really gel but then I had the beginning at least.
I had some blue swirley fabric (two patterns actually) and some yellow/gold fabric with a kind of clump of grass motif on it.
I looked up Zanzibar on the internet and found a map of the island. I traced its general shape and had it blown up at Kinko's. Then I cut it out of the yellow/gold grass clump fabric. First I appliqued the island onto the smaller pattern blue swirl fabric and cut that out and appliqued that to the larger blue swirl pattern. I figured the ocean waves are smaller and more frequent closer to land.
Next I traced the animals of the Zanzibar collection from Babies R Us and used my fabrics to cut them out and applique them onto the island. That was fine but it seemed lacking something. Then it hit me! Treasure Island!! So I found a picture of a palm tree and a picture of a treasure chest (don't you just LOVE the internet???!!!) and appliqued the treasure chest half buried in sand under the palm tree.
Then there was too much open blue space. Well, all good treasure hunts need a ship to carry the treasure hunters, right? I found a coloring book picture of a sailing ship and cut it out an appliqued it onto the ocean. I named it the S S Tavi (don't know if you can see it in the picture below) Then I did slashed lines of the path from the ship to the treasure and put a red X where the treasure is.
Now the lower left seemed vacant. I found a coloring book picture of three dolphins and cut those out and appliqued those in the lower corner.
Cai's quilt had an leopard print Minkee on the backing so I chose a giraffe print Minkee to back this one. (The Minkee was at the request of my niece because she liked it so much on the first quilt)
The label on the quilt is hand written because Cai's was hand written. I did the title of the quilt with the lettering function on my machine (didn't have it when I made Cai's quilt). The finished quilt is 41" X 45"
Here is the resulting quilt for baby Tavi. Presenting Tavi's Treasure Adventure!! (also known as TTA)
TTA - front
TTA - detail 1
TTA - detail 2
TTA - detail 3
TTA - backing
TTA - label
That's it. In the mail it goes tomorrow. I hope he likes it!
Oh, this is going to be an easy one! I'm already doing it and working on new ones. The title:
CAPTURE YOUR CREATIVITY
I have journals all over the place (even a small one in my purse!) so whenever a creative idea or just even a musing strikes me it goes into a journal somewhere! I also write my pages (The Artist's Way thing). I also have an inspiration board where I put pictures and tidbits that inspire me and I don't want to get away. If they later fit into a journal all the better.
My large design wall is also a way to capture creativity. There are times I just put stuff up there and see what it looks like. Also some things that are "steeping" stay up there for some time but eventually they "speak" to me and we are off and running.
So, just to keep the momentum going on this journey -- I am going to see what greater strides I can make in my journals this week. Have to have something to work toward (like there isn't enough already?????)
I seem to have this fascination with windows and doors. Mostly old ones - the more rundown and broken the better. Not sure why but there it is. When we were out riding our motorcycles on Sunday I saw one of these windows and it just called my name. Had to drive back there today and get a picture of it.
Here is the side of the old barn it is set in
See why I had to go back and get the picture???? Isn't it awesome???
Then on the way home I came a different way and saw two more old buildings and their doors and windows grabbed my attention. So, I hopped out of the van and snapped these pictures.
And here is a picture I took when we were in Cologne, MN on Saturday.
Even though right now I have no idea what will become of these images, I do know I will do something with them. They speak to me and so for now we are just communing until I know what to do with them.
August, 2007
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