I worked on this piece all day yesterday. It is just starting. I like the idea of it and I like the stitching that is happening. Done after this picture was taken. When I showed it to someone, she said it was cute. Cute...I know this work is different than other stuff I do. I know if you don't stitch and don't try it you don't really know what it is about. I know that it looks like a waste of time to someone that is into woodworking or other crafts where you get a product that is useful.
But cute...
What do you call it? What do you say to describe it? Why is cute not the right word? It feels like someone patted me on the head and said "good job, linda".
I do know that people expect a product. I do this because I love the new creative process my mind has to go through. I love looking at the little pieces and seeing how they can tell a story. I love the quiet time I get sitting and stitching the cloth and how it feels when it is done. I love the story that is in my head when I am creating it. I love the connection I feel to other people that are also doing this work. But most of all I love the process..
Whenever I weave, I usually do make a product, towels, rugs, scarves, etc. This is not like that. It is just for stitching for the sake of stitching. I know it is not what people expect from me and not something usual. It is not a quilt and will never be a quilt. It not useful.
So "cute" is what it is and I guess I should not be upset.. but I was a little.
linda, i have to go to work but have some
ReplyDeletewords for these last 3 posts....
days have passed and this post is sticking
ReplyDeletein my thoughts.
I am glad you are still thinking of me. we will "talk" soon.
ReplyDeletewell, me again. and time has passed and really,
ReplyDeleteafter all the intermittant thoughts...what i
end up with is
who cares.
who cares. at least for me. someone the
other day wondered if i was making potholders.
there is that sharp stab in the heart, but then
i thought
who cares.
it's what i am very deeply drawn to do.
period.
and you??????
Grace
ReplyDeleteIt is so funny, but I said to someone today that it looked like a pot holder. I agree.. who cares. Thank you for your insight. I am so drawn to it that I have almost stopped everything else. I find I have to ration each project I have going now. So we will carry on.. with our "pot holders."
linda, i imagine that all depends upon one's definition of "useful". it seems to me that something that affords you the experience of a creative process, brings joy to your eyes, providing you with the quiet reflective time it does, delights your fingers to touch, creates stories as it progresses, and connects you to other people by its very existence (to name just a few uses), then your wonderful little story cloth has demonstrated beyond doubt that it is useful!
ReplyDeletebesides, it is a lovely cloth and that ought to be perfect just for being thus...
namaste'
joe
and?????
ReplyDeleteJoe, thank you for your thoughts and for visiting my blog. You are right that usefulness is very subjective. I have my cloths hanging from a little line across my window of my weaving room. Someone recently said that they looked like prayer cloths. Another use...
ReplyDeleteGrace, the cloth continues and I will return to post more. lots of thougth going on here.