we all have the potential to do something well. we all need to be in
touch with that. sometimes when you do something well, you feel
empowered and think you can do everything well. but really there is no
sense in that. doing a little of every thing dilutes your efforts,
prevents carry through, interrupts the journey. at least that is what i
am thinking in terms of my own goal. i use cloth, and many stitches to make story quilts. at the same time, i am devoted to sharing the voice i hear in fabric. i do that rather well i think. but i am still working on it. i love using hand dyed fabric. not just the kind where you splash color around and see what you get. the kind that holds conscience and intention and the respect for the relationship between cloth and color. the kind that lets the voice of the fabric come through.
i am also thinking a lot about synchronicity and what that means. it is hard for me to imagine things happening the same way at the same time without some obvious connection. i think if you look closely you can identify the little steps unseen or unconsidered that make things clearly separate in their sameness. there are different kinds of steps. one can follow another. or one can dance with another. in the spirit of the dance, glennis and i have formed a nice working relationship. one where art touches craft and back again. i recognized long ago that you cannot be an expert at everything. yes i have dabbled in a bit in shibori and perhaps i might try dyeing indigo, just to know a bit about those who do it so well. i get a bigger joy out of sharing a conversation with another artist. a kind of conversation that allows the details of different crafts to overlap through mutual respect. a joint what-iffing you might call it, paths crossing but still two legitimate journeys. not leading or following but back and forth. a textile two step....
so we talk about cloth and dye and how that make such a difference and maybe the reason that a lot of quilting folks don't know much about fabric options is because there is too much sameness (even though it is presented as different) in the materials available to work with. so i am doing my thing and she is doing hers and together some beautiful music is being made.
it is nice to know that when you catch a glimpse of the sea, that someone can make that happen on cloth, just the way you imagined it.
and on a rainy day like today, it is nice to have some rose colored silk to look through.
so much talk about slow cloth these days. i feel part of the message implied in elaine lipson's original concept is how we can evolve through better understanding and mutual respect. for each other and the craft we choose to explore. for the relationships necessary to do that. this was kind of a long post. but it is a long road.
