Being Still
I often choose to be still or at least slow down. Even when I am in the midst of complex and often repetitive piecing I feel I am being still. It takes on the form of meditation.
Your Still Isn’t My Still
I am fortunate to belong to a critique group of fiber artists. Everyone one of us gravitates naturally towards very different styles of working. One does extremely intricate appliqué based on vintage photographs of people. Another focuses on dividing an image, say of a flower into large triangles of different shapes that are easily pieced one to the other. Our group includes an artist who is layering crumpled fabric to create 3D, flow and movement. None of us want to work like the others. However, by finding our own unique style we have learned to be still, to let go, to be with the work. What is still for one, is still for another.
There is nothing more meditative for me, now that I have my rhythm working on In the Beginning, then working on this project. It is easy to be still and focus.
Rainbow Scrap Challenge
It is one thing to loosely design a quilt in EQ 8 and quite another to piece the quilt from fabrics in my scrap bin. The fun comes from making do. Also, I am frequently surprised, even inspired, by my scrap fabric. For example, if I hadn’t taken the time to sort through my pinks, I wouldn’t have discovered that small scrap of mini pink and orange flowers I used for the center of the pink flowerhead. When I take a moment to be still, I can see how perfect it is. I love the texture it provides. Note also, how the pale pink, slightly striped fabric that forms the first ring around the center has hints of orange. In other words these two fabrics do what I call playing nicely together. They bring unity and calm to the piece, just like being still.
I’m linking up to the following posts:
