Graduation!
1. Evening Notes - 7 nights out of 7.
Yes, I have accepted them as a permanent spiritual practice. In the past week or so I've realized that evening pages are becoming a necessary practice. I wish I could work out mornings, because there is value in emptying the brain of what I think of as static before the day begins. But I can't, so I find it equally helpful to mentally tote up the day, just before bedtime.
2. My artist date was more an internal field trip. I have 4 great new books focused on color theory and selection. 3 of them suggest playtime tasks that look entertaining as well as educational. I visited an art store for the first time in eons, looking for a color wheel ("suitable for framing"). I thought it would be a good creative exercise to create one in fabric, but I need a standard for color selection. Coming from an interior design background, color theory is not new to me. But it has been decades since I studied it, and I find the reacquaintance more interesting—more comprehensible—than it was back in the day. So my artist date was (and is) in installments all week long as I explore these fun and informative books, play with fabric choices, and make my own color wheel.
3. Synchronicity – Not too aware of any last week. I was fortunate to find an out-of-print copy of Color: The Quilter's Guide on eBay. It sells for well over $30 at used booksellers' sites, but I found it for $13, and it included 2 other books. One of those two is actually a very good beginner's guide—the one suggesting I make my own fabric color wheel.
4. Significant issues – The most significant issue is the summing up of The Artist's Way. I am gratified that I stuck with the program throughout and completed it, even when my interest ebbed. Julia Cameron's inclusion of a "Creativity Contract" at the end of Chapter 12 is a clever idea, and I have mentally signed it. I am committed to 90 more days of evening notes, my as-usual reluctant artist dates, and a specific 90-day focus on creative play. My concrete commitment is to avoid procrastination and finish projects before starting new ones. I plan to continue checking-in, albeit more informally, with other members of this group.
I don't believe I will try the next Cameron book, but I would like to monitor the experience of those of you who are doing it. I would also like to keep up with Suze's experience of DOTRSOTB (!). And if anyone else wants to play Quilter's Playtime or Katie Pasquini Masopust's book, I'd like to play along.
9 comments:
If nothing else, I think a lot of us came out of this experience with new ideas (and books!) for continuing creative learning and play.
I can't wait to see your color wheel. I've had a fabric swap/challenge idea dealing with color wheel colors ... maybe you could help me brainstorm/host it?
Hmm, Sophie, sounds interesting. It's such a simple exercise--making a color wheel from cloth. It's in the hunting for just the right shade that my concept of a color is reinforced. She also suggests making a second wheel using print fabrics.
I've been playing with the batiks I bought recently for a Winding Ways quilt, and I find myself thinking about the color wheel when deciding which pieces to put together. I'm not ruling any pieces out--just shuffling them a bit better, I think.
I have a book I had been reading - Color Magic for Quilters - about basic color theory. It's simply written for those of us who have not had any formal art training. In the book she also says to make a color wheel, first in plain fabrics and then in prints. It is all very interesting.
Yep, that would be the one. It was one of the freebies, and it's a pretty good little book!
Enthusiastic as I am about doing another creativity project with this group, it would be fine with me to lay off for a little while. I feel like I need more time to digest what we've just finished. And I think a playtime experience would be a good antidote for all the heavy introspection I've just been through! I'll wait for ya! I'm just glad to know you're still with us in spirit if not in pen right now.
I'm also interested in working through some of the other books you mentioned - but realistically know that I can only do one at a time and have already committed to Sophie and Hilda on Walking in This World as soon as Hilda's life is back in order enough for us to begin it. I like working with a group to keep me accountable - still tardy sometimes, but ultimately accountable!
Internal field trip--I love this phrase!
I have Color Magic for Quilters and it is a good book. I got my idea for using magenta and purple with my green NYB from that book.
I too am interested in Color & Composition by Katie P-M. Putting it off for a couple of months would be even better.
Hee, hee. Rian, I feel like I have been so bogged down with concerns for others the past few years, that any internal trip I take IS a field trip--to long forgotten territory!
Depending upon the about.com position I might be interested in a color theory study. I would be more inclined that way than another Julia book.
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