If you enjoy what you do, it shows in your work.
I am extremely grateful I’m able to design and create textile art which is meaningful and uplifting for me. It’s a continuous, beautiful, creative loop, where I’m always learning and always exploring.
Design, design, design…….
Trialling ideas and colours may just lead me to new work – or a new body of work!
For me, design nearly aways begins with paper and pencil, lots of rubbing out, fleshing out those lines with a black felt tip marker, then filling with glorious, uplifting colour. The paper has to be white. For some reason I just cannot work on yellowed white or greyed white paper. Sometimes I stitch exactly as I’ve designed, other times I make changes as I work. That’s fine by me. I have a plan. I know where I’m going!
It’s all about doing, doing some more, then doing even more on top of that!
Nothing creative is a waste of time, in my opinion.
Designing my own work is a magical part of the process of being an Australian Textile Artist. Do I stitch every design? No. Does it matter? No. It’s the process; the doing, the thinking and the feeling that’s truly important to me.
Looking back on work already done, is a great way for me to continually move forward.
Remember the right brain v left brain theory?
I’m definitely a right brain person and it’s that sense of timelessness when I’m deeply involved in working a design that says to me, hey, this is great, this is where I want to be. Whether the work is good or not is irrelevant. Almost anything can be improved. What’s important is that I’ve travelled to a different dimension where time seems to have vanished or been suspended. Along with that comes a true sense of well being and satisfaction. That’s what it’s all about and that’s a very, very special place!
Design inspiration can come from anywhere. Here I’ve used part of an image cut from a magazine. I’ve used words (below) to add a deeper level of meaning to the work. These words can be applied to materials and techniques not just the design. It’s a win-win!
Words help consolidate ideas, colours, textures and mood. Mood is important in my work.
After looking through my 2009 Creative Journal again, I think I might stitch out a few of these designs. They aren’t half bad!
Do you have designs you haven’t looked at in a while? Seeing with fresh eyes may just inspire new work. You never know…..
