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Wednesday, March 02, 2011

blurry but in focus

オニオン と藍染め

  silk bourette knit onion and aizome dyed shibori

not the photo, me.
one of my on going obsessions is feeling that i am too scattered, jack of all trades,  dabbler all those things rolled in one .i admire people that just do one thing and  do it well, not sidetracking into what their minds suggest. the photo can be a good metaphor: there's machine knitting, dyeing, not just sticking to aizome, but onions too,shibori, photography, digital treatment. it's a good thing i stopped because i was thinking about making an animation out of the knitted fabric.

i sometimes go into severe self beating sessions after which i'm grateful i don't live up in  northern europe where daylight is is scant to say it gently, as i could go into the glooms for months (^_^) but in my self defense i can say that i try to delve into the topics of study as much as i can.

 those who have been around here for a while know that i'm also perpetually trying to integrate all the activities that i get involved with into one piece of work, or at least some of the activities.  the japanophile in me loves the wabi-sabi way,i start wabi but end baroque. as a result  there are contradictions and  well, i digress.that could be the topic for another post .
 i'm trying now to put together the knitted samples with stitching and felting, wait i forgot felting and stitching, into a coherent series of work. it may bomb, but no one can say about me that i don't try.


closeupso the other day i was reading  think it was either selvedge or fiberarts and there was an article on mary walker philips.  the article  brought relief  and  a revelation.
first let's clarify that i'm not so presumptuous  as to compare myself with her, but she was a role model in the 70's.
it was reassuring and refreshing to read about her involvement in many different disciplines while  managing to produce a body of coherent work. and work she did. 
i mused over the read for a long time and the feeling was that of relief and i could also say exhilaration. see you're not that weirdly scattered!  you're not alone there are others out there too and  maybe many more than what you ever thought. a whole league of hard workers in love with all that we do.
ok we don't walk straight, but we arrive where it was  intended.and we manage to have fun.

shibori silk knit




neki desu

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:31 PM

    My mother calls it "butterfly mind" - skipping from one idea to another - and she and I are both afflicted, so I know what you mean. But butterflies are lovely, so why not?

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  2. as always i am speechless.

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  3. There is a name for those who do so many things. We are called scanners and it is a good thing, not bad! The book Refuse To Choose will tell you all about it! I am happy to be a scanner. It is too much fun...

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  4. Well, no matter how you got there, it's a beautiful piece of work.

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  5. Do what you love, love what you do, and have fun! Not a bad method.

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  6. When I'm working on an editing project or teaching a class (where there's an element of external reinforcement), I'm more product than process. But for creative pursuits, it's always process over product. (Which is why my study/craft area, when I've got one, tends to be referred to as The Department of Unfinished Projects.) It's been my experience that a lot of creative people are that way.

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  7. Anonymous2:18 AM

    whatever we're called I'm one of those, too. Occasionally it gets out of hand and then I seriously have to finish some projects - just a few. It all makes for interesting work.

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  8. Just want you to know that I love this post. You amaze me. I don't know how you accomplish all you do. And you even walked a 5K?!!!

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interaction appreciated!

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