I'm struggling to find my process, as I work on a small writing project. The first time doing anything can be challenging....it's like creating a prototype. It feels like I'm working from scratch and its placing a substantial drain on my creative energy.
I find myself working on everything and anything but the project at hand. And yet the feelings are familiar, I've been in this same place before. Scattered unsure and not quite understanding my own process.
How does one know what their creative process is? I believe one can learn a lot from studying their own successes and failures. Observing when something really works and when something clearly doesn't. So as I slug through this I'm trying to discover the approach, that works best for me.
What works for you, as you create a quilt or another type of project? Do you draw sketches, use a design program or dive right into the fabric like I have a tendency to?
I've discovered something interesting....you are part of my process. Since I started blogging, almost two years ago, I find sharing my process, with you as I work, gives me a creative spurt of energy. I value our interaction tremendously.
I remember feeling that very same uncertainty as I wrote my very first blog post. Doing something new often brings a certain amount of uncertainty, but there are rewards in working through the process.
I'm glad I didn't let my doubts stop me from blogging. I would have missed out.
I find myself working on everything and anything but the project at hand. And yet the feelings are familiar, I've been in this same place before. Scattered unsure and not quite understanding my own process.
How does one know what their creative process is? I believe one can learn a lot from studying their own successes and failures. Observing when something really works and when something clearly doesn't. So as I slug through this I'm trying to discover the approach, that works best for me.
What works for you, as you create a quilt or another type of project? Do you draw sketches, use a design program or dive right into the fabric like I have a tendency to?
I've discovered something interesting....you are part of my process. Since I started blogging, almost two years ago, I find sharing my process, with you as I work, gives me a creative spurt of energy. I value our interaction tremendously.
I remember feeling that very same uncertainty as I wrote my very first blog post. Doing something new often brings a certain amount of uncertainty, but there are rewards in working through the process.
I'm glad I didn't let my doubts stop me from blogging. I would have missed out.
I've left the snow and busyness behind for a few weeks and returned to the beautiful West Coast.
Here's hoping that will give me the creative surge I need to complete my project. Nothing may come of it, but I view it as an essential part of my quilting journey, no matter what the outcome.
I've also fallen behind on my last Free Bee Block. It's for my friend Dan of Piece and Press, who made me the most incredible block. I just can't quite get my head around what I want to make for him.
I'll probably go with the very first thing that came to mind when I saw his inspiration quilt. That's worked for me the other months of the bee....so maybe going with a process that has been successful, in the past will work again.
Thanks for listening and being such an important part of my quilting journey
Marianne
When I find out what works best for me I will let you know!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have got me thinking though...
I was wondering what happened to you - a lot of silence. I do know where you are now. When I am there I go through my scrap books of art or ideas, also a 3 ring binder with work from the internet I call my muse book - people who are doing what interests me or I do another creative thing like sketching or painting. Usually looking at what others have done gets me "creatively restless" and I shoot from the gate and start creating again. Best of success to ou . I will send positive energy your way.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the blog community being part of your process. It's certainly a huge part of mine. Enjoy your time on the west coast. :D
ReplyDeleteI think this a question we all ask ourselves at times. With your ample record of success, I'm sure you will find your muse.
ReplyDeleteI know your writing project will be great, but it is hard to do something new. I dive right in with fabric and then adapt as I go. When I write, I make an outline and often do not write in order, but rather work on those parts that are coming easy right now, to later edit them into a cohesive document.
ReplyDeleteI notice that I am never really sure if I am successful in a pursuit while the process is going on...it is only in retrospect that I know. Not only in my sewing, but in my business too. I can give a lecture or workshop or session and really wonder if it was effective. It is not until I get feedback from others or it is finished do I know if I did well. I think it is the personality. I am impulsive and intuitive. My husband plans and studies and always knows ahead of time or doesn't care. It is just a different way. I have learned to just do it and then think, or review it later. Trust your process. You do well.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading your blog because you share the precess. Something I need to do more of in my own blog. I recently read a great book called; The creative habit : learn it and use it for life : a practical guide by Twyla Tharp. I learned of this book through the blog Stitched in Color and found it was very thought provoking and the type of book I could come back to for new insights into the creative process. Good luck with the writing.
ReplyDeleteHi, Marianne. Your question about process sounds like the question about the artist's voice. I think they're entwined. I read someplace (no idea where anymore) that to understand your voice, look at what you do again and again and again. Not because you want to or choose to, but because you have to, you are driven to do it. That was a lightbulb for me and the answer was right in front of me and was dependent on process.
ReplyDeletebest, nadia
Your 525 + followers are grateful that you have continued to share your process, where ever it may lead you. You have inspired and taught countless people with your spirit and creativity. I do not doubt that you will continue to grow and find that sweet spot that you are searching for. Just keep going and it will find you.
ReplyDeleteI think writing takes a different mindset than fabric play, but sometimes it's just one little baby step to start moving down the road. My writing technique (which is anything but smooth and efficient) involves writing down whatever springs into my head, then edited the h*ll out of it - thank God for computers that allow that to be easily done! I will say that the more I read, the better I write. Good luck on your project - and I'm so glad you're still blogging! You've been such a breath of fresh air in my quilty world!
ReplyDeleteGreat post - we all have doubts and hesitations and wonderings. Thank you for sharing yours with us.
ReplyDeleteI agree - Blogging is a huge part of my process, too. In sharing what I"m doing, I'm recording where I am at a certain point in time. Later, that record comes in handy for fact checking AND for watching myself grow and evolve.
Process for me is never well-defined. It is a journey from here to there with lots of colors in between.
I think you hit the nail on the head there when you talked about the block for Dan. GO with your gut and get your butt in the seat.
ReplyDeleteI've actually had long conversations with a writer and photographer friend of mine. The two tasks are so separate for her that one is like putting on a pair of slippers and getting comfy, while the other is a push, a challenge. For me, it is the exact opposite. Any moment I get to think or act in my creativity is a good moment. I'm able to enjoy stolen moments as well, if not better, than I can dedicated hours of creativity.
When it comes down to process, though, almost everything starts for me with pen and paper. At the very beginning I can get the juices going and get more excited with writing or sketching on a piece of paper than any other way.