It was our first day back from Iowa and because of that and selling my wool, I hadn’t worked in my studio for almost two weeks. It seems I hadn’t had one of those long uninterrupted days of work in some time. So that first day back I was eager to make something good. But I was having a hard time focusing. My head was still in wool and figures, addresses and envelopes. I thought the trip to Iowa would have washed that all away and I would come home with a clear mind, ready to create.
I guess I needed a warm up time, like stretching before a run. But I was wanted to skip the slow time, and get right down to business. I was eager to get back into my creative head. And honestly, I was also thinking about money. If I don’t create, I don’t have any income. And as much as I can mostly keep thoughts of money on the other side of my studio door, sometimes, like a cat, they slip in behind me.
It probably took me no longer to get this quilt started than most others, but my patience was thin and my mind was troubled.
I didn’t get far that first day, and I wasn’t sure if what I did was good or not. But the next day, when I got back to it, it came easier and I liked what I saw. Then I left it for another weekend having an idea of how to finish it off.
But the days inbetween went back and forth between my unfocused mind and being able to create something that worked. And I could see when I was finished that the quilt was about the process, about what was going on with me while I was making it. I’d have a few good hours, then back to the troubles, then it would turn good again. My days went up and down and back and forth. When I talked to my friend Mandy about it she spoke of the the idea of balance. Balance, not like a scale, not digital, but balance like a dance, like a flow. A constant swirling motion. Fluid movement that evens things out. Water and air instead of rocks weights.
And when I looked at my quilt after talking to Mandy, the words that came to me were yesterday’s troubles, today’s doorways. And in my mind I saw rooms and doorways shifting in space, fading in and out, on an infinite field, creating endless patterns. A visual of the idea that Mandy and I spoke of.
I still have to tack Yesterday’s Troubles, Today’s Doorways, but it will be for sale when I’m done. It measures about 78″ x 84″ and is $350 + $20 shipping. If you’re interested in it you can email me here at [email protected]. I take checks and paypal.
