It’s been a while since I’ve gone into my studio and didn’t know what I’d be doing.
My head has been so filled with the practical work of making, selling and shipping the Dryer Balls, I needed to shift my thinking. To move into my creative self.
I felt like drawing so I took out some linen that my friend Emily gave me and a black marker. Then I looked through some of the collages I made last year and hung the one below on my wall. The imagery for it came from some shadow photos that I took of me and the sheep.
I always liked it but never did anything else with it. I looked to it now for inspiration.
That’s how I came to draw the Owl Woman above.
I like her best of all the drawing I had done. I thought she would work well on an old quilt. So I looked through my stash and decided on one that I’d used for another fabric painting.
I had a lot of anxiety today, more than I’ve had in a long time, and was having a hard time making decisions. Towards the end of the day, I realized that I was trying to figure out what this whole fabric painting should look like before making a commitment to it.
Unless I see a complete image in my mind before I start working on a piece I like to take it one step at a time. The same process I use when I’m making quilts or potholders. Making a commitment to a piece means taking a concrete step towards beginning it. Usually, that means sewing something down or cutting something up.
Today it meant removing some of the appliques on the old quilt.
Taking each step one after another is important to me because each step informs the next. And I can’t get to the second step without the first. And even if I take step, like cutting something and it doesn’t work out, I still have to work with the mistake. And that makes me do something I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
Working this way takes some of the control away from me. So trust is a key part of it. Trust in the process and in myself.
I removed two of the appliques. I’m thinking about using some of the fabric from them as a part of her dress. Maybe that will be the next step.
I love this! It immediately resonated with me. My first impression was that it was symbolic of a warrior woman. Then when I read it was an owl women I thought that was even better—women using their wisdom as their strength. I am very interested in this piece and look forward to see how it develops
I love to hear that you connect with her Gail. I was so uncertain about it yesterday, but this morning when I walked into my studio and saw her I knew she was just right. Thanks for the good words.