On Simplicity

I know you are looking at this going...so big deal...it's only squares and rectangles...who couldn't do that? Yet, I have to say to you that simplicity and composition are the most difficult for me. You still have to have all the design elements working in concert well....and in the final analysis, this series will be all about the surface design. However, it has been a real challenge for a quiltmaker like me who usually does image laden work. It has been refreshing and frustrating but I am glad I went through this experimental phase to the point that I have two more. Meditations is definitely the name since I have spent more time looking at what is going on in these pieces than other work.
The big news is I have graduated from meeting with Eric for awhile. We had our last meeting yesterday. He commented that he saw all the elements of my painting and the photoshop work coming together in these pieces. Now it is time for me to focus on working in any direction I choose. I decided that I would totally devote a month to each discipline until the end of the year so that instead of dabbling from one to the other, I could fully explore each media. He reminded me that experimentation is still very important so I should from time to time through in a day of another media during these months. He was very excited about the growth that had come about during our time together....especially when he saw these new quilts. Told me to email if I needed him at any time and then maybe we would consider working together again after the first of the year, if needed.
I cannot articulate how valuable this has been for me. Sure it sent me off on tangents from quilts but I feel those tangents brought back so much more to the work than I could have done without them. I highly recommend the coaching process for anyone approaching a transition in their work. The whole idea that pieces can be experiments and not finished works is absolutely liberating. The questions you have to answer for the coach and yourself add so much depth to your own understanding of why and what you are doing. I have truly grown through our time together. Thank you Eric for giving me the permission to discover new aspects of myself as an artist.
On a lighter note, I am off to teach for the Dallas Guild this weekend. Now many of you may think this will be so easy...drive from Fort Worth to Dallas, come home, sleep in your own bed, etc. Not true....I live on the far NW side of Tarrant County and the guild is on the far NE side of Dallas County. Driving the freeways in rush hour both ways is grueling and could make me late for the lecture or class. You just never know what will happen in the traffic. Decadent as it may sound I am staying in a motel, driving over early today and back late Saturday after class. You should see my car...my luggage, plus my light box and my overhead projector. I look as if I am moving out...ah, the joys of driving. Even better are the boxes of fabric that I plan on donating out of my studio...whew! Last but not least, I get to meet in person our own Deborah. How cool is that? Should be a fun weekend....will try and post in on the classes.