2023:a productive year

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Total for 2023: Nine hand appliquéd/reverse appliquéd and hand quilted pieces



Well, it's been yonks since I've taken the time to write, but this is a good moment to be a bit reflective about the work that I created last year. 

Assess the successes and learn from any mistake,- no, not "mistake," . . . diversion? redirection?

2023 started with a continuation of my focus on designing compositions with segments of the cropped letter "Q." This has proven to be a fertile theme to pursue. Ideas on how to manipulate the designs and options for their execution came faster than I could make them a reality. 

But this line of exploration was not without its detractors. More than once someone suggested that maybe I should "try something else." This suggestion from well meaning supporters begs the question: "Why do we create?" To satisfy an audience or to give voice to our own individuality? It might have gotten in my head but for the fact that there seemed like so many exciting ideas that call for attention. 

I'm pretty sure that if I dropped this line of creative exploration at the suggestion of someone else's advice I would run the risk of producing uninspired work, - at the very least it would be uninspiring to me. It wouldn't be authentic if it didn't come from my own creative impulse. Even now I really look forward to following this muse. In fact, I have a pipeline of ideas that I'm anxious to produce. I feel certain that each piece will be different from its predecessor and teach me something new. 

Interestingly enough, being open to the process did take me in a new direction last year. I began using the cut out pieces from my appliqué work to create very different improvisational pieces. So now I have this balance between work that is all planned out in advance and work that evolves as the process unfolds. It has given me a fresh, exciting perspective and inspired me to be more thoughtful about each step of the creative process.

'Cause creators gotta create!  


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