Creative Life Sampler

I'm happy to share that I've finally launched my website! This has been a long time in the making, mostly because I needed to build a body of work that represented my perspective. It also took a lot of soul searching to synthesize my personal artistic philosophy and develop a vision for the website. Of course, like my work, I imagine it will evolve over time, but this is my "first draft."  The plan going forward is to put out a quarterly newsletter that will replace the old weekly emails from my blog. Blogspot, which supports this blog, removed the option to reach readers through email a while ago. Since I'm technically challenged, it has taken some time to figure out how to reestablish those contacts. So if you want to receive quarterly up-dates from me, please check out my new website and subscribe to the newsletter!  Here's a link: Klementzhartecreations.com         

  Honestly, interaction with social media is a relatively new phenomenon for me. Ten years ago I scoffed at the idea, for so many reasons, not the least of which was what I perceived as the pitfalls of being so attached to technology. I had no interest in any of it, until I decided I had something to share: my work and perspective on creating. So I started this blog, then branched out with an Instagram account in the same name.  Predictably, I've had to learn to balance activity on these forums with actually creating work, not to mention a personal life. Sometimes I'm more successful than others. Lately I've been focusing on short posts to Insta, using it to direct viewers to the blog for detailed information on a new project, an experience, etc. There's still a tension between working on what I love and telling people about it, but things have been going pretty smoothly, . . . Until last weekend, when an issue I had quietly dreaded presented itself. I woke up to the me...

This week marks my fifth year of writing this blog.  It hardly seems possible! Confetti for Captain Klementz, 2017 My first posts centered around a series of wall hangings I made from my father's neckties in 2017. For the first couple of quilts I used traditional patterns. Then I was left with a pile of silk remnants and this quilt was created, - even the necktie designer's labels were incorporated.  Somehow this became a pivotal moment; it felt like there had been a shift in how I thought about quilting. This was a quilt I would consider displaying as art. The whole process was energizing.  A desire to share this experience and what I had learned started to grow, and more ideas about creativity came to mind. After much debating with myself, and asking everybody else for their opinions, I finally took the plunge. This blog was started with the goal of fostering and inspiring creativity. I decided to be as consistent as possible in posting every week. In 5 years I missed 7...

Genesis of my Blog From what I hear, blogging usually begins with the germ of an idea. For me, this possibility began to take shape after an especially productive period of quilting in 2017. When the last stitch was sewn, I realized I had inadvertently documented the decision making process through the eyes of my cell phone and iPad. At several points in creating these quilts I had taken pictures of my choices so I could compare them, decide what appealed to me, then move forward. Before I knew it, there was the process of creating, and I thought “I wonder if anybody else would find this interesting?” Then came a “catch up” call with my sister, Holly, who works in ceramics. As we were sharing our latest creative pursuits, the conversation turned to staying productive and the challenge of generating new ideas. The question naturally popped up: “How?” OK, here was someone who would be interested in an examination of the creative process... but you kind of hope that your relatives ...