08.18.10
Posted in Artwork at 11:53 am by deRomilly
Precious Kitty!
It’s something you sometimes hear in art circles – “Don’t get too precious” “Don’t be precious about it!” “Keep your work fresh, not precious.” Precious connotes perfectionism – sometimes overworking, sometimes underworking a piece in order to get it “just so.” For some reason, this is considered bad. (I’m a perfectionist…) But who am I to talk? When a friend complained about a town being too “twee,” I said, but I LOVE that town! (I also never told her that I was planning ot move there… and in fact, I didn’t – I fell in love and moved 2500 miles away instead!) maybe “precious” is in my blood.
You don’t hear the word precious thrown around in American needlework circles very often – sometimes I’ll hear it in the more avant-garde UK textile forums. I have, however, have had acquaintances tell me that American stitchers tend to replace creativity in design with perfect craftsmanship. Indeed, needlework kits feel the need to underscore “the back should look as good as the front.” And there is a fear here that someone will turn over your work and analyze the back… (I do, but not for neatness… I want to know HOW they did what they did!!)
Note on the photo – I’ve never met a cat named Precious that wasn’t psychotic and scary. 
Dora is NOT named precious, but she has the nickname of The Cuteness… does that count?
I’m not sure where I’m going with this ramble. So let me ask y’all a question – are spontaneity and craftsmanship deadly enemies? Can we have spontaneous, fresh design and still keep quality of stitching? Can stitching be taken into the “real art” world without sacrificing this?
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07.02.10
Posted in Artwork at 7:00 am by deRomilly
Some of my hand-carved stamps
I admit it… I’m a craft dilettante!
I was, several years ago, trying to integrate my rubber stamping hobby into my textile art. I loved the depth it gave backgrounds, and being able to use the stamps themselves as designs to stitch.
Then I ran into a problem. I had too many pieces to keep for myself, and, frankly, I didn’t just want to give them away to relatives and friends who might or might not appreciate them. (I have been asked on occasion, why would you want to do that by hand when a machine is so much faster? !) So it would be nice to sell some of my art.
Unfortunately for the situation, though not in the long run, copyright law applies to stamp designs (and needlework patterns, and designs in books, and coloring books… and a lot more, too!) You might think this is silly, since stamps are tools to make art, but how you are licensed and allowed to use the images you stamp varies by company to company. My stamp collection sometimes doesn’t specify company any more. Many of the stamps I have date from before I went looking for “angel” companies who allow you to sell your hand-stamped work. Even angel companies have different policies regarding how or whether you notify them. Prints of artwork created are generally not allowed, although this can be negotiable. I didn’t want to have to go to the bother of tracking down the specific policy of each and every stamp I owned, and then keeping all the paperwork needed to prove I was in compliance – and what if I made art that just came out so cool that I thought notecards made from it as prints would be neat? Out of luck.
I decided that the easiest thing for me, was just not to use commercial stamps at all any more. Enter learning to carve my own (which has, in turn, led to woodcarving as an actual hobby {I didn’t think I was capable of hobbies any more!})… Did I ever mention that I play with WAAAY too many crafts? Maybe this blog should be Craft Dilettante! instead of Stitching with a Shimmy!
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09.05.09
Posted in Artwork at 12:41 pm by deRomilly
Because “crafting” turns into Art.
Léan at String Revolution reminds herself about what it means to create.
I haven’t forgotten about posting about my workshop – really. I’m just still processing information. (And we’ve been in crunch week at work.)
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07.17.09
Posted in Artwork at 7:00 am by deRomilly
The younger the better (to a certain point — I think I’d want to be able to communicate at least a bit while doing it!)
Back when my godson was three, he was fascinated by my rubber stamps. Although precocious, he wasn’t always careful to follow my rules, so I bought a set of inexpensive texture stamps and a set of cheap stamps and washable ink and paint just for him.
Sit down with your chosen small one , lots of colors of paints, stamp pads, crayons, and markers, and LOTS of paper. (Cover the kitchen floor and do it there — it’s a LOT easier to clean up than the dining table! and much more space to spread out in, too.)
Follow the child’s lead — at 3-5 they are generally naturally experimental – often we’ve forgotten the simple joys of making a mess by the time we hit high school. Assume the art supplies will end up trashed and purchase accordingly. They should be good fora year or so of this kind of use — weekly. You might be surprised – 10 years later I’m still using those cheap kid’s texture stamps!
What I learned from the three year old:
- Using all the paint colors on a foam stamp does NOT necessarily equate to a yucky mess.
- Mixed media is fun – I’m relearning this this year on my own…
- Colors that “clash” can create wonderful art together.
- FUN is the most important part of the creative process. Yes, there is work involved in the professional side, but even when it’s difficult, if some part of the project doesn’t trigger your sense of fun you won’t produce your best work. And yes, I do find this is just as true when I’m working with dark subject matter!
Little kids, when given permission to make a mess, create masterpieces. Borrow a friend or relative’s toddler if you need to — let them have a day off while you and the child create — just remember to warn Mom and Dad that their child will be coming home completely covered in paint (and be prepared to be just as messy yourself). Then go forth and have fun!
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06.08.09
Posted in Artwork at 7:00 am by deRomilly
At my day job I spend my day staring at a computer in a private office in an office space consisting of mostly male programmers. The office is nice. A cubicle for a writer is difficult, to say the least. And I love the fact that I can work directly with the developers if I need to. But it’s isolating: it’s the nature of the job. You can’t write with people talking to you all the time.
So what do I do at home? Well, I teach bellydance and am a member of a wonderful troupe, a decidedly NOT private endeavor. This is good. I get to be social three times a week at least – no, I HAVE to be social, which is good for this natural hermit. And I make art. I design needlework patterns (by the way, the business license went through last month… we’re getting there!) And I draw and paint.
I love to take the stitching and the blogging and the design-work to the coffee shop by myself. The fact that there are people around me is inspiring. But what I really enjoy is that for the most part, they ignore me. I can feel like I’m a social being and a hermit all at the the same time. And sometimes, just sometimes, someone will catch sight of what I’m drawing and ask me what gallery I’m in. OK, it’s only happened once, but it made me feel very good – like maybe this art thing COULD become more of my life.
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