 At the moment , everything on my work bench in the studio, requires stitching and sewing. There's a mountain of it....of my own making. It's unusual for me to have work on the go that is, for the most part, about stitching. I usually have a few things on the go, that are about fire , hammer and anvils too...but...here I am surrounded by fabric, thread, needles and fibre. Hand stitching, sewing , constructing fabric from fibre is a meandering , slow process. It's a Slow Movement activity, that demands you pay attention to the moment, focus on the task but also take some time to take in the scenery , to breathe, find the rhythm of the process , and steadily , stitch by stitch climb the mountain. Today I started out a feeling a little frustrated because I still can't see what the work I am making might be in it's entirety. Sometimes, I find that this the hardest part of my art making process, because it's usually the point that I let all those shit things creep into the mix: Self doubt; doubt in my work/skill; doubt in the process...-blah, blah, blah....urghhh! I've reflected before on the process of stitching and sewing in my art practice- my mum's influence on those skills, my love of fabrics and fibre, and of the process of stitching as healing and reinforcement of self. ( See stitching-around-the-edge-of-my-soul.html) You might already know that I have a first- love -and- forever, artist -crush on Louise Borgeois. Much of Lousie Borgeois ' work is autobiographical and sewing and fabric played an important part in her art practice.
Ain't that the truth? It is for me. How quickly the process of stitching and sewing - needle pulling thread works its magic. How quickly, once I pick up the needle and thread and stitch, I forgive myself for not knowing, for doubt and meander on regardless, gently moving forward stitch by stitch. Comments are closed.
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