how deadlines affect decisions

I spent the weekend finishing a piece I have been working on for over a month. The slice and dice and reslice method led me to a shattered array of black and white shapes that inspires me to do more. The last stitches added detail, structure and narrative.

View fullsize

Shattered, detail, Paula Kovarik

I wouldn't have finished this one without a deadline. I've been asked by American Craft magazine to provide a number of photos of my work, past and present. When I set about cataloging the work I realized that the most current works were not photographed and many are not done. It made me think that perhaps this habit of starting new projects rather than finishing works in progress may be changing the way I do my work. Is finishing important? If I leave a piece undone is it because I can't make a decision about the final look? Would I dawdle forever without a deadline? What stops endings?

My career as a graphic designer required that I make important decisions within limited time frames. Doing a layout 12 different ways didn't make it better, it made it late to press. I often said that the reason I could do the job so efficiently was that I had the power of arbitrary decision.  So now I am the decision maker without boundaries. And I dawdle, second guess and recombine with vigor. And the work improves ... mostly. But it also dies sometimes. Death by losing the original spark, death by fussiness, death by construction disaster.

I'm pleased with the results of this weekend. The piece spurs new ideas and gives me a sense that I am on the right track. It also opens up a new space on the design wall. A gift of space and inspiration. Who could ask for more?

serendipity

This latest exploration has me excited about the possibilities. I start with a pile of scraps. Stitch them randomly together, slice and restitch, slice and restitch, trim, iron, trim to 4" squares. (oh such fun to use rotary cutter randomly, no measurements -- just the feel of the wheel on the cutting surface.....)

The resulting compositions of floating and jagged objects start speaking to each other when placed in groups. Like shards of reality exploding in a shattering space. The scraps in this case are from a linen table cloth and some black kona cotton.

I created 49 squares and assembled them into a grid with more black cotton yesterday. Some of them are a little wonky and I had to trim overly thick seams down to size before the final trim. I gave up being perfectly flat a while ago in an effort to respect the character of the fabric. I may even intentionally unravel some of the edges. Or hand sew some suture lines when I see a wounded piece. I will probably battle some of the bias edges when I start to stitch. But I love their texture, and the randomness of the pieces and I suspect that the wonkiness will add to the character of the piece.

Now, another what if process...What if I create tangent lines next to all of the floating black objects? Let them travel across the piece to intersect willy-nilly with other floating black objects.....

You can see the start of that stitching on this shot. Many more lines to go. I am using a variegated thread that goes from black to white. Love how sometimes it looks like a little spark is ignited where the white threads hit each other.

It is cold and shattery outside this week. Lovely ice for inspiration. And such a good reason to stay inside and work on new ideas.