I'm a little worried

Being away from the studio can disrupt the momentum I have in my work. Having just returned from teaching in San Diego and about to leave again for the East Coast, its hard to think about big projects. So I have been doing little things in preparation of the upcoming trip—experimenting with texture, stitching a series of mandala shaped studies (see my previous post here), organizing paperwork, scheduling next year and doing some research. It all feels very minimal.

These lovely bubbles animated the coast while I was in San Diego.

These lovely bubbles animated the coast while I was in San Diego.

I’ll be driving around the Eastern seaboard in the next 5 weeks. Breathing in sea air and exploring new spaces. I get to teach again in the mountains of Tennessee for a week. That always brings inspiration and ideas. I have decided to bring a sketchbook this time. I don’t normally work in a sketchbook. I have several laying around with the first few pages filled and then nothing. Maybe I can build that practice during this trip.

I’m still a little worried. Breaking momentum tends to loosen the strings of ideas. I flounder, get inpatient and ping pong around the studio. I like being isolated in my studio for hours. And, I like traveling too. Both contribute to my stream of consciousness. Both bring insight and energy to my work.

bubbles broke - 1.jpeg

I think worry is a baseline in my personality. High expectations, subliminal doubt and a sense that I can’t control everything contribute to it. I’m saying it out loud here so that I don’t dwell too much on it during my absence from the studio. Maybe that will work.

Click on the book cover for a link to Alibris booksellers.

Click on the book cover for a link to Alibris booksellers.

Thank you to all of you who have purchased my book. I’ve had so many people comment that they have enjoyed reading it. It’s a real boost to me to think that I can inspire people to try new ways to stitch. I love teaching these techniques. If you are interested in checking it out you can purchase it online or order it from your local independent bookstore. At Play in the Garden of Stitch provides new ways to think about using stitch in artwork and includes exercises, sewing tips and quilt stories.

Ping Ponging

I have spent a month in my studio ping-ponging from one thing to another with an itchy feeling of missing the ball every time. No focus, no inspiration, nothing. I did the usual exercises to jump start my ideas: cleaned the studio, organized my thread drawer, read about other artists, and walked aimlessly through the neighborhood with my phone camera.

Nothing.

This often happens after finishing a piece that consumes my imagination. I had just finished Encounter, a piece that really birthed itself made up of pieces of canvas on which I had dribbled paint and ink. After that cathartic experience I wasn’t sure where to turn for the next inspiration.

Encounter, 34x41, 2021, Paula Kovarik

I needed to move into a new headspace. A friend of mine gifted me yards of Silk Noil. The fabric is luscious, soft and raw looking. I decided to use it to revisit an idea I have worked on before: exploring marks that could illustrate words not spoken. Inspired by hieroglyphs, runes and Arabic script this visual language can be a way to communicate broader concepts.

Glyphs, 27x18, Paula Kovarik, 2017

Better Not Said, 41x26, Paula Kovarik, 2019

I started with a drawing to remind myself how these marks can be put together. Generally I try not to have a preconceived notion about how they should look. Instead I draw each mark in a random way then start to fill in the spaces that become available. I have noticed that I naturally follow an implied north/south east/west underpinning. I wonder why that is? I also like connecting the disparate shapes with unexpected lines.

Glyphs doodling.

Glyphs doodling.

Once satisfied with the density of the marks and the feel of making them I was ready to try it with stitch. I set up three 21”x21” silk noil sandwiches with some wool batting, drew a chalk circle onto each one and started stitching. Here are the results.

I don’t spend a lot of time on these exercises. Each square takes about two days to come alive. Using a neutral thread that matches the fabric to create the outer texture defines the circle a bit more and adds an element of energy to the composition. I don’t bury the threads on those end points preferring instead to use my machine’s automatic cutter that knots the threads on the underside. The back is not pretty.

I’m not sure I have broken the cycle of ping ponging. I am about to travel and teach so that might bring more inspiration when I return. Hope so.

How do you break the cycle? Drop me a note!

Books on my side table

What are you reading?

Recently I did a presentation for the California and Nevada Studio Art Quilt Associates chapter in which I mentioned that I read a lot in order to be inspired in my work. I am an eclectic reader and it shows in my work. Non fiction and fiction both have pride of place on my reading chair end table. I often have more than one book going at a time—which can be challenging I admit, especially if it is two novels. Characters can seem to float from one story to the next if I don’t pay attention.

I schedule my reading. Every day at around 4 pm I stop what I am doing and crawl into that chair to start another journey of contemplation. If I am lucky at the end of the evening I can squeeze in another half hour before bed.

Several of my pieces were directly influenced by books. Knowledge has Raw Edges was made in response to Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas is a constant inspiration for all the details within my quilts: ant trails, embryos, insects and roots.

Knowledge has raw edges, detail

In response to an inquiry during the presentation I am listing some of the more recent books that I have read as well as some all time favorites in no particular order:

The Overstory by Richard Powers, Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel, The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester, 1491, New revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann, A Column of Fire by Ken Follett. Mink River by Brian Doyle, Late Migrations, A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl, The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin, Life after Life by Kate Atkinson, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, Memory Wall by Anthony Doerr, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, The Man Who Planted Trees by Jim Robbins.

And mysteries, too numerous to list. I like Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George, Brenda Chapman and Louise Penny for this escapist grouping. Give me a mystery any day to while away the too hot days of summer or the too cold days of winter.

Tell me what you are reading or what inspires you in your work.

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How many stitches?

I’m having trouble with my Bernina 740 machine. So I brought it into the spa to shower it with care. And, it came back with the same problems. It stops intermittently with no discernible reason. So I am a bit hobbled right now. Which makes me think of other ways to entertain myself. Today I spattered more ink across a piece of canvas and yesterday I spent most of the day working on an upcoming presentation for the Studio Art Quilt Associates (all SAQA members can register for the presentation here).

Ink spattered on canvas is a starting point for free-motion quilting designs. It won’t take long for this piece to inspire some stitching,

Fun with math

As the folks at the Bernina shop try to figure out what exactly might be causing this little problem they did give me some mind-boggling information. I bought this machine in 2016. That’s five years ago. It now has 2,395,196 stitches recorded on it. If I stitch on average four hours a day five days a week for 5 years excluding holidays and weekends that would mean that I put in about 1916 stitches in a day. And if there are ten stitches per inch then I would be stitching about 191 inches in a day. Or about 16 feet. Or about three times my height. That seems doable.

Changing my focus

Though I know that there are days when I stitch what feels like miles and miles of thread there are other days when I can’t stitch at all—like yesterday. Those are the days when ideas have a chance to breathe a bit. They can percolate or morph. I can attend to some bookkeeping or housekeeping. Those are the days when I can look around for other toys to play with. Those are the days when I spatter paint across a canvas.

At Play in the Garden of Stitch, thoughts that come while eyeing the needle.

At Play in the Garden of Stitch, thoughts that come while eyeing the needle.

About my book, At Play in the Garden of Stitch

I have had such positive feedback about the book I just released. Thank you. I am grateful for your thoughts and comments. For those not familiar with it you can order a copy at Barnes & Noble, your local bookstore, Amazon and at any number of online bookstores. It is a compilation of simple stitch exercises, stitch tips and quilt stories. Many of the samples in the book are from my students. If you do order the book I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review on the site on which you purchased it (a little shameless self promotion here). I hope the book inspires you to look for new ways to experiment with this medium.

An Interview with Ariane Zurcher

I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with the talented Ariane Zurcher about my work and art practice. Here is a link to the video that she posted. Take a look around at her other interviews while you are at it. She is a delight and provides many stitch-related videos on her site.

Invisible art quilt takes center stage

My art quilt, Invisible, is featured in a new video posted by the folks at the Dairy Barn. The directors at the Dairy Barn graciously asked the artists in the show to create short videos that would feature their quilt. There are many other artists who also created a video so pour yourself a cup of tea, sit back and be entertained. The links that follow will lead you there.

The Quilt National show is considered one of the premier art quilt shows worldwide. People from all over submit their work to the judges to be included. This year Nancy Bavor, the Director at San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, and professional textile artists Brigitte Kopp and Karen Schulz, were tasked with sorting through 747 submitted artworks from 388 artists from six continents. 84 pieces were chosen. The show is in Athens, OH until September 6 then some of the pieces will travel for three years at venues across the continent. If this show comes near you, or if you are within shouting distance of Athens, OH, take the time to see it. If not, the digital exhibition is here. The works are seriously ground-breaking textile works of art.

Here is the video I made to familiarize people with my point of view and the way the piece was conceived. Spoiler alert: It’s on wheels. Check out other artists works in the show here. Enjoy!