The past 5 weeks I have been traveling. I went to my nephew’s wedding, celebrated my Dad’s 80th birthday twice, visited my beloved cousin Eric as he battles terminal cancer, and got necessary medical treatments at a specialty clinic in San Diego. Traveling at this time presents its own challenges, but it is doable. Be assured that airports, airlines, hotels and car rental companies have new standards for cleaning and extra safety precautions. But as I traveled I was again struck by how much life has been changed by this virus. It is mentally draining. While I was glad to be able to do all of these very important things, returning home I was saddened at our collective loss. So it is taking a bit longer than usual to refocus my attention in my studio.
When I have had a break from art making, I often do small sewing projects to ease myself back into my studio mindset. Luckily my daughter had the perfect job for me. One of Winona’s favorite tee shirts got stained. She asked me if I could cut out the graphics and put them on her denim jacket. I have lots of experience sewing on denim from years of patching jeans. In my well stocked studio I had everything I needed: fusible interfacing, backing material for the patch, the correct sewing machine needle and the perfect color & weight of variegated thread.
The definition of an artisan is a skilled manual laborer, a craftsperson, skilled in the arts. How does one develop any skill? Through gaining knowledge and practice, practice, practice. The internet allows us to look up how to do almost anything. In fact I googled how to sew a tee shirt on a denim jacket just to refresh my mind and see if there were any helpful tips to create a better finished project. Knowledge is readily available.
Practice is the next step. Lots of practice. That whole 10,000 hours thing is really true. And you have to start where you are. Some people give up because the first thing they make isn’t as good as they envision in their heads. I describe this as wanting to fly before you know how to crawl. Other people give up because what they made isn’t as good as someone else’s work. Comparison is a killer. You will always be able to find someone who is better than you.
Turn your focus inward. Take an honest inventory of your own abilities. Do you posses all of the foundational skills of your craft? If not, that is always a great place to start. Working toward mastery is how you develop your artistry.
