Work and fun

There is always a struggle to find the time to get art work done. When I worked 9 to 5 I waited until I was inspired and had the energy. Life, being a wife, mother along with work, it was hard to juggle my need to create. I do not regret any moment of this struggle though. It gave me time to explore ideas, methods and techniques to fit what I had in mind. To develop my style and find the best way to express this style. This occurred to me recently when someone asked how I came about using fabric and stitch in my art. 

Now that I am no longer in the 9 to 5 grind I am free to use my day as I please. This is freeing but also can become a crutch to not do much all day long. I have talked about habits, things done on a regular schedule makes things happen. It also makes one nervous to think that you may run out of ideas. This last week I have done a bit of reading but no new art. Then I read this quote “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have” Maya Angelo. 

Guess I need to stop waiting for the muse to hit me and just get into the habit of making art. I do have many ideas so I need to just get to it. I have progressed with each new piece. Will that continue? Will I run out of ideas? A couple of years ago I challenged myself to one new piece of art a month. I accomplished this while still working and it pushed my art further than I expected. 

So I will face those questions and take that same challenge one step further. Starting in June I will do 2 new pieces each month. Seeing this in writing to the world makes it real and a bit scary but I will do my best because I do believe there is no way to use up my creativity. 

Sometimes fun and work can be combined too. This last Saturday I met up with my crazy quilt group. We exchanged pin cushions with each other. We all have stitched blocks for each other but this was the first pin cushions for the group. We pulled names from a hat and had a couple of months to complete it. 

Knowing who I was making it for allowed me to customize the color and stitching to what I knew she would like. I made mine bigger than most, starting with a 11 inch square that I ended up sinching around a 9 inch circle of heavy cardboard. Below is a picture of the block while still flat. 

On the bottom of this block is a pretty vine with green leaves are some pretty purple flowers made out of trim. When I pulled it up I almost lost the flowers due to the pleats around the edge. I would not put something so close to the edge next time. 

Here is a picture of the rest of the groups pin cushions along with mine. We are very lucky to have some very talented ladies in this group. 

So I can see that creating art can be work at times but even better when you get to do something fun at the same time. I may just have another pin cushion to work up now!