...there is some evidence that if you see things as they really are, you'll probably get depressed!!
so at times like these, it's good to read Oscar Wilde's advice:
"No great artist every sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist".
In the cat photo above see how the photographer has carefully angled the shot to create an amusing photo...one circle on top of another!!! An interesting composition...but not as things really are.
Distortion and change are very important in design of any art work no matter the medium.
Feeling free to exaggerate or minimize, lengthen or shorten, double or halve.
Staying loose! And open to new ideas, new views.
One of my favorite loosening up activities before I start a new quilt, is to iron the fabrics I'm going to use...I see them and feel them and smell them. (fortunately I rarely hear them!)
I see how they play with the others, what unexpected combinations of colors or patterns are new and fresh and lively.....
If this doesn't play for you - you can see it on:
https://youtu.be/1lmWz6nd-K0
so the main message of this blog? Stay loose in times of stress, value your animals and your means of smoothing out the wrinkles....they'll take you a long way!
and, if you have been, thanks for reading!!!
and do please comment with your art processes that relieve stress and encourage creativity...I'd love to read them.
Elizabeth
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10 comments:
Bless you, Elizabeth, for your uplifting comments today.
Oh my, i have CAT that adopted us a year ago that looks just like this one on the quilt!!
Lucy in the sky with blue eyes is her full name and she is round!
Stay loose is very good advice and stretch and nap and play hard and nap like at cat!
I was sketching trees from an old b&w photo last night and frustrated because when I made it look like it looked, the drawing lost something I liked in the photo. Now I'm recharged (thank you) to go back and get creative with it so it captures the part that kept me from throwing that pic away! :-)
Happy to up lift Anonymous!!!! We ALL need it...a surfeit of bad bad and bad news isn’t good.
Most of us have much to be thankful for...we’ve had the most marvelous spring ever here...and we’ve discovered Zoom for our far flung offspring!!!
Hi Sonja, blue eyes are better than diamonds !! The cat in the photo had lovely blue eyes too, alas he’s deceased. he was called thistle cos he kinda looked like one!!!!
Ah yes, Elsie, never make it look how it looks, make it look how it FEELS!!!!
Thank you all for commenting!!
Stay loose!!! (As well as safe)
elizbeth
thank you such a pertinent post at such a time, very cheering from many angles. Irene from Northern Ireland
Hi Irene, and thank you. You are right, now is the time to appreciate beauty and love. Thank you for writing! Elizabeth
Great post, as always, Elizabeth. Could you explain how you use the frames hanging up at the corner of your design wall? I’m really intrigued, especially as there are so many of them, all in different sizes. Thanks for the good reminder to stay loose, in art as in life.
Hi Joan, and thanks for writing!!!
Those are picture mats hanging on the wall...I use them for both watercolors and for quilt design.
Have you ever noticed in a catalogue how the details of a quilte often create a stronger and more elegant design than the whole image?
When I create a design, I like to use my “crop tools” i.e. old picture mats...often cut into two diagonally to see if there are any “detail shots” that would actually be better than the whole design.
When I’m painting, it’s important to stop!!! One is often tempted to paint on too long and mess things up!
So I stick the painting on the wall with a mat over it to see how it looks!
Hope this solves the mystery for you!!! All the best...and thanks for reading.....Elizabeth
The video wouldn't play.
Thank you, Kristin, don't know why it stopped playing! but I've put a you tube link in just beneath it so you can go directly! All the best, Elizabeth
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