Knitted Wire "Scroll book" from the EMU international book exhibition
Once the sun starts to shine and the weather makes me dream of summer, the urge hits. "Neaten the nest" I say. This is when I realize that the clothes that I have been keeping in hopes that I might actually need them one day (when in reality I have not needed them for the past few years), frees my spirit to pack bags and mark them "donation."
The other wonderful thing that happens is that I feel free to really examine the strange junk that has been accumulating and decide what has creative potential and what is just plain ridiculous to keep. I threw away labels from yarn, knitted long ago into projects. I threw away business cards and postcards announcing sales that are now meaningless. I kept the hundreds of chicken wishbones that my grandmother saved for perhaps her lifetime...potential??? Yes, and also a bit of family history.
After the NCECA clay conference in Philly last week, the neatening was made a bit more difficult. A wonderful artist Isiah Zagar made a presentation on his "Magic Garden" and the mosaic murals that decorate the cities less attractive areas. This work was Barcelona's Gaudi come to life in our country! He used EVERYTHING to create a colorful, rich and beautiful space. Boy, do I have the materials to decorate all of Royal Oak! Where to start?????
"The Magic Garden," Philadelphia.
My latest attempt to get control over the accumulated projects and materials has been in the area of stash and UFO's. I am not usually a non-finisher. If I have unfinished projects, maybe a sweater half knit or one foot of a sock, it means that I am uninspired and realizing that the yarn has a greater purpose. Time to frog.
I was raised to finish what I start. But my own sensibility has evolved. Why waste time and materials on something that is not pleasing? I no longer finish the book that started ok, but was not holding my attention. I don't watch the whole dvd movie if it is not any good. So, why not save my energy and yarn for greater things?
This week I am reclaiming my time and my yarn (not to mention the needles that occupy each project in each bag) through careful frogging. All the while, I am dreaming of the exciting new projects that are on the horizon.
