Fibermania

Good Question...

Robbi Eklow sent me this email:

Melody, the bread is nice and I enjoy the pictures. But I have aquestion for you, during all your years of teaching and traveling, didn't you have a quilt that you would have made if only you had enough time? One that you need to work on slowly and perfectly, one that needed a long long stretch of uninterupted time? A masterpiece?
I know you have stopped making quilts for shows, but did you give upon your amazing large quilts too?

Robbi

Dear Robbi,

Yes, I have no interest in making large quilts anymore. I have a garage full. I can't see a purpose to them except for shows and competitions, which I am way over.

My intention was to make work that was fun for me to make, outside the obligatory sizes of shows and galleries.

No one buys them. Or hardly ever, and so I wonder why I would want to do them. I think the largest I am planning on making is in the 36" on a side size.

Can you give me a good reason to change my thinking?

Lovest Mel

And now that I have said it, I am already gritting my teeth thinking I have said NEVER and one must never say never when it comes to artmaking.

But here's what comes to mind. I have lots of large quilts and a very small house now. I can see hanging one at a time in the living room, but then I like my paintings in there too.

And I have already mentioned that the process is what it's all about for me, and the process is more enjoyable if I am not worried about finding a place to put the new work. If it is large I will have to locate a suitable venue, show, gallery, SOMEWHERE to put it, and that is not what I want to be spending my time doing. As it is right now, I would rather be making art that is affordable (size makes it so) and fun for me.

I have never been interested in doing commission work and so if someone wanted a large work from me, I would turn them down. So cross out that reason.

I can't make myself enter quilt shows anymore, as I don't care to compete. I don't want to make work that trumps the previous stuff and since I am not promoting myself as a teacher, I don't need to be doing the latest thing as a way of attracting employment.

Now that I have said all these "I don't want to's" I will balance them with the "I want to's".

I want to make art that is delicious to my eye, that represents my new life, that is simple and spare and elegant. I want more nature in my work, because my life has more in it now. And I will experiment a bit with what else is possible, adding new bits as they creep up. I have already taken a giant leap with the addition of a few graphic prints.

And one of the other things that I planned to do when I had more time is to paint, and draw, and use up some of my other art supplies. Just today I was sent some photos of the framed painting I made and sold last January.

This make me so happy to see. And of course I wonder when I will get out my paints?