maybe it’s a goblin?

okay. am i working on this piece or is it working on me?

sigh.

let’s review:
day 1: enjoyed collection of and introduction to materials.

day 2: discontent set in. liked the backside better, so back is now the front.

day 3: hate the lace, but like the way layers peek out from under the pink satin camisole as if they’d been sat upon, squished by the pink. when i started the piece, i fancied the fabrics as representative of various layers of my life. the pink satin = the pretty, fresh, little girl layer where i was absolutely adorable to look at and be around. now here’s little pink layer sitting on the other determined layers. i tend to personify and anthropomorphize, it’s true. (which makes me think of judith’s pathways, actually. and here i’ve been too embarrassed to admit publicly that i make up stories like this with my pieces.)

which brings us to day 4/today: i know i ought to take the advice of my stitching sages and put this piece up, tuck it in a drawer, set it aside for a while, but honestly, there are so many unfinished things, so many loose ends in my life right now that i just can’t do it. i can’t. i want to finish something, dammit. and, bless its heart, this project is what’s going to satisfy that desire. i know i run the risk of hating the piece forever and ever, but (for now anyway), the quest continues.

i tinkered around with it this morning, deciding to pull up the ends of the thread. i mean, they were just hanging there anyway (i didn’t bother with knots or embedding them or anything.) as i “worked”, i listened to susan susanka’s book, the not so big life. i have a strong affinity for place, and one of my favorite thinking candies is how our physical spaces support us. as i pulled those threads,

i got sculpture.

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i got cubbies.

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i got whatzits.

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but i got no ah-ha. no magic. no eureka.

and that damned lace has to go.

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9 Responses to maybe it’s a goblin?

  1. Judith says:

    You saying I’m a little crazy? :> )It’s the crazy that keeps me sane.
    I love to make up the stories and I would be making up one for this piece of yours. The textured effect is really interesting-even with the lace you aren’t fond of. I’m sure you’ll hear the voice of the piece- even if you do decide to leave it whispering for a while.

  2. Acey says:

    babe it’s not *crazy* it’s *writerly*. You have heard that joke, right? The difference between a writer and a psychopath? A keyboard …

    I consider it fearless to venture into three dimensional territory. Also gutsy to say “I must have closure” and seek it from something with an established confounding aspect.

  3. Paula Hewitt says:

    …….Im commentless. at least you are doing something.

  4. well you kno, judith, around here to say “that girl is CRAzy” or “she’s a mess” are about the highest compliments you can rack up. (notice we’re not direct either.) i do love your pathway series . . . just somehow left that important little tidbit out of the post;)

    acey, no, i’ve never heard that joke. have seen it played out many times, though. before you go bestsowing any medals on me, i hasten to offer that i’m not gutsy but running on empty. truth is: if i put this one up, i’ve no idea of anything to take its place;) so on i go . . .

    so, paula, how’s the piecing coming along over there????

  5. sTeph says:

    I’m feeling a little like parsley now.
    Thought I’d do a lot of stitching while out camping this weekend, we ‘discovered’ great places, too cold to stitch. I know you want to work this piece until you can call it complete. Can you apply some of that previously-shown smocking skill? Maybe just ’cause I’m fascinated by that stuff.

  6. jude says:

    there is movement here and any moving is good i say. even if it is just burning calories.

  7. Cathie says:

    It’s moving, it’s evolving. That’s progress.

  8. annalisa says:

    If you were to slap a bit of dye on there it would be shibori! ๐Ÿ™‚ I love the weird shapes that fabric takes on when stitched and pulled, and some pieces are just what this is, a way to stir the pot up and see what happens. Keep listening it will tell you what to do!

  9. jeanne says:

    hey annalisa, in retrospect, it was really kinda fun pulling those threads and creating “sculpture”. maybe i shouldn’t’ve been so quick to yank it bald. oh well.

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