Rubicons

[daidoji_gisei]

Later this summer the store I work at will be sponsoring an art show, with all of the art being produced by staff members. Friday before I left I added my name to the "intends to participate" list.

I have mixed feelings about this. I don't do any real art--I don't paint or draw or sculpt or take pictures. And all my time hanging out in coffee houses while crocheting has allowed me to observe that Art--that is to say, Real Art--currently involves the production of things that no sane individual would want hanging in their living room. Me? I work with yarn, and sometimes fabric, and I think that life is better if you have some beautiful things in it. (Which is not to say that I think that art and beauty are completely overlapping categories. Guernica is not beautiful, and a SR-71 is not a work of art. But still, I don't consider ugliness a sign of quality either.) And so it is that I have committed myself to a project for which I have neither useful skills or an acceptable aesthetic sense.

So why am I doing this? I'm not totally sure, which is one of the reasons I'm writing about it. I know how the hunt for words makes ideas solidify in my head.

I don't use a lot of patterns when I crochet. I collect patterns, and I am a dedicated reader of Crochet Pattern Central. But most of my projects start with me looking at a skein of yarn and thinking "Hmm. I bet I could make a ___" out of that. Or me thinking, "I need a ____. What's in my stash?" And one of my purses started life as, "I think this an interesting stitch." In other words, I design things with crochet. And participating in this art show is a way to force me to extend my design abilities.

A rational person would extend their abilities and *then* sign up for a show, but doesn't work for me. I have zero confidence in myself (as I once observed to a friend, if I didn't have negative self-esteem I'd have no self-esteem at all), so the only way I ever get stuff done is to try it, regardless of what I think. That's how I ended up on the Story Team for L5R--I didn't think I was good enough, but I figured that the process would be a good experience. And in the remote chance I made it, I would get a lot of practice writing and maybe tell some good stories. (I was half-right, though I still struggle with omnicient POV.)

I spent my bus-stop time yesterday listing out some possible concepts, and today I made a first pass through my stash to see what I had on hand. There is some promising stuff and thus I plan on spending this week's bus-time experimenting with shapes. I have about a month to design and create; it will be interesting to see how far I go with this. Or if I end up somewhere.

Comments

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

I hope you will post photos of what you come up with. :-)

[daidoji-gisei.livejournal.com]

I have to take photos to give to the organizing committee--I'll probably end up using Yamadori's camera function for that, so I'll have digital files. Then I'll just need to figure out how to use the storage space that comes with my LJ, and then post the links. :)

[rpriske.livejournal.com]

"and a SR-71 is not a work of art"

Why not?

[daidoji-gisei.livejournal.com]

The SR-71 is a work of engineering--its being was shaped by its intended function and the laws of physics. It is beautiful, but that is a byproduct.

[rpriske.livejournal.com]

My definition of art appears to be a bit (or a lot) broader than yours. :)

This is not an SR-71.

[(Anonymous)]

A depiction of an SR-71 used as decoration is art?

[(Anonymous)]

Perhaps you should try needle point. You can find pre-made patterns at your local craft store to purchase and when done it can be framed like a picture. The yarn is finer, the needles smaller and you would need a set of hoops. These types of stitch work are more closely associated with art.

Story Team

[(Anonymous)]

And the L5R Story Team would be much poorer without you!