WIP’s of a different nature: Art Making!

This past week I’ve been enjoying some long needed time in the studio working on pieces that have been in progress for far too long. Something (cough, my self doubt) kept getting in the way of finishing them. I had such high hopes for how they would turn out and I just wasn’t ready to take the plunge. I finally got working on them again, and now that they are both well on their way, I know that they will be absolutely stunning when finished.

Quite a few years ago while I was still in college, I combined my crocheting with my drawings and while the result was a little lacking, it was the start. I think presentation had a lot to do with it. And I hadn’t finished it how I wanted. I kept it though, always meaning to go back and figure out a better way to complete it.

The year after graduating I started a new piece, but with a new approach. I worked the crochet out from the interior of the panel instead of just giving it a border. The piece was so huge that I got distracted with life and never finished it.

Last spring, I completed this piece and showed it in a local art show. I tried the crochet drawing thing again, and this time, I finally got it right. Not too big for my first attempt, nice and straight forward, and absolutely lovely. I think this is actually my favorite piece to date that I’ve ever completed.

That is until last week when I got my act together and stopped dodging the issue of getting out there and being a full time artist. It all just came together. It all just flowed. I’ve been waking up early to put in time in my studio. And I have so many ideas for more pieces along these lines. And I figured out exactly how I want to finish those first two pieces so they are stunning.

While I’m not going to tell all just quite yet of how it all comes together, I did want to show you my progress. It’s my newest leftovers project: the crochet thread was my grandma’s, the mat board is from the art shop I used to work at, the paper was from my stash, and they are all wips that have been languishing too long in a box. My art making really follows the same place as my crafting does. And it’s crushing my stash just a little bit more with each stitch (thanks everyone who’s helped to relocate my stash!).

I find my art and craft compliment each other and I can never really separate one from the other – my artistic sense informs my craft and my crafty know how inspires my art. And, after 3 years of taking a break from showing my work, I’m ready to put myself out there again. And it’s funny how I put that out there and now I’m finishing two new pieces, I have a show lined up in June, I’m submitting a piece to a community show in May, and I’m putting together a proposal for solo show at a few regional spaces.

I love how things all come together like that. I’ll be having prints of Entanglement (the bird piece) soon, I ordered a test print to see if the quality of the printer is okay. Once I see it, I’ll link up so you can get a print. I love the bird and the crochet, each so delicate and tense in their own way.

Happy Crafting!
Kristin