Musings on the creative process
Mar. 13th, 2010 06:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anne_dOr something like that.
Some further natterings on the process of creating my totem banner (see finished project) and Panels quilted, not yet embellished here):
I had trouble getting started; I'm not used to the creative journalling thing even though I've done it several times for other classes. It just seems too personal, I guess. But once I got some words down, the banner started to take shape. I decided to focus on things I need to be creative: Time, Space, Peace, Quiet, and, originally, Inspiration, but since I was going to hand-embroider the words, that eventually got cut down to Ideas.
After that, it was a matter of narrowing down the fabrics from my hoard. I already knew I wanted to use batiks, again. Time and Space was easy; I already had the blue stuff (which isn't a batik, but it's pretty). Peace and Quiet needed soothing colors, and Inspiration/Ideas had to be energizing.
It was interesting, the way I didn't know what I wanted to do, and then suddenly it all came together. The first panel was pretty much the way I'd envisioned it, but the other two are different from my original designs, especially the last one. I really liked the way the quilting came out, and I didn't want to distract from it too much. I played with word beads off and on for most of a day, trying different arrangements, velvet leaves under them (too big), embroidered stems (not quite enough for the beads, although the leaf beads looked right) and so on until I remembered the felt flower shapes (Artgirlz, alas, no more) and then it all worked.
Then there were the bottom tabs. I wasn't going to do those; too much handwork for my poor achy hands, and I didn't know what I wanted on them anyway. Then I was fiddling around with more totems, trying to figure out if I could fit in some of my personal ones like the tiger and lightning bolt, and I decided I'd use the bottom tabs.
So there it is.
Some further natterings on the process of creating my totem banner (see finished project) and Panels quilted, not yet embellished here):
I had trouble getting started; I'm not used to the creative journalling thing even though I've done it several times for other classes. It just seems too personal, I guess. But once I got some words down, the banner started to take shape. I decided to focus on things I need to be creative: Time, Space, Peace, Quiet, and, originally, Inspiration, but since I was going to hand-embroider the words, that eventually got cut down to Ideas.
After that, it was a matter of narrowing down the fabrics from my hoard. I already knew I wanted to use batiks, again. Time and Space was easy; I already had the blue stuff (which isn't a batik, but it's pretty). Peace and Quiet needed soothing colors, and Inspiration/Ideas had to be energizing.
It was interesting, the way I didn't know what I wanted to do, and then suddenly it all came together. The first panel was pretty much the way I'd envisioned it, but the other two are different from my original designs, especially the last one. I really liked the way the quilting came out, and I didn't want to distract from it too much. I played with word beads off and on for most of a day, trying different arrangements, velvet leaves under them (too big), embroidered stems (not quite enough for the beads, although the leaf beads looked right) and so on until I remembered the felt flower shapes (Artgirlz, alas, no more) and then it all worked.
Then there were the bottom tabs. I wasn't going to do those; too much handwork for my poor achy hands, and I didn't know what I wanted on them anyway. Then I was fiddling around with more totems, trying to figure out if I could fit in some of my personal ones like the tiger and lightning bolt, and I decided I'd use the bottom tabs.
So there it is.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-13 04:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-13 05:11 pm (UTC)