Tuesday, February 26, 2013

My Quip – Cosmo's Moon – And Then There Were 10 – Fitting In?

Good Day,

The strip piecing of Cosmo’s Moon continues. Ten strips have been fixed and sewn together. We are attempting to combine a number of elements of our quilting journey, past and present.

The design is sort of becoming evident… ya think? The above image is a whole image and it is moving along in a way that Andy and I are hoping that it should. The completed top will be a composition of 30 strips… All fabric has been acquired through SewBatik.

And I have just a few thoughts. We’re trying to understand where, with our quilts and wall hangings, we actually fit in. Traditional, modern, classic, free-form, art, structured, programmed… there just seems to be so many categories and subsets and we are wondering if it is important to actually fit in. Andy and I, in our short sojourn into the unfathomable scale of the quilting world, at times, feel somewhat overwhelmed.

We have experimented, and continue to do so, with different types of quilts and wall hangings and realize that there is still a very long way for us to travel, with fabric, needle, and thread. There is still so much to learn, so many quilting and sewing skills that we can glean from so many experts and fabric artists. But is it necessary that we fit in? Do we have to, purposely, stick to one style? Does that mean, that if we do not pick an exclusive style, that we will then, innately, become just mediocre?

Maybe these are just growing pains? Do we have to, as at time has been indicated, make up our minds? Any thoughts?

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The only reason you have to "pick a style" is if you want to enter your work in a competitive show - you have to choose what category of work, and therefore what quilters, you want to be judged against. You could pick a style to learn more about so you increase your technical skills and inspire what you create. This is not choosing a style but rather informing yours. I think that good art needs a strong technical foundation.

Jim Smith said...

Thank you for making very good sense. Jim.