For centuries women have used cloth as a tool of comfort and as an expression of beauty within their homes. Creating cloth for warmth, cloth for shelter, our female predecessors embellished these linens with hand stitch using laborious and time consuming techniques thereby enhancing the functional beauty of objects which enveloped and protected their families. Inspired by these women I hope my creations pay tribute to and recognise the devotion expressed in cloth by our female ancestors .







''the use of traditional often time consuming process alludes to the devotion of a mother''. c K. A. Ruane 2007







Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A promise is a promise.

Remember I said I would have something new to show you on tuesday? Here it is. I have had such a dilemma and a small amount of anxiety about this. I really didn't expect all the comments excitedly looking forward to today, thankyou for your faith in me. I have had this cloth for a while and never really been happy with it. Alongside that I have an urge to make a handbag. So I thought,
'I know. I will cut that cloth up and work with that.'
So far so good, here it is all chopped up and neatly rolled and it does feel much less cruel destroying your own work.



I then cut these strips in two to make them narrower because I planned to have decorative strips running round my imaginary handbag.

Last night I attached these strips to a larger piece of silk with running stitch. Now I do actually like this and part of me thinks it would look good as a handbag with a heavily pleated body with all this heavily embroidered embellishment. But, and there is a big but, I cannot bring myself to get excited about this now. Knowing myself and my warped mind as well as I do I think I know why. Because I was never happy with the original piece (the cloth) my brain is saying it wasn't good enough before so how can it be good enough now you have cut it up?


Does anyone else suffer from these, what I like to think, are artistic brain malfunctions. I'm sure it must happen to you too. The thing is, I still have a hankering for a handbag.......what am I going to do????? I am going to think about it thats what I am going to do. I am also definitely going to make a handbag, how that will look remains to be seen.

9 comments:

Sue Krekorian said...

Oh dear, you are having a confidence crisis. Big hug from me. I love this cloth and the potential these strips have. I can't imagine the imaginary handbag you have in your head, but I think it could be wonderful. Maybe the equal strips are getting in the way of your design development? Apply them to the cloth as you thought, or maybe do something with the cloth you intend to apply them to, to integrate the whole thing? Or send the strips to me, and I'll work on it for you!

Sue Krekorian said...

Sorry, I've answered before digesting everything you'd written. It's looking good. It's looking very good. It will be wonderful.

Jane said...

Go for it and see what you think when it all together. From what I can see, it looks fantastic. You may find you'll feel differently when it is seen in a different context

undeadgoat said...

Well, obviously it's hard to tell what the handbag will be like just from this, but it definitely looks like the sort of handbag I would like, and that others would like . . . you could always give it away, or sell it on Etsy.

Threadspider said...

Sleep on it again. Walk away. It will keep calling you back..but don't let it until you are ready to give it a jolly good talking to. And then show it who's boss and make the handbag. I already want it.

Gina said...

Make that handbag Karen! I'm not sure why crises of confidence seem to go hand in hand with artistic talent but they do! But believe me it will be fabulous!

Anonymous said...

I have had that exact experience - where something Im not happy with, it doesnt matter how I change it, or what i do with it - Im still not happy because I *know* its wrong, and other people telling me it was fine didnt help. Having said this, though, I think this handbag will work out well. I agree with threadspider - sleep on it.

méri said...

Wait and look again after a little while - it can work...:) I'm sure that soon appears an remarkable piece!

jennyflowerblue said...

I went on a course once and the tutor (can't remember who..awful?) kept telling us to keep pushing forward. To chop, sew, add, paint over just keep going, I think the essence of ths is not the frenetic thoughtless addition of more stuff but the trusting of instincts. i.e if you are thinking 'I suspect this needs xyz' then it probably does. Trust your instincts this bag is a different incarnation. Your previous work is a raw material, you are a textile genius, all will be well!