I'm learnding.

Black ice -- Fiber Arctic Piece
Originally uploaded by thirdpersonpossessive

So, it probably comes as no big surprise that I'm pretty new to this whole Art thing. I've made "art" for a long time, but I only started this year to put myself Out There in any kind of official capacity. It's been very rewarding and surprising in many ways, but I'm still a total amateur at Just About Everything, and this experience has taught me that I have a lot to learn.

This is the piece I did for the Fiber Arctic show at Schmancy. When Kristen asked me to participate in the show I was really thrilled and honored. Still am! And I thought very long and hard about the subject matter before I began.

First of all, I really thought a lot about this piece and it has a lot of meaning for me, but I don't think I conveyed it all that well. I changed subjects three times. I actually had a piece about 1/3 done when I decided to scrap it. It's one of those things that if I explain it, it might make sense ... but I firmly believe that art shouldn't require a long label in order for it to totally make sense.

Second, I really have no idea how to frame/display embroidery for a gallery setting, and this didn't occur to me until the VERY LAST MINUTE. Then, of course, everything that could go wrong, did. My hoop broke, they ran out of the size of hoop I wanted, etc., etc.

Hmm. I don't know. This isn't my strongest piece for sure and that makes me a bit sad, because I was/am sooo excited for this show. But at the same time, if it had turned out Really Awesome, I doubt I would have learned so much from it. I feel good about my technique and the idea in general. But next time, I think I'll try to be more organized about my thought process so that what ends up on the fabric is closer to what I'm thinking in my head.

At any rate, I got about two hours of sleep last night, so now I'm going to eat this pizza I ordered (my second in a week ... sad, I know -- but it's got asiago and red onions and artichoke hearts on it!!!) and relax for a bit before getting back to work. There's still the Indieana Handicraft Exchange to get ready for!!