Since I never had children of my own, I sometimes see my art as my babies. With human babies, playing favorites is frowned upon. With art babies, the rule doesn’t apply. Which is a good thing because I definitely have a favorite piece I’ve made.
In this week’s article, I’m sharing the textured fiber painting I’m most proud of. To find out why it’s my favorite, keep going to read the article. If you’re rather watch and listen, jump to the video at the end.
There’s always a journey…
I’ve been creating art quilts since 1998. As you might imagine, in that time, I’ve made quite a few and yet, there’s one that stands out as my favorite piece. Oddly, I don’t think I chose it as my favorite. Instead, I think it chose me.
While I’ve been creating fiber art for over 20 years, it wasn’t until 2014 when I got serious about turning my creating into a regular, consistent practice that I truly connected to my work. Prior to that time, I made my art when I felt like it. Some years, I made several pieces. Some years, I made none. So 2014 was a turning point for me as an artist.
But everything didn’t come together right away. My primary focus that year was to just make a piece, then make another, then another, and then another until the practice of creating became a habit, one I couldn’t live without. I made four pieces in 2014 (I didn’t start until June), eight in 2015, and a whopping 13 pieces in 2016. All while working a full time job.
The AHA! moment…
At some point, I started working in a series, creating 8 crosses in my Hot Cross collection. I chose to create a series because I was on a mission to find my artistic voice and making the same thing in different ways is one of the paths to get there.
As 2017 got underway, I finished up the Hot Cross series. Some were made as square or rectangular pieces; however, several others were made in the shape of a cross, meaning the whole piece is cross shaped and not a cross on a square or rectangular background. This “not square” method of creating felt incredibly aligned but I didn’t know where I wanted to take it. Until I did…
During a phone call with my artist mentor one evening, when we were talking about the artist’s voice and my journey to find mine, it struck me with the vibrancy of a neon sign that making “not square” was part of my voice. We discussed how it felt to think about making “not square” art and I suddenly sat back in my chair like I’d been shoved there.
In that moment, I KNEW what I wanted to make. I knew where I was going to take “not square”. And where I was going to take my “not square” art was into the world of feelings.
Choosing my favorite…
As an empath, I’ve always felt more. More of my feelings and more of yours. I can see feelings in my third eye. I know what they look like. Bringing them into light as a tangible object, making them visible, felt like what I’d been trying to do my whole life but hadn’t been able to do until then.
Creating feelings out of fiber chose me.
The first feeling I made in my Feelings series was ”Inflamed”. It’s the smallest in the series as it was my experiment. And it’s my favorite because it was the first.
One of the reason’s Inflamed is my favorite, and the piece I’m most proud of, is because it was the first art piece I created using the clarity I’d found in my artist’s voice.
It’s my favorite because it was the experiment and the experiment worked.
It’s my favorite because it grounds me when I look at it.
It’s my favorite because it fires me up and motivates me when my energy’s low.
I’m most proud of Inflamed because it looks exactly like the vision of what it means to feel inflamed that I can see in my mind’s eye.
I’m proud of Inflamed because, when I chose it as my entry in my former artists’ guild quarterly show, I told my partner that I believed it would win a prize. And it took 2nd place.
In closing…
Most of my art is for sale. Inflamed is no different.
While Inflamed may be my favorite piece of all the art I’ve made, and the one I’m most proud of, it’s also time for this baby of mine to find a home of its own where it can motivate, ground, and inspire someone else.
Is that someone you?
Inflamed is available for $625. If you’d like to own this piece, email me at hilaryclarkstudios@gmail.com.
If you’re ready for a private (virtual) showing of my art, you can schedule an appointment here.
If you liked what you read (or watched if you chose the video), please share with the one person you absolutely know would like it too!
Hilary Clark Studios 