It occurred to me I haven’t shared a progress update on any of my textured fiber paintings in a while. 2020 was the year of focusing on being an entrepreneur. Now I’ve set that aside, I can get back to sharing more pictures of my art, including the progress! Everyone likes pretty pictures, right? 🙂
The canvas…
Alright, I’ll admit this first photo isn’t the prettiest of the bunch but I’m sharing it anyway. This is the canvas for (Feeling) Joy. When I think of Joy, I think of bright color. When I FEEL Joy, I SEE bright color, specifically fuchsia. Just as I call my depressive episodes my grey space, joyful living is my fuchsia space. The energy within this vibrant pink raises my vibration every time I see it. So of course fuchsia is the color for the canvas.
It’s a little wonky, the layout of those fabric pieces that create the canvas whole, and that’s perfectly imperfect and okay. The canvas is there to provide background for the other colors used in the design. All feelings are a little wonky when you stop to think about it. Since I take the intangible and abstract – feelings – and make them tangible (and still abstract) through fiber, it’s fitting the wonkiness should carry through.
Mono vision…
Ordinarily, I consider mono vision to be a detriment. Looking at only one side of an issue never gives you the full picture. We live in a world of duality, created so our human minds can more easily process what we experience and learn. We cannot experience Joy without also experiencing Sorrow. We don’t know one without the other.
But when I’m designing my art, mono vision is actually an important step. Specifically, the mono filter I use on the photo I take of my art once I’ve created the design. In this instance, mono vision allows me to study what I’ve designed for contrast, balance, and use of color value. These elements are critical components to making good art.
And I like to believe I make good art.
Progress…
The stitching phase always takes the most time for each of my textured fiber paintings. I make my art little by little, #15minutesatatime. No rush, no deadline, just an opportunity to play with color, to observe the feeling I’m creating out of fiber, and to contemplate how that feeling enters into my life through the meditative act of stitching.
The photos above are samples of that stitching meditation, an attempt to capture the deep satisfaction and contentment I feel as I feed my art under the needle of my sewing machine, watching those lines of thread fill the empty fabric to bring texture and life to the feeling.
Because feelings aren’t just wonky like I said earlier. They’re also textural, with warp and weft, smooth moments and rocky cliffhangers.
If you really want to get in touch with your feelings, turn them into art.
With joy and ease…
I hope you enjoyed this little photo gallery of progress for (Feeling) Joy. I’ll be back next week with another essay on anything from living life with joy and ease to creating feelings out of fiber (my textured fiber paintings) to finding the absurd in the ordinary. Until then, may you make your own progress on whatever you’re creating.
xo
If you’re ready for a private (virtual) showing of my art, you can schedule an appointment here.
To discuss commissioning me to make a textured fiber painting specifically for you or someone you love, please schedule an exploratory commissioning conversation and we’ll see what we can create together.
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Hilary Clark Studios 