Thursday, October 1, 2009

You See I Had This Idea.



I am sharing once again with you the blog I wrote way back in March to explain to you where the work I do came from...since so many of you have asked.

Here it is...











It's an amazing thing when a gift falls into your lap and as soon as you unwrap it in your mind you know exactly what you're going to do with it. That's kinda what happened in April of 2000. A few months before that I had read a book on the journals of pioneer women and was really impacted by their strength and the haunting ring of their words. Something started to tug at me. Somewhere in one of those books I saw where a woman who had gone West in a wagon train had later made a momento of the journey by taking an old weathered piece of the tent they had slept under and stitched a blurry photograph someone had taken of them to the piece of fabric. She had then written in thread simply "Piece of the old tent." Something continued to tug at me. Not long after that I watched for the first time in quite a few years parts of the Ken Burns PBS Series, The Civil War. Here Burns touched you visually with the power of the old photographs and grabbed you emotionally with words read from the letters of that time. Something started to bug the heck out of me.


Then the gift appeared. On a Sunday morning in April the solidified thought of what I would do with the inspiration I had received didn't exist...but by that evening I had put together what would be the first of thousands of pieces of work that I would sign my name to over the next eight years. Now mind you it was a distant cousin of the pieces I do today, but the idea was there. I knew that what I wanted to do would require putting layers together and that it even might mean sewing. Problem was I didn't know how to do that. I didn't like sewing...or so I thought. (Years earlier, when I was a professional singer, I almost quit a band I was in because they wanted me to sew my own costumes.) I didn't own any fabrics really...why would I? But the more I thought about it the more I wanted to stitch that photo down just like my "tent-lady." I gathered up some unprimed artist canvas that I had in my little paint studio, a couple of pieces of cardboard and a couple of cotton blouses whose fabrics I didn't mind sacrificing. Strangely enough my husband at the time, had a little $100 Sears sewing machine in his workshop where he would make little pouches for all the electrical cords he took out on the road with him when his band toured. I had to read the manual on how to wind a bobbin. As it turned out, the imperfection of my sewing was perfect for the rustic, old look I was going for. He also had some photo-transfer paper on hand from trying out photos on t-shirts before the band made them to sell. Basically, I had no idea what I was doing.

The first piece you see above was rough to say the least...and not exactly what I had in mind. Tried it again with the Sadie Austin piece you see next and felt like I was getting a little closer. A big mostly cardboard piece followed (still lacking in the fabric department). Not happy. Then I did my first Annie Oakley piece and something clicked. I knew from the beginning I would recognize what I was after when I saw it. That piece was closer to the story I was trying to tell. Gave myself a good talking to. I decided that if I wanted to ever be good at this I had to give myself permission to be bad at it for awhile. Being bad at it wasn't a problem. But then I did something that made all the difference. I stopped trying to tell "my girls" and my materials what I wanted them to say and started listening to what they were already saying. The first of well over a hundred quotes, that I would write via this "listening thing" followed, and the gift was completely unwrapped. God signed the card in big, bold letters and I have been taking his winding roads and winding bobbins ever since...thanking him every step of the way.

10 comments:

Eileen said...

What a great story, KC! Very inspirational! Thanks for sharing it with us!

XOXO
E

Dorthe said...

Thank`s KC dear, for the beautifull story,it is so inspirational for all readers, because it tells us, to go for what is in your heart, to work with it, to live with it.
That you did it, surely brings joy, not only to you, but to lots of others, --for one mee, Love your art, and am proud owning 2 pieces. Thanks dear.
Love and hugs ,Dorthe

mycuriousteaparty said...

Hi KC

Thank you for sharing your journey with us, I don't know a lot about the pioneering women of the west but I am learning fast, thanks to your blog, its amazing.

Julie

Al said...

It's amazing how much those women have to say! Great work!

Periwinkle Studio said...

Wow! Thanks for posting this and sharing. It is so inspiring and wonderful!

Judy said...

wonderful post, so interesting. Not sure i would be showing to many of my first attempts.

Penelope said...

I love a good origin story! It's amazing when things come to us like this, just floating in out of the blue.

Coleen said...

I love this line you wrote.......

I decided that if I wanted to ever be good at this I had to give myself permission to be bad at it for awhile...

I think I will claim that,too!!

Heart Hugs,
Coleen

LR said...

when i read this post the first time around, i printed it out and placed it on my inspiration board. it is a reminder to me to be patient as i discover my creative voice.

Anonymous said...

At what number collage were you at when you decided to start selling your work?