Embroidered Collage
My art feels private to me right now. I am not sure why, since it was interaction with others in person and online that inspired me to develop and be able to call myself an artist, but that's the way it is.
I am filling sketchbooks, one page at a time, with the desire to build a personal visual language and skills to fulfill the following artist's statement:
I use repetition and variation to visually evoke the idea that multiple perspectives are necessary and interdependant in understanding the whole.
I imagine finished works that will be mixed-media, using collages of paper and fabric, incorporating stitch and beads and having layers of meaning. I am also working on drawing dragons and fantasy art, just for my own sake.
I have closed down the blog in which I recorded my progress during the years I was actively creating because it felt like a weight on my neck. A waiting expectation that if I shared anything I would start creating art at a faster pace again. If I feel like sharing, I will do it on my blog here or on my Flickr account.
Backstory
In 2004 I came to the unexpected realization that I didn't need to draw realistically to create original art. This epiphany sparked experimentation in, reading about, and playing with various media, beginning with my earlier hobby of embroidery. I began in artist trading cards and built up to larger works. I sold a few pieces and exhibited locally in juried shows. Then in 2008 my life and focus changed with the birth of my daughter and changes in my career. I pulled away from my art with occasional attempts to return.
The four years I was actively creating art almost every day were inspiring to me. I blogged regularly at Artist Perpetually in Progress. I learned to believe I was creative and to expand that idea into my career. Efforts to market and sell my work were part of what provoked my interest in business overall. I talked with people all over the world and made friends in local groups. I learned about myself and how to try new things. It was a fantastic journey, the experience of which was worth more to me than any of the physical art pieces I created.