I finished uploading my last assignment for my class yesterday. I was actually finished with it earlier in the week but procrastinated on it I guess because I just wasn’t ready for it to be over with.
I set a S-T-R-E-C-H goal for myself this time: I wanted to entirely finish the piece right down to the sleeve and label. I had a huge cloud following me around. It was the cloud of unfinished projects and I was building up this huge barrier inside my head that these pieces would not get done. Ok, enough of that so the stretch goal.
The last assignment was to simplify or elaborate our design. I chose elaboration and …fell flat. I didn’t like how I overworked the motif. If I look at my motif which I tried to increase the complexity of it by adding more lines, it is just too much, too busy. If I cover up the lower strip on the right purple motif or “house”, I like it better. So next piece I make I will eliminate that angled strip and see if that helps.
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| Rooflines # 6, 36×36, Colleen Kole, 2012 |
When I put it up on the wall to photograph it, I saw what was wrong with it and when I wrote my self critique, it no longer felt like a failed assignment but another learning experience. And I set up parameters for the next piece. I love the phrase”the next piece”. I know I learned many things but the “next piece ” gives you freedom to try new things and not be afraid to fail. I felt fantastic that I met my stretch goal for the week which was to finish the piece and have no anxiety about machine quilting the other pieces.
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| Finished! |
It was truly a gift to take this class. I highly recommend Lisa Call as a teacher and the online experience was better than I thought possible. I am finished with class but just beginning to find joy in working in a series.