On Breaking New Ground

An artist character named Simon Thayne on a television show I watched said, “The role of the artist is always to break new ground.” That can be liberating or pressurizing, depending on how I look at it.

I love the freedom of being an artist has given me. I can create what I want when I want to. I can follow other people’s rules, advice, or guidelines……..or not! I can mix colors and textiles, add embellishments made of glass, plastic, or bits and pieces I have picked up walking in the woods. My creativity, as I have mentioned before, is limited only by my imagination.

My imagination is limited by my experiences.

Which brings me to the pressurizing aspect. I have limits. I have limits of imagination, I have limits of creativity, but most of all, I have limits of technical skill. It takes practice. Lots and lots of practice. And sometimes that practice means making the same things I have made before over and over again.

See? Not breaking new ground.

In order to be able to push the boundaries of ART, I have to first push the boundaries of my own art. And I can’t do that without continuing to improve what I already do. It’s a dilemma. So, in the meantime, I take small, gradual steps. Each piece I make is different from the last. On each one I try a new technique of some kind, whether it is something noticeable like applique, or use of a new tool behind the scenes in the studio.

Haha, this is also part of why it takes me so long to finish a piece! More dilemmas…….