Monday, July 21, 2014

Step Twins -- Two Mediums/Same Design/One Artist

They look the same to me!
I believe they called it dusting off my brain. I was being encouraged to try something new as a means of self expression, and I was holding back. My familiar fiber art skills are so comfortable to me that I can sometimes, when I am felting late at night, almost feel like I am creating in my sleep. "Dust off my brain!" seems a bit drastic, doesn't it? Perhaps I am relating more to the popular "Step out of your comfort zone". Whatever happens to motivate me, this new series has already been named: Step Twins.

A new inventory of artistic supplies.
When you think about identical twins, of course there is only one mother involved. So in this creativity-expanding exercise, I am playing the role of the Mother/Artist. Pairs of objects will be created in this series of 16 pieces in my studio, and these are what I am referring to as the Twins. So there will be eight sets of Twins when the series is complete. Any guesses as to how long this might take me...assuming I won't get away with working while sleepy?

My brain is feeling fresh as I contemplate that each set of twins will be comprised of works that will, from a distance, look the same. As you approach them, the texture of each piece starts to pop, and then, magically, as you step front and center before them, you realize that one of the works in each pair is a painting and the other is a fiber art piece. Step Twins: the same mother but very different genetics.

I started with a painting and now I am collecting the wool.
In my studio today I have begun playing with Twin Set #1. It might be fun to begin some of these pairs with the painting first (which is what I've done today), and then on other occasions, I will start with the fiber art. This will truly stretch my skills and cause me to wake up my process, don't you think? What kind of challenge are you looking at for the balance of 2014 when it comes to your creativity? May I make a suggestion? Perhaps you should dust off your brain.

Please check back from time to time for an update on this series. I'm excited to share it with you!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne