Over the weekend (and again on Thursday) I had a fabulous meeting with my mentor, WhiteFeather Hunter. I had been stuck on a couple of pieces, Alain and Helene, and the books were lacking. Long story short, she was able to look at the pieces with fresh eyes, and those big mental blocks are dissolving.
Photo by Carol Collicutt
Out of this brainstorming, a new problem has arisen: where are my boundaries? Where do I draw the line between my fine craft and my art? How much influence does one have on the other? In the case of the books, I'm using a craft format to bring to life a concept. I didn't make a decision as to how far I needed to go with the technical skills in order to make the concept clear, and they ended up being sloppy books instead of interesting ideas.
So I'm working on seeing my work through the appropriate lens: looking at my conceptual pieces through the eyes of a craftsperson will only show flaws. For one, I KNOW I'm a fantastic craftswoman. I have nothing to prove to anyone. Secondly, people like to use their imaginations. All ends do not have to be hidden, all surfaces do not have to be polished. If you leave enough blank space for people, they'll fill it in with all kinds of things and make your work so much more rich and varied than you could conceive.
This means a major shift in the way I view my work and how I make it.
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