Saturday 11 April 2009

Featured Blog

I recently came across the blog called "What if?...exploring a relationship with cloth" by Jude Hill. Currently she is exploring the mirade different design opportunities one can discover with a nine patch. If you want to follow her whole experimental journey, you can start with the first post over a year ago. http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/what_if/2007/03/textile_journal.html

Jude has 2 other blogs Threadcrumbs and Spirit Cloth. Both are equally interesting.

The "What if?" concept really struck a cord with me as I use that all the time to get to the next point in my work, my ideas, my dicoveries. I also try to get my students to think "What if?" so as to develop their designs further.

Here is some of what I said in a recent handout of idea prompts for the students...

"Because you aren’t copying an idea, whether it be from nature or someone else, you are using the idea as inspiration; you are faced with the concept of “making it your own”…coming up with original ideas. If it still looks like the original, then it is still derivative and not your original design."...

"One of the biggest things that will help you with developing ideas is to ask, “What if?” The more you ask “What if?”, the more the design becomes informed by your thought processes and so is unique. It may seem similar to other work, as in made up using similar techniques, but the design is yours."


It's what makes me look inside fallen logs like this to discover interesting mosses and things and think "What if?" and even "Why?"

3 comments:

Margaret Cooter said...

Thanks for the links to these blogs, Sandy. One of the pieces on Spirit Cloth got me started on something similar (not yet finished, but great to take out now and then and do a bit more on) -- so I can say they are truly inspiring!

jude said...

hey thank you very much for mentioning my work and my blogs! what if works for me every time.

Sandy said...

Hi Jude! Thanks for the message. I think this is the first time a Featured Blogger left a message! I really like the way asking What if? opens your mind and frees you for so much more.

Hi Margaret,
I like the idea of the continual stitching, too. It really becomes a life piece.

Take care,
Sandy