Control

And this time I’m gonna do it my way

Whenever I hear the word “control” I immediately think of the song by Janet Jackson. It was on her debut album and so good. I know ALL the words. Have a listen for some 80’s nostalgia:

Janet Jackson - Control on Spotify

Where am I going with this, you’re probably asking…well, art is one of the things in my life that I have complete control over. It’s pretty amazing to think about. I can make whatever I want. Anything. Whatever my brain/heart desires.

I cannot say that about everything, or even most things, in my life. I can’t stroll in to my day job and tell them I’m going to do whatever I want that day – they won’t pay me. I can’t just make lasagna every night for dinner – Ken will not eat that many carbs. I can’t make the dogs wear cute button up shirts every day…wait, I could probably do that.

There are also much bigger things that the average citizen, especially in the US, feels like they don’t have any control over. There is a lot going on in the world right now. Many people feel quite helpless about it. It can be overwhelming.

I’m not saying art will fix all the things or make everything better, but I do find it makes a lot of things more bearable. It brings some calmness to my brain, joy to my heart, and color to my world. It also lets me make a whole bunch of decisions. Some of them are easier, some are hard, but they are all mine. I can also make as many or as few decisions as I want.

(Control) now I’ve got a lot….

A long time ago, ok like 40 years, I fell in love with fabric. My mom would make clothes for me and my sister, make quilts for us, teach us me to sew, and started this love affair with fabric that has not wavered in 40 years. Other than super squeaky polyester, I love all fabric. It all has a place and a use. I love buying it and stacking it in a pleasing arrangement on my shelves. I love sewing with it, gluing it, petting it. So, I decided at a very young age that my medium was fabric. Or maybe it chose me.

I’ve had plenty of opportunities in my life to pick something else. I doodle, paint off and on, played the trumpet for about 6 years, knit, crochet, and….I’m sure I’m missing some art forms that I’ve tried. I still do a lot of them. For the sake of everyone’s ears, I no longer play the trumpet.

You may think that deciding I’m going to work with fabric or textiles would narrow down the choices a bit and you would be very wrong. Within the world of textiles there is so much to do! Even within the world of quilting. You might scratch your head at that statement but a quilt is three layers, stitched together. Some definitions push that to two layers but in my brain, there is usually a middle layer. How you get to those layers is a world of opportunity.

Let’s start with the top layer. You could sew all the pieces together (this is what I do), you could appliqué the design, you could fuse the design, you could just have one big piece of fabric. Then within each of those choices, you have more decisions you GET to make.

What is the design?

What colors will you use?

What kind of fabric will you use?

Those are just a few to get you thinking about all the ways you get to decide what your art is. What you want it to be and what you want to communicate to the world.

Do you want your communication to be a quilt for the bed or for a wall? I do love both but my art is usually in the form of wall art. I love to hang a textile on the wall. It’s such a bold choice (see more choices) to hang an 80” by 60” piece of art on the wall. It can both dominate a room and hang out in the background all based on how you hang it or what else is in the room. Look at all these choices!

How much do you have to say? I have a lot to say! My work is usually really big and when it is small, I use a lot of small pieces to make up for the size.

Do you just want to say something once or multiple times and work in a series? I love both. Sometimes I decide to make several in a series or stop after one piece. You pick.

Should we talk about the other layers? Yes, we should because it creates even more ways for you to have choice. What about the middle? You can pick the fiber you want to use, how thick or thin it is, and what color.

The backing is often overlooked but yet another way for you to put your own twist on your art. I love to use a light cotton or lawn for the back. But there are so many options: solid, pieced, print, surface design, and on and on….

How are you going to bring those pieces together? I stitch through mine with a long-arm machine. But you could hand stitch it, or use a domestic machine, or you could hand-tie it with yarn. Again, pretty wide range of choices here.

You could also not make any of these decisions and that is ok. You could give yourself some parameters to make all these choices easier. You say today I’m only working with purple cotton fabric. One choice that eliminates a bunch more. How many choices you want to make is up to you.

Use art to make decisions and gain some control. Use art to express what you want, how you want, and when you want.

So go on, pick up that pen and doodle.