Suddenly I had so much time to think - a recurring thought was something that my friend Charmaine said to me once! She challenged my creativity by telling me that there was so much more to explore and I was actually in a rut! Straightforward....! After thinking it through, I realized it was so true... I realized that the realistic themed quilts really consumed me while I was creating them and I needed something less intense. For the first time since leaving East London, I somehow felt lonely and had the desire to belong to a quilt group. BUT...........
Personally I find it very difficult to fit into a mould and after discussing it with a friend, she suggested that I start a small creative group.... The idea stewed in my mind for a long time before I approached 4 friends to form an art quilt group. Three of them accepted the invitation and we met for the first time in February 2009 and tentatively decided on the route forward. We named our group Transitions - Beyond Borders! We meet once a month in my studio and spend the time experimenting with different techniques, equipment, gadgets, concepts etc. The
emphasis is on exploring with lots of
cross-pollination and interaction while having fun.
Starting the group, we all found the transition from traditional and innovative techniques to freestyle/fibre art a huge challenge and extremely intimidating. We desperately needed to get out of our boxes - quite a journey for all of us....! I think the success of our small group is the fact that we are friends, there is mutual trust and respect, we served on committees together (so we work well together) and we are equal members within the group. The interaction at our monthly meetings is lovely and we discuss problems we encounter with our projects and share advice (and criticism) freely. We decided to keep the group closed as it was an experimental group and we did not really know where the journey would take us...
 |
| Transitions - Beyond Borders Group From left to right - Brenda Dickeos, Marilyn Pretorius, Elaine Swan and Nadine van Westenbrugge
We often spend our time playing in the studio. Brenda loves surfing the internet and often shares very interesting information and ideas. We have all now settled into our own routine which is very peaceful and feels just right. In the beginning we worked on specific projects, but as we are all in different phases in our lives, it became rather stressful to be productive all the time...
Forming our art quilt group, had a major influence on my quilting style. Next time I will show and tell my very first art quilt...
|
No comments:
Post a Comment