Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Overachieving 102, or How I will try to do too much in October.

So this is the piece based on the layout of an ad that I found in my Yoga Journal. It's an interesting blueprint, but I couldn't decide what to do with it beyond that.

And what I made of it is below. I regret making the bottom box in the piece stretch the full width of the paper. I like it ok, but it doesn't really feel as satisfying as most of my pieces. It feels more like doodling than a finished work. I almost typed "dork" rather than work. I guess that's my subconscious saying it's no good.

Over all, I'm glad I did this little exercise. The discipline was good, as was the momentum the project has left me with. On the flip side, it was difficult to complete a piece every day. I relaxed my expectations, but it was still hard to get a piece looking satisfactory every day after work. I need to be able to put some things down and come back to them the next day with a fresh point of view. I also felt a bit confined by the size of the pieces. The most rewarding part was that I never missed a day because I couldn't think of something to do- I missed a couple due to other circumstances, but it was never due to a lack of inspiration. I had plenty of ideas, and they always felt right, perhaps with the exception of the piece above.

So, whatever am I going to do with myself in October? I'm going to give myself a bit of a break on the daily challenge front. Instead, I am going to focus on 2 things: knitting, and a painting I started for my brother. I got the canvas primed and the sketch done and fixed, and that's it. Oh, and that was done in May. Ahem. The knitting projects I have going right now are 1) an official Kitty62 hat for my sister Cat for Christmas (almost done), 2) the baby yoda sweater I made this summer and still haven't seamed, 3) the second homely sock that I have about 3 inches left on, and 4) the Tempting sweater I abandoned this spring. So I guess you could call October The Month of Finishing the Unfinished Projects. Oh, and if I finish those things, I'm going to start a sweater for my due-in-March nephew, and a pair of socks for my favorite Mom for Christmas. So much for a break.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My goodness, you ARE busy! That's a lot of projects - pick your favorite for first, finishing is contagious!

I'm fascinated with your art projects - you must have studied art, because you clearly know what you're doing and have talent. Your self portrait from a few posts ago is just beautiful.

And Kouros - what a great cat! Brenda could learn a few things from his knitting assistance....