There is one step I'm taking...Johntimothy and I have some pretty nice websites designed by a graphic student who was here at USD a few years ago....a pretty creative fellow who has long since moved on. John's was the first site he designed and by the time he got to doing mine, he had a more experience and got pretty ambitious. It's a wonderful website, but so complex that I can't update it, even though he left lengthy instructions. So we're taking them down and rethinking our websites. I'm telling you this so you can have a quick look before they disappear soon...very soon! The work on them and all the information is pretty outdated now, but everyone who sees this site loves it....totally charming...but alas, not what I need these days! Have a look here for my "about to disappear" website and here for the website of my husband, Johntimothy Pizzuto. If you read this post a few days from now it may be too late...my apologies. New websites will be on the horizon!
Meanwhile, the river continues to build, slowly but surely. I continue to break threads and use that as a clue that it's time to give Violett a rest. Still lots of river left to build, but I think it might be interesting...sort of like that last hand stitched piece, where I questioned it up until I was halfway through and then knew it would work. I guess this will work....I know this is a good first test of playing with the sewing machine to realize an idea and it may end up in a closet, but at the very least I'll have learned a lot and spent a lot of money on thread!
a section of the river
downstream!
Have a wonderful weekend! We seem to have blue skies, at least for a day or so! Cheers!
If there's one thing I've learned it's that if you don't continue to ask questions of yourself and your work then it will get stuck in a rut and you'll end up being formulaic. I've a feeling that Violett will lead you in new directions and open up new possibilities.
ReplyDeleteMakes me want to go to the river! How many different colours are you planning to use? I like the movement of the water.
ReplyDeleteI like this river - it's going to be great! All those questions Patti and I'm not sure of any of the answers. The world of art and making and creating and making a living is a constant circular discussion about which principle i'm trying to hold to - if this, then that; if that, then this... it really doesn't help being able to see so many sides of an argument! I checked the website - delightful (but I get it would be hard to manage) so best wishes for your renewal and re-build. We're off again tomorrow...
ReplyDeleteCarrie...wise words you have spoken! So important to keep yourself moving, thinking and reinventing! Thanks for your comment!
ReplyDeleteCarole....I'm not sure....lots of different blues and I do also have a variegated thread that I'm hoping to be able to save until the top layer. Lot of river current left to sew! Hope this works!
ReplyDeleteFiona...thanks for taking time to comment! I think it's always good to question oneself and keep an eye out on what's going on inside....change is always present and the nature of life. Speaking of which...enjoy your next travel adventure!
ReplyDeleteYour website is a work of art in itself..... but I know what you mean. If you can't update it yourself without a palaver you aren't going to get anywhere. I admire you for writing down your thoughts. it's something i try to remember to do because it certainly brings clarity but for some reason i get distracted..... or perhaps I just don't want to pin myself down :-)
ReplyDeleteRobyn...yes, that website is quite the charmer! It was a very ambitious and creative graphic design undergraduate who designed it, believe it or not! I'll do something new with a ready-made template that will be easy to update, but still look professional. So nice to hear from you!
ReplyDeleteWe all ask questions of ourselves and our art - its a trick to learn how to actually DO instead of just asking the questions all the time. There is an exercise where you write it all out, streams of consciousness, then go back over it with a highlighter pen, pulling out the bits which grab you, then go back over those, and do it again. You might find you have answers, but didn't realise.
ReplyDeleteThe website is funky and visually entertaining - but dare I say it, doesn't actually do what it should, ie showcase YOUR work - not that I'm any expert at all, but sometimes less is more, and being able to update it as and when most important.
Beverley....thanks for this very practical exercise! Looks like a very concrete way to hear yourself....and, as you say, find the answers you just may not know you have. Yes, the website is fun....but doesn't do what it needs to do, especially in such an out-of-date state! Thanks so much for your comment.
ReplyDeleteHi Patti! Sorry I've been such a bad follower lately. I too spend a good deal of time thinking and rethinking. I can tell you that Proust did not have all the answers about life, and was in fact a retired invalid whose life would never have had the meaning it eventually carried unless he had taken to his bed and written the novel that ended up being his life's work, and his life's purpose. As with so many people, the answers were found in the process of questioning and examining, and came as a result of something that may have at first seemed an obstacle. So, hang tough. Directions will announce themselves, as long as you keep your eyes and ears open! By the way, good luck with the new websites!
ReplyDeleteI often wonder, given the life that Proust actually lived as an invalid, how he was able to write with such knowledge...of course my next task is to learn more about him! So nice to hear from you....and you are not a bad follower....just a busy one...as we all are!!!
ReplyDelete