Is it Craft or is it Art?
I ask myself this question a lot. I started quilting when I was a teenager, and I’ve been in the craft camp for all of my creative practice. Quilting gives me something to do with my hands, it quiets my thoughts, and makes my world better. That’s mostly crafty and seems totally worthwhile.
When I think of quiltmaking as art, I get a different vibe. I begin to doubt my skills and I start making judgments. Is my work good enough? What if I don’t have any credentials? How do you make the journey from crafter to artist?
I’m reading a great book titled The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life, by Twyla Tharp, one of America’s greatest choreographers. She writes about habits she’s developed to nurture her creative muse and rituals to use to keep fear of failure from derailing the artistic effort before you even get started. It reassures me that world-renowned artists also experience that type of anxiety.
Focus on the Journey
Art is part of the process of creating, and it develops as skills develop. This blog is my little patch of the internet. It’s a place where I’ll maintain a record of my quilting efforts. I hope when I look back a year from now I’ll find photos and notes of many projects. It will be fun to see how many techniques I’ve tried and what’s the most successful.
How do you cultivate your creative spirit? Leave me a note in the comments, or share a word of encouragement. Thanks! -catie
Quilts From Years Ago
