Develop Your Art Passion
How do you develop your art passion? Recently on two separate occasions I was explaining my art to another person. They both lamented that they couldn’t sew. Sewing was so hard. Yet,one person was definitely of the age of a person who had to take sewing at school. The other one was was much younger. However, she also mentioned that sewing was an impossibly hard task to do.
Where does One’s passion start?
As mentioned I can’t pinpoint when my passion for sewing started. No, my mother was not a strong seamstress. No, my grandparents were not nearby to teach me nor did they sew. Yet, I do remember begging my mother to sign me up for sewing lessons the summer after sixth grade. I don’t remember begging my parents for anything else. Okay, I did write a persuasive argument for why I needed to have a car. Does that even count? My begging usually focussed on not having to do something. I have a vague memory of trying to get out of a piano recital that I hadn’t practiced for. Music is not a strong point of mine.
My First Sewing Classes
So my mother signed me up to take sewing classes at the local Singer Sewing Store downtown. The classes were a disaster.The teacher expected to help ladies finish their projects. Her expertice did not involve teaching the basics to twelve year olds. How to do lay out a pattern on fabric and cut it out was not in her plan. Public school teachers to the rescue! Luckily, 8th grade sewing did just that. I was on my way. Little did I know that it would develop into a lifelong passion.
Developing an Art Passion
This was the late 1960s. Girls and women were still expected to know how to sew. Yet, my older sister didn’t like it. She said she didn’t have the patience. Did I think that I was a patient person? No. I liked fashion as much as any teenaged girl did. My outfits certainly didn’t push the fashion envelope. I was not an avant garde dresser.
Developing a Skill Set
But without knowing it, I was developing a skill set. I was learning about selecting fabrics. With practice,I learned what pattern envelopes said, what they meant, and what they didn’t say. Moreover, I developed opinions about what they should have said. I also knew I wanted to take an elective class of sewing in high school.I ended up taking the advanced class too. Who knows?Bound buttons may come back in style.
Imagine this top fluffy for the one I made
Back to the fuzzy yellow knitted top. I do remember planning my ensembles with texture and variations in mind. I studied my ensembles for high school. What combinations of outfits did I already have? What materials or colors were they in? How could I make something that would add a difference for my wardrobe? How could I add texture and interest to the clothes I wore?
Inspired by a Tam and Scarf
Yet at this point,sewing was my hobby. Graduating a four year college was my family’s expectation for me. I had no problems with that. I did get accepted to UC,Irvine, my first choice. My back up school was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. SLO is famous for their home economics department. I often wonder how my life would have turned out differently if I had gone there. The closest thing to home economics at UC,Irvine was chemistry lab.
Schooling and Career
So I got a degree in History, worked on my Spanish, Master in Teaching and became an elementary school teacher. I worked passionately with second language learners for 36 years. No regrets.
Over the years I kept sewing. I made clothes for myself and my family. I learned to quilt and I kept quilting. Most of the quilts were for family members and donation quilts for charities. I learned different techniques like applique and paper piecing. I stopped counting my bed quilts at 300!
Art Quilts
Much later I switched to art quilts. I have over 400 art quilts,large and small listed on my inventory. I learned different techniques including free motion quilting.I started entering juried art shows.Pieces sold. Practice makes perfect.Sometimes it feels good to realize that I actually know something and can comfortably do it. Do I still try new things? Yes.
Art in College
I took a year of studio art, drawing and painting in college. The teaching style in the late 1960s was totally hands off. The student was free to do their own thing. The teacher said in a positive comment that I did funny little pictures. Looking back, I realize part of my problem is that I didn’t practice. I didn’t put in the hours to become good at it. I didn’t have the passion to keep at it to develop my skills. Malcolm Gladwell https://www.gladwellbooks.com/in his book, Outliers said it takes10,000 times to get really good at something. That sounds like a lot unless one loves doing it, has fun and is passionate about continuing.
In Conclusion
Passion! Dedication! is the answer.So much so that you will choose to stick to something even when you get frustrated. Yet you keep going and over time you get better and better. Maybe you will even reach an advanced skill level. At age of ten, I knew, I wanted sewing lessons. I didn’t know why. I still don’t. But sewing and the related field of quilting has stayed with me pretty much my whole life. So much so that I can only laugh when some artist says how hard it is for them. Isn’t it great that we all have different skills and talents! Find your passion and stick to it.
https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2022/06/in-search-of-unusual-color-combos/
https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2022/06/how-to-discover-your-artistic-signature/
