One thing or many?

[Sandra Wyman]

Kim in her blog raised what I think is an important point - do we specialise or is it better to do many different things. Personally I think that while concentrating on one thing and learning to do it well may be useful for some things, for artists it's a different approach that's most productive - plus making for a more interesting life. After all art is about exploration, of all sorts of things, playing, picking things up, trying things out, letting one area of life spin off against another. Where would Leonardo or Michelangelo have been if they'd simply concentrated on doing one thing well? It'd be really interesting to hear what other people think, especially in such a varied group as this one.

[marion barnett]

I do concentrate on one thing; I make art. I happen to use a lot of different media. And, okay, I write a bit, too...but other than that, I pretty much stick to the one thing. It's just that other people don't see it that way ...

[Neki Rivera]

i am "scattery" by nature so i work in many different things at once.
However they are all well defined within the textiles area.
For example on a regular day i have something on the loom that i' weaving. take a break from that and check the fabric that is dyeing, then continue on a fabric collage i'm doing while the bread i' making is baking .This and caring for the plants are the only non textile activities and they function as change of focus. At the end of the day i've managed to complete several things, but the weaving still goes on and on and on..:)

i'd say i explore different techniques to see if they help me express what i want.
Although i have interests in other fields such as fractals and animation they all relate one way or another to textiles i create animations of some of my textile designs and fractal images but i consider that a hobby or distraction.
n short ,i'll probably go down as the empress jack of all trades master of none.:)

neki desu



neki desu

[Sonja Lee-Austin]

I took a workshop with Jane Dunnewold this summer and asked her about this type of dilemna as it pertained to working on a theme. My art is all over the place because I love to try everything. I've never really focused on a theme on purpose for any period of time, but certain themes emerge in my work. So I asked Jane if she considered it necessary to focus on one theme at a time. I tend to want to try every idea that comes into my head all at once which doesn't work. Anyway, Jane's response was (essentially), "Would you date more than one guy at a time?" I really enjoy this comparison because it lays bare for me how my energy gets dissipated instead of crystallized when I don't have the discipline to stick to one focus at least for a while. It may be fun to date all those guys, but eventually (or in my case--quickly) you get tired.

[Kim]

Sandra - We may be a varied group but we also seem to be a pretty quiet group! I understand that! I tend to be introverted and usually go kicking and screaming into a conversation - especially a public one! I've considered thinking of writing (in these public forums) as more of as art form - like throwing paint at a canvas, and do it with carefree abandon!

I've reached a point in my life where I can indulge more in creative play. And like I've said before, there are are a lot of areas of interest/desire/curiosity that I want to play in and with.

Marion - love your "I make art" response!
Neki Desu - life's a journey and maybe it all 'knits' together, Empress Jack is a great title.
Sonja - date one at a time, sure, but know when to move on. I've been married to the same man for 25 years but he has lots of facets and a passion for life to explore new things... and he "indulges" my creative play!

[Barbara]

I think, life is to short ,to do only one thing. At the end of my life I will tell everybody about my various and different journeys I've tried. Sometimes it will be a short journey, sometimes it will be an endless creative way . I have had a mom sewing each day on her sewing machine and when she became older she was not able to sew because her hands were shaking and she was very ,very sad about it. Because of this I know my time is valuable.
So enjoy your creativity and look around you . Perhaps there is something new you would like to start. Hugs Barbara

[whimsey sara]

I have way too many interests to master only one [not that I've really mastered any, yet!]. The more I explore the world of fiber arts the more interested I am in more things!
I quilt and crochet, those are the basics. But I also machine & hand embroider, bead, and paint. Formats are everything from quilts to altered books.
The problem I have is deciding which project to do first! I have so many ideas and so little time, it's frustrating sometimes. But at least I enjoy what I do, the exploration of my inner artist, a journey to last my lifetime - how lucky am I ?!?

Whimsey Sara
"Know your limitations, and then, step beyond them!"

[Beth Robinson]

I've been narrowing my focus for the last year and have found it deeply satisfying - although I still get distracted by those "what if" thoughts in my brain. My free time for art has become deeply constricted in the last couple months and I'm focusing more, because otherwise I feel like I don't complete anything and spend too much time trying to figure out what to do next. Now I know. Now I can just create.

I don't really consider doing this as specializing though. I'm doing a limited number of things at a time. Right now I'm working as a chemist, studying for my MBA, preparing a nursery, and creating embroidered collages. Eventually I'll have my MBA and I'll learn web design and add another blog, or some such. Eventually I'll have a selection of collages and will focus on a specific way of creating them for a time, but then it will change.

[Barbara Hynes]

I've been using various textile techniques since I was a child, and I keep learning and expanding. For me, they are all interrelated and often overlap. The more the better! I love variety in colors, textures, and the various looks I can create by knowing many methods and techniques. I find it very exciting that there is now so much new interest and new things being discovered and shared in the fiber & textile arts arena. I've been into this for over 40 years now, and I eagerly try new stuff all the time, stretching boundaries and asking "What if?". I seem to have artistic ADD, so I can't stick to just one thing...and I have the stash to prove it! Barbara in Ventura

[Sandra Wyman]

I think what I'm reading here is that there isn't just one approach to making art: we each find our own way of doing it. For myself I do find the need to focus on something and explore it thoroughly but I also find that it can all become stale unless I take time out now and again to explore something else as well: I find the spin-off I get from other activities feeds back to my art- work though sometimes I need more hourse in the day! I had hoped this would become a fascinating discussion and so it has turned out.

[julie mackinder]

I'm a bit late adding my 2 pennorth to this but I've been on hols. This was a really good question to ask Sandra. I have often thought that I should concentrate on one aspect and have admired people who have "made it" by apparently concentrating on one particular theme. I have always felt that I lack the discipline to enable me to do this. However, especially since "discovering" fibre art, I have found a wealth of enjoyment from playing with all the different techniques and ideas. I think all this play tells in other areas of the art I do and each informs the other - the experimenting informs the more formal painting I do and the years I have put into studying more traditional art is informing my mixed media art. I, too, am scattery by nature and think I probably need the various challenges to keep me stimulated and creative. It would be good to finish a few more projects though and not just have samples to show for my efforts!

[Neki Rivera]

Regarding the box full of samples i have one with lots and i mean lots of weaving samples that get shuffled around from one place to another.
Just recently i began recycling them as backgrounds for embroidery or other projects. At least it gives me a sense of accomplishment after all that loom work.

neki desu

[marion barnett]

Whereas I don't do samples. I make small pieces, instead. If it fails, I bin it or recycle it, and make another one. Or not, depending on whether or not I actually like the piece...