Working Small

Thanks to my involvement in a couple of Yahoo! groups, I've started playing around with fabric art projects that are microscopic compared to what I've done in the past. Postcards (4x6"), Arches (4x8"), Artist Trading Cards (ATCs - 2.5x3.5"), and Inchies, or Plus-size Inchies (1.5x1.5"). One thing can be said for these little guys - they're so quick to finish they don't ever wind up as UFOs (Unfinished objects)! I've found Inchies to be a good "warm-up" project. I usually make one every day before I start working on other stuff. Sometimes they come out fine, and, sometimes, my lack of dexterity gets in the way. It's always puzzled me that I can be so dexterous playing the piano and organ, and then be such a klutz when I try to do applique, or beading, or other seriously detailed work in my attempts to make art. Creativity isn't the problem - I have so many ideas swimming around in my brain it often gives me a headache, but when I try to turn those ideas into reality, I'm slowed up by my fumble-fingered-ness. I keep plugging along, though, and do my best to work with the aphorism I use so often when working with my music, "Practice makes permanent." Not "perfect", - nothing's perfect, and I don't want to go there because you can get in a whole shitload of trouble when you start thinking in terms of "perfect!" Above are some Inchies I've made recently...