The Fabricivore’s Dilemma
Really, it is a dilemma. Do I go backwards (against all natural inclination) to go forward or go forward knowing a series still in motion will be unalterably changed?
Let’s start at the beginning. In 2007, I painted 100 yards of 60″ white cotton fabric during two weeks of my residency at the Great Expectations Creativity Center in Texas. I had a solo show coming up and, for once in my life, had a plan as time was short.
The series would be based on my experiences in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the palette would be green (from lime to forest), blue (from sky to indigo), orange (from yellow to copper), brown (from tan to chocolate), black, and white.
I loved the fabric I painted. I was so inspired by it that I whipped out that solo show and just kept going. I’m in the #30s for the Boundary Waters series now and feel I still have a lot to say.
But about a month ago I could see I was running out of favorite fabrics. I wanted to keep a record of the Boundary Waters’ palette, so I made this swatch book (made, but not yet assembled):
Boundary Waters’ Swatch Book – Front of pages
Boundary Waters’ Swatch Book – Back of pages
Boundary Waters’ Swatchbook – Detail.
I was surprised how many fabrics were already used up, without even a 3″ square remaining.
Two weeks ago I made a very “watery” artwork with the last little bits of my favorite screenprinted blue fabrics, then I started two Double Moon artworks with the last big pieces of fabric with any blue in them at all.
Then it struck me. This was it. I have a couple of yards of pink/peach/orange/red, some ghastly muddy browns, two wire baskets full of scraps, and not much else from that original 100 yards.
I have never, ever, gone back and painted fabric to coordinate with a previous fabric “run.” The act of painting is as much the act of creation for a series for me as sewing. They both involve experimenting; thinking; tentatively, and then more boldly, following threads of narrative.
Even having a plan and a palette, I was able in the painting of the 100 yards to follow with my heart and head where my hand wanted to go. To go backwards now would be to attempt to recreate a moment that has ceased to exist.
Or do I go forward and approach painting new fabric as a blank canvas and hope what appears will draw the Boundary Waters series forward in a new and positive way?
I am working on many other things, but always in the back of my mind is THE question: Does a series end when the fabric I painted for it runs out? There is no easy answer to this dilemma, but sooner or later I will have to take paint brush in hand and resolve it.
Virginia…. does a painter stop a series because a tube of paint runs out?
No.
They go and buy another tube, or several, of paint.
Go ahead and paint more fabric. Make it the same pallette, or make it different. Even if colors repeat, the textures, the motifs, the “hand of the artist” will be different because you are different…..
Cheers, Sarah
Virginia, I love your work and KNOW that it will continue to grow and evolve. Thank you for sharing your process as well as the product.
I love what Melanie said and all this discussion inspires me. I love river rocks and I’m looking at them as source for a series.
A series is done when you have nothing more to say.
Sometimes that happens sooner that you expect, sometimes you just have to keep going to say what you need to.
Only you know the right answer.
Virginia ~ While I can understand thinking that the end of the fabric is the end of the series, I do know that when any part of the art gets too precious, then you have to get rid of it or work over it or it becomes a stop. In this case, the fabric is doing that for you – it’s gone. The wonderful 100 yards you had perhaps had became a crutch, a comfortable thing to turn to. Now it is time to break boundaries, so to speak. Paint a new palette and don’t try to copy the old. Let your hands and heart flow again and trust the process. I know you know all this, but if you are like me, you have to hear it again – be reminded.
Virginia, I currently have a series in progress that is comprised of not only different palettes, but several different media. It is intended to be shown together as different and evolving responses to a particular place.
Your feelings and responses to the Boundary Waters are ever-changing and ever-expanding. I see your series developing in the same way.
I’d love to see more of the Boundary series, they are really breath taking. But I would also love to see that shift that comes from painting a new set of fabrics. The thing I like most about long series is watching them grow and develop. I think anything you do now will still have a strong connection to all the fabric you painted before, it will just be through a different eye.
Virginia, working in a series is all about an artist’s growth and development. It stretches us and leads us to new insights. Your river too is constantly growing, developing and changing over time. Your Boundary Waters project is ” talking” to you and asking you to stretch as an artist. Go with your heart and leap into that fabric painting .
The joy of a series of work is when you look back and see how far you have come!
Others have said it more eloquently than I can, but I agree that you should go forward to your second edition of painted fabrics. You obviously have a passion for this subject. I remember when my sister was expecting her 2nd child. I SO loved her daughter and was afraid I could not possibly love her 2nd as much. Well, it was silly to worry, because my heart loves them both to the max. Somehow, what we have a passion for increases our capacity to express, to feel. I look to seeing what comes forth with the new “sister” fabric.
Hi Virginia,
since Jan 2006 you have been back to the Boundary Waters a couple of more times, right? I would only think that those two other trips would add more to the series. Go back and read your journals and look at your sketches from those more recent trips and they will show you where the Boundary Waters series is headed…you are just finishing up part of it but not the series…new fabric added to some of the old will make the transition and before you know it the series will have morphed into a different boundary waters series. This area has so much meaning to you that you have enough inspiration to last several lifetimes. It’s just fabric that will change a little, as, I am sure, your vision while there has changed slightly also. Go with the heart…I saw you make that first fabric…take a couple of weeks and just pain fabric! Just feel the movement, the quiet, the blues, the greens, the stillness, the birds, the sore muscles, the stories you and Nancy share and keep on going. I really like the two moons…would you consider doing some small ones in that vein so some of us might be able to afford one…?
Who says your series has to end, just because you’re running out of fabric. Ebb and flow. See where the water takes you on your journey. Keep going and don’t look back.
Paint more! Like the other commenter said, you are not the same person, so the work will not be the same. Going back is not, in fact, possible – only going forward is possible. If you bring some thoughts and feelings and colors with you, they live in the present too.
To me, it depends on how you see the vital ingredient on which you built the series. Paint/print some more fabric if you need to and intersperse what snippets are left of the oder, if you must… OR does the whole series have to be colour/fabric coordinated, really? OR start a new series….If a design element is more the connector between members of the series, don’t worry about some of your original fabrics running out…just surge ahead, possibly taking a bend in the river….whichever way you come to identify most with, aa don’t let this situation hold you back.
Virginia,
Have you considered that painting a new set of fabrics would be in fact the next step in the series. Of course that original moment passed, but the experiences since then, the thoughts and feelings and visions, can contribute and deepen the moment. The series will change inevitably, but it seems worthwhile to give it a shot! Perhaps you might want to paint less than 100 yds — or not!
Hi Virginia, Your concern about using up all the fabric and the quandary you felt brought an understanding smile to my face. Melanie says it quite well. It’s not possible to go backwards, well, maybe possible, but you would be fighting yourself every moment, and the results would not be exactly the same. You are moving forward with each step. Relax and enjoy the process. Paint more fabric with joy and anticipation of how you will use it in your on-going series about the Boundary Waters. Continue to create with the need to express yourself in each piece. Don’t be concerned with the end of the supply of fabric, as you can create as much more as you need. There really is plenty in the world for you to use. Just get busy. Best wishes. Rosemary
I work with a bronze sculptor. We do limited editions of, normally, 100. When the edition #s run out we can normally do 2-5 more as Artist Proofs. Then we break the mold. Fini. There are no more of that edition. In some cases, our two part molds (rubber and plaster) will go bad and the mold is useless and that edition can not be filled unless the artist re-sculpts or pulls a wax from a finished piece to then make a new mold. Either way, the new piece will be different from the original in detail. Most of the time, the artist will just close the edition and move on. HTH.
I’m certain you will resolve this issue, and use the energy generated by the conflict to propel you to the next place. There’s really no option but to always go forward, forward, forward.
Thanks for the thoughtful essay.
The old saying– you cannot step into the same river twice for it is not the same river, and you are not the same person.
You have more to say in the series, so make more “words” to say it with. There is no law that a series must be identical in any or all of its physical particulars. So Boundary Waters Series 1 ends with the use of all the original fabric and Boundary Waters Series 2 begins with a new stash.
This is what my meditating friends might call an attachment issue. Mourn the loss of your stash of “the last little bits of my favorite screenprinted blue fabrics” and “go forward and approach painting new fabric as a blank canvas” and KNOW, not hope, that “what appears will draw the Boundary Waters series forward in a new and positive way.”
You have more to say, so say more.
Paint more. With confidence. You won’t recreate that original experience of making the fabrics for the first series, nor will you (or could you) recreate the original fabrics — and you shouldn’t try. There’s also a possibility that your original materials have inhibited the evolution of the series.
It’s not the same river, and you are not the same person.
You have grown, changed, and evolved; your materials should reflect that evolution. Paint more. Give yourself the joy of keeping going and seeing where it takes you.
excelsior,
Melanie
First of all, your work is stunning! Secondly, this blog post is a great example of how blogs can be a positive thing! The documentation of your process is inspirational and educational–especially for someone like moi who would like to work in a series, but has yet to do so! Thank you for sharing.