Deep (needle)Work

Wow! It has been a really long time since I blogged. What is going on? Well, I could say...

"I've been busy."
"I'm in the process of buying my first ever house."
"It's the holidays."
"I have a teenager."
"I work three jobs."

But, you know what? These are all excuses. In the mist of all of this, I managed to get a promotion so I will only have two jobs. Plus, I have managed to find time to run every day for over a month. I have gone to concerts, movies, restaurants... I need to make time for embroidery. I need to schedule time. I need to be more productive. If I embroidery, I want to share it, like below. Has it really been 3 weeks since I've finished something? Uh, oh.

Finished the snowman. Now to wash & stuff & sell. #shopsmall #shoplocal #embroidery #handembroidery #redwork #snowman #pillows #toile

A photo posted by Tisha (@aprilsongstress) on Nov 18, 2015 at 10:38am PST

& I just read a blog post that got me thinking. The blog, Barking Up the Wrong Tree, is essentially a business blog, but most of the nuggets Eric Barker provides can translate into, well life. The particular post I read, "How to Manage Your Time: 5 Secrets Backed by Research", is based on a soon to be published book by Cal Newport called Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

So, how do I use this insight to help me focus on my embroidery?

• Don’t schedule distractions. Schedule deep work: I must schedule embroidery time! Time to design. Time to physically stitch. Time to complete the project.
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• Keep a scoreboard for deep work: I do this with running. I am currently running at least one mile per day, until the end of the year. I' keep ticking off the days & the miles (day 32, 61.2 miles). For embroidery, if I just start logging my hours, I could develop a better idea of my process.
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• Stop saying “yes” if you want to get things done: I just did this yesterday, before reading Eric's post. A friend emailed me about an upcoming craft fair, & wondered if I could do pieces related to the venue. I appreciate that she thought of me, & I considered saying "Yes." But, I did not. I would spend countless hours making things to sell, when I could be designing & embroidery my art. I said "No." 
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• Have a “Deep Work Ritual”: Hmmm. I will have to discover what this is. It may be running. I can't find the article right now, but I was just reading about how a quick run can help keep you focused at work. & another article talked about an increase in motor skills due to running which might help me prick my finger less. Ha!
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• Ask your boss how much time they want you spending on deep vs shallow work: Since I am the boss in this case- I would say 75%. I don't get a lot of embroidery related email, but I do have some basic business/bill stuff to attend to.

So, there you have it! My plan to be more productive embroidery-wise! With any luck it will spill over into other aspects of my life...

Happy Stitching!

What is art?

 My favorite comment came from anna_hohoho "I love you [Madonna] and respect oh so much. But russians have freedom, right to chose what they do. But our country is different to America. Events in russian church shows that. Russians can't show their ass in church because its a simbol of being pure like an angel. I don't go to churches. But my granma does. She took part in world war 2. And I don't want her to see pussy riot in there. Because its disrespectful for the memory of winners. So, I really believe that you just want freedom and love. But some times people are different. And freedom are different... I ho[p]e you will understand."

Other Russians commenting had some valid points about the differences in culture. They also mentioned that the "police" in the image are actually not police, but "peacekeepers." One Russian women, alisenok_bg, with some of the best points kept commenting to get her point across, & eventually said Pussy Riot should go "to the countries where people appreciate and encourage so called art." As her frustration with other commenters mounted she began to show her elitist view of art. Having a high-brow opinion of what art is & isn't doesn't negate her other comments, but it brings up the question "Is what Pussy Riot doing art?"

In this Russian woman's mind, it is not art. Based on her comments, I gather she loves her country & culture, & was trying to set the record straight regarding a post by a singer she likes enough to follow on Instagram. Her country, as we could tell by the opening sequence of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, boasts some amazing artists. But that is not the whole story. Let's take Kandinsky.

Reiter (Lyrishes) by Kandinsky 1911, Museum Boijmans Beuningen*

Born in Moscow in 1866, Kandinsky was raised in Ukraine, & studied law at the University of Moscow. But he studied art in Munich (my favorite pieces come from this period), only to return to Russia in 1914 due to World War I. Then with the rise of communism & its strict view of art as "for-the-people" propaganda, he returned to Germany, until 1933, when he moved to France. France is where he created his most significant works & he became a French citizen. Many times his non-representational art was challenged as "not art." 


So, why am I writing about this on my embroidery blog? Haven't all crafters at some point in time wondered if what they create is art? Haven't we had others belittle our work, or creativity? Art is subjective, that's what makes it great. What one person loves, another will hate. Where someone sees a tree, someone else will see the meaning of life wrapped up in years of symbolism. Where a government sees anarchy, an individual sees freedom of expression.

Working on my redwork self portrait

Is what I make art? If you asked me 5 years ago, I would say "no." But now? Now I say "Hell yes!" I am using my chosen medium of thread & fabric to create something as a form of expressing myself. If nothing more than to say a traditional craft like redwork can be used in a different way. My redwork speaks to me. I can only hope that it resonates with others. Kandinsky's work seems to be standing the test of time. We shall see if Pussy Riot will. As for me? I am just hoping to leave a legacy for my daughter, to create, no matter what.


*Image attribution.