I have a wee bit of a problem with perfection. It involves my desire for it and the impossibility of ever attaining it. Perhaps some of you share this problem as well.
I have two fairly ambitious projects that I've been working on lately--one is a sewn item and the other is a papercut. I have a vision of both of them in my mind that is very clear. I can picture the finished products and even the steps along the way that will get me there. But something happens when I sit down and sew the fabric or cut the paper. Stumbles. Inattention. Rushing. Slips. Goofs.
Fabric seems the more forgiving of the two media. I can rip out a wiggly or puckered seam and try again. I can square up a misaligned block. With paper, on the other hand, one slip of the scissors or blade lops off an entire design element forever. And then it's back to a new, uncut sheet of paper for another few hours of the same precise cutting that I've done before. (Luckily the cutting itself is meditative and fun.)
So I started off the papercut above with a lot of enthusiasm. I call it the Dandelion Picker, and it was inspired by mayamade's post about picking dandelions from the yard and serving them up for dinner (cooking tips included!).
The post made me look at the lowly dandelion in an entirely new way. We have plenty of them in our yard (due to our "no pesticide" rule and our general gardening laziness), and I've been examining them more closely--the leaf shapes and the variety of their life stages. I had never noticed before that the leaves start off very rounded and then get their spikes as they grow. And of course there is the sheer appeal of the spiky yellow flowers and the downy puffballs that kids can't resist blowing, scattering their seeds on so many fluffy, inverted parasol-like propellers.
So, the papercut is not perfect. There are definitely things I will change when I go to "revise" it. But I hope it inspires you to take a closer look at and recognize the beauty of the seemingly lowly and sometimes maligned "weeds" around you.
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On a side note: Does anyone go to update ye olde blog and then get lost clicking on your list of favorite blogs? Maybe I just have blogging ADD. Sigh.
6 comments:
The dandelion picker is so exquisite! I love every beautiful detail...she was worth the effort...do you realize how lovely this is!!!!!! OMG!!!
Love this!!!! It has such a wonderful narrative quality to it....
Your papercut is delightful! I really admire you for making your own designs. And yes I can relate to the perfectionism and the blog ADD as I've spent hours chasing the blog bunny trail.
It's always good to discover another paper cutter of talent. Your articles are informative and fun. I'll be visiting regularly! Check out my blog for my silk paper cuttings.
Thanks, all! Your generous comments are so nice to receive.
Nan, I love your observation about its narrative quality. It came together out of wondering about mayamade's post about picking dandelion leaves for dinner. I wondered which leaves one should pick and then did some websurfing and found a wonderful description of Italian women picking dandelion leaves in a Toronto park in the spring. So I knew I wanted an Old World feeling to the design, and the dandelion leaf shapes to form the basic cutting design. I also wanted to show just how varied and beautiful the life stages of the dandelion are.
It's wonderful ..Did you use a pattern or do it free hand.. Lovely work.
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