protect your bad work
on the desire to be immediately great
I never thought of myself as an artist. Throughout childhood and into my early twenties, I resisted every single urge to express myself. I found comfort in being practical. I found satisfaction in being similar.
My life truly changed once I got on medication for depression. My world opened up, and I felt the expanse of my dreams for the first time. I not only wanted to step outside the box that I had put myself in, but I wanted to explore and try and create.
I found quilting soon after this lightbulb moment. To say that I became obsessed is an understatement. Creating a quilt was like magic because for the first time I could translate the joy I was feeling into a tangible object. I remember feeling so enamored and inspired and loved by the whole process. Fabric, plus skill and time and joy, turned into a shape that existed in the world! How remarkable!
What I learned about sewing in those early days is that it is a mountain that you have to climb, but you don’t know how to walk yet. The challenges you face, especially at the beginning, are frustrating and feel insurmountable. When you face an issue, it can feel like you don’t have the language to know what to do. Of course, time and practice and the learning process heal these feelings inside you. It is not that you learn the answers to every problem, but you get better at feeling capable enough to figure it out.
My hope is that if you feel uninspired like I did, you will soon have your lightbulb moment. I hope you begin and fail and learn to bounce back. I hope you get frustrated and quit and recommit. I hope you experience the joy of making. I hope you call yourself an artist and mean it.
If clothes-making and sewing and upcycling are the artistic endeavors that you choose, then you are in the right spot. My goal with this newsletter and my online presence has always been to make sewing accessible. I want to inspire you. I want to convert you from a newbie to a beginner and help you lay the foundation for your sewing liftoff.
If you would like to check out my sewing resources, including zines and my sewing pattern, you can do so here!
This post was inspired by Week One of The Artist’s Way, which we are reading through right now as a sewing collective.
If you would like to share your “Week One” thoughts in the Garbie Chat, please do so here.
If you would like to join our “Week One” zoom call on Sunday, April 6th at 2pm PST, then please upgrade to a paid subscription for Garbie.
*zoom info will be going out in a separate email to paid subscribers later this week!
Random Thoughts:
I used synthetic dye for the first time and WOW! I really like how this vest turned out.
I am practicing my hand sewing skills for a workshop that I want to host at my new studio! Keep an eye out for a patch-making workshop if you are local to PDX!
I moved my studio! I am now in North Portland, which is closer to where I live. I am so glad to be done with the move! Now, I just have to get fully unpacked.
Your early quilts sure reflect your freedom and happiness! So glad you were able to find your way out of depression
I have been an artist for over 30 years, and taught creativity to mostly older adults for ten of those. One big block was that the people I taught had quite refined aesthetic sensibilities and they would become discouraged when their creations didn't immediately match up. I helped them to enjoy the creating without being as concerned about the outcome.
Also I think it is helpful for people to realise that they don't need to be an artist to be creative. I personally love the term 'creatives', I think it contains a playfulness that being an artist doesn't always convey. In my experience being an artist is more of a calling and is usually all consuming.