I don't know about you but chasing the rabbit down the rabbit hole has always been a little scary. If you think of your creativity as that rabbit then you know it can potentially lead you to some unfamiliar and strange places or some cool one's. I'll admit, I'm often a little bit nervous for that adventure. The main reason is I don't know where I'm going to end up! Sometimes that's a little too risky for me. And when trying to explore my creativity directly affects a big project, especially a client project, I get even more nervous. Truthfully none of us want to make any creative decisions that lead to ruin or as I like to joke "the point of no return". So the question is how does one chase the rabbit down the rabbit hole without getting into hot water? How does one explore the creative urges and inclinations without creating too big a mess? That's the biggest question and anybody's guess. Exploring your creativity is always a bit risky! But one have to admit, if Alice hadn't chased the rabbit down the rabbit hole she would've missed out one of the biggest adventures of her life. She ended up in some really cool places! So to some degree our ideas can take us to some unexpected places and we just have to take the risk of following them.
A clip from a beloved classic. I found a little humor in this. Alice said it "Curiosity often leads to trouble!" . But she kept crawling! Glad she didn't let that thought stop her! LOLLL
The Father/ Daughter Banquet dress I made for my daughter (in my last post) proved this truth to me. I usually try to play things a little safe with my designs. But with my daughter's dress I felt compelled to do something different. The worst part was I didn't know what that was exactly but I have to admit I had the courage to jump down the rabbit hole this go around. And for that I'm proud! There were several days where I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do---even after visiting a few fabric stores a few times looking for trims and notions. But I kept at it and like magic I found the faux leather/chain trim and the ideas flowed from there to include the chocolate brown tulle. I then played with the asymmetry of the dress to shape it just the way I wanted. So for this project the trip down the rabbit hole actually turned out to be a fun trip! This dress revealed several things to me....
1. I needed to trust my gut more. I'm an artist and have good instincts--- instincts I'm learning
more and more about each day.
2. You don't always find what you're looking for but if you persist in your search you can make
magic happen. Patience and persistence are key!
3. The truest creativity happens when you think outside of the box!
4. Don't let fear or risk stop your creativity! Otherwise you'll live a very boring life!
Again I'm glad for this project and how it stretched my creative muscles a bit more. This dress if by far my favorite of the 6 dresses I've made for her for the event. So from this day forward I vow to make a regular habit following my creativity no matter what it leads me. In the rabbit holes I'll go.....How about you, been down any creative rabbit holes lately? How did things turn out for you?
Thank you for your input on creativity. I am totally with you and find it difficult to play out of my comfort zone especially because time is limited and it always painful to ruin a fabric that cannot be replaced but every time this lead to a success it encourages me and develops my self-confidence.
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ReplyDeleteOh yeah, ask me about the rabbit.
ReplyDeleteI make more drawings than patterns. More patterns than muslins. More muslins than clothes. More clothes that just don't work out than those that do.
I am trying this year to spend more time with the patterns, and be less inclined to rush to fabric with anything that can include the phrase "and then we'll figure that out". I want to make more mistakes because that's where the better ideas come from; I want to not dwell on how things failed in the proof.
I have a steady and cheap supply of tracing paper. I'm ready.
I want to compliment you again on your daughter's dress. The hi/lo skirt, combined with the netting/tulle skirt was the perfect level of princess/dress up/fancy dress for a lady of her age and demeanor. Smart, practical, well designed, and just plain gorgeous on her.
(I think the model may have something to do with that). If I have the chance to make something of that nature for a young lady, I'm stealing that idea.