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December 28, 2018
So this time of year, I like to pull back and be a little more thoughtful in these weekly emails because we've been through a huge rush up to the holidays, and this is the time nature asks us to rest and relax. I'm in that more thoughtful mood, but that doesn't mean we have to give up talking about sewing at all - for one thing I would go nuts!
So this morning I would like to ask you to ponder the wondrous and mysterious process of creation - more specifically the path the artists takes in creating. One of the things I love the most about sewing is the whole process of turning an abstract thingie into something real.... something you can touch, you can use, you can wear, it will reflect your personal look, it will flatter you
OK, I can hear it now. Claire, sewing is not mystery and awe. Oh but my little peonies - it actually is.
Sewing is one of the most mysterious things we do. Think seriously about this for a minute. We are having some electrical brain synapses in an organ that is so mysterious that the most advanced of scientists have trouble explaining it - so much so that when they try to explain it, they get all confused and are so all-over-the place with what's really go on, that the rest of us walk away in boredom cause it's simply -- well - confusing!
Here's what's happening - or at least explained in terms we can understand. We have these neurons that are excitable (well, really that explains a lot - really it does!) and when we have this idea or thought they can have this electrical connection. It can come from sensing stuff (touching silk - oooooooo!), smelling dog poop (eeeeuuuuuw!), tasting ice cream (yuuuuuum!), seeing a beautiful sunset (aaaaaah) and listening to a favorite piece of music (awwwwwww!). Or
it can also come from something further abstract than that - a thought. So think about this for a minute: you have a thought - Hmmm I think I would like to make a red dress for that spring fling coming up. Is that dress real? Can you touch that dress? Can you launder that dress? Can you take that dress and wear it? Nope. You can't. You can not touch, see (with your eyes, not imagination), hear, taste or smell that dress, and yet it exists
- only in your mind - in between those two excitable neurons that are electrically synapsing (I really don't think that's a word, but it fits here) away.
This is what is referred to as abstract. It's something we can think about, it's something we can envision in our minds and create but it's all abstract - it can not be sensed, other than in our imagination. So really no one else knows about this but you, yourself and you!!!!
Now, we sewists, take this abstract thing-a- ma-jig in our mind and only in our mind, and we are going to turn it into a garment that hangs on the hanger, that others can see (and admire - always!!!!), and wear and use and cover and protect our bodies and poof before you know it, you can see it, touch it, even though we can't taste it (hopefully not!), or smell it (unless it smells of a nice laundry clean or other appealing odor)! It is also something that can be moved,
seen by others, and is useful to us as it protects our skin, but it also reflects our individuality. This is called concrete - the opposite of abstract.
So let's review really quickly - you imagine a red dress and you make it into a red dress.
You took something abstract and made it real - you made it concrete.
This is the first law of thermodynamics - nothing is ever lost, it only changes. You change an abstract electrical synapse between two cells into a real dress that you can touch and is useful, beautiful, makes you look good, and reflects who you are.
Think about this for a minute. This VERY monumental. And you as a sewists do this every time you make something! EVERY TIME!
This all part of the mystery of the creative process. Scientists have been studying this process for centuries and know very little about it. Authors have written helpful books, but we are still woefully ignorant about the actual process. All science can tell us is that there is a pop of electricity between cells in our brain and suddenly we have an idea. Then we take our knowledge and skill and we turn that idea into a real garment, wear it, get compliments on it
and poof we do it again and again and again!
While you're reflecting on these long nights of the midwinter season, ponder your amazing ability to take an idea and turn it into reality!
Bravo to you!
Premium Mediocre – really? I can’t believe sometimes what marketers think consumers will fall for next, but as P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute,” (which actually wasn’t said by Barnum but by one of his acquaintances [don’t know if he was a dupe or […]
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PS - I do a lot of posting on Facebook as both Claire Kennedy and SewingArtistry - if you want to friend me to check out the goodies over there for free!
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