What have you been working on?

This is one of my favorite questions on Quiltart.com. I love to read the responses of the members as they relate their current experiments and projects.

As the mother of two children under 7, I've been working on Halloween. The girls love Halloween, and Sophia pretty quickly decided to be a cheerleader. Sarah was a little bit more indecisive. First she wanted to be a robot -- a costume Joel and I happily embraced and were excited to make. She drew up the plans, decided the colors, helped to pick the electronic components -- it was going to be fantastic. Then the next day she decided she wanted to be a princess, a pretty pink princess. Then a doctor, a monster, a ghost and finally a hula girl. Yes, a hula girl with a leigh and grass skirt. She was adorable.

This is most of the gang of trick or treaters.
Two more caught up with us a few minutes
after this picture was taken.

Creepy Halloween Cupcakes were required for two parties.

The week before Halloween, and Halloween week, I stayed focused on a project I"m working on for our school's PTA -- Reflections. Reflections is a fine arts program where students submit their entries for literature, photography, video/film and visual arts. This project was FANTASTIC.

I know I am a bit overanalytical about my work. Putting it down on paper is easy, but taking it to the final medium of fiber is always a bit daunting. Perhaps it is the expense of the medium, or the commitment of time to complete the piece. I never had this hesitation when I painted or collaged.

But back to Reflections. . . it is easy to see when a child suddenly becomes very interested in the finished product. About third grade. The entries from Kindergarten and First and Second grades were so free and colorful and BIG. Those kids filled up each and every page. And if stuff was available to glue on, well they used the supplies with abandon.

Then came the third grade entries which show the artists have become very careful about their work. They started in pencil, you can see the erasure marks, the hesitation and (okay I'm projecting here) the worry that it might not be "right." That continues in fourth and fifth grade, although the realism is better.

The winning entry for Fifth grade visual arts looks very much like the winning entry from First Grade. It is colorful, BIG and FREE. It is fantastic.

And hopefully I'll take some of that artists' permission-to-self to be free and let loose. To not worry about things looking exactly as I think they should and let the fabric take control every once in a while.

Boo!
Go back to work!