Getting Stuck

Sometimes, my work goes along swimmingly. Every seam lines up just right. Materials that are known to not play nicely together, come together  with nary a whimper.

Other times,figuring out the technical elements of my work is so hard, that it just makes my head hurt. During the past couple of days I have been working on several pieces that have all made my head hurt for various reasons.

I do know that if I had a more traditional sewing background I probably would not attempt to line velvet with lame'. It looks wonderful, but it is a bear to sew.

Sometimes when i am trying to puzzle out a problem, I will read a book. Michael Pollan's A Place of My Own, has ended up being a most serendipitous choice. Pollan describes the process of building a small "writing house" on his property.  Despite it's being a tiny project, Pollan hired an architect to work with him.

Reading about the design process, the discussion between architect and client, was terribly familiar. Pollan wrote a disjointed stream of consciousness letter to his architect. His architect replied with a booklet filled with images that correlated with Pollan's desires.

Once the design was set, Pollan then began working with a carpenter. as one might expect, the conflicts in the book arise between the needs and desires of the architect and those of the contractor who has to make that vision work in actual wood and stone.

My current difficulties fall in exactly that spot, between the vision and the physical reality of the materials. Because I don't send my work out to get fabricated.. I often run up against the reality of making my ideas work. It isn't always easy.

Solving the problems sometimes takes a few hours  ( if I'm lucky). Sometimes it takes much much longer to reach a decent solution to a problem.