Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Hands up all of you who have lots and lots and lots of materials?

Uhu.

Now, hands up all of you who know what they're going to make with most of those materials?

Uhu. 

Is it me, or are there not many people who know what they're going to make with their materials mountain?  No...didn't think so.  Quilters call it building a stash.  Problem is, they often keep adding to that stash without actually doing anything with the fabric.  Then, they call it 'collecting', to justify what they're doing.  They admire their fabric, stroke it, pat it, think about combining it with other fabrics... do anything except actually make anythng.  Painters collect paint...or materials...or both.  Ditto with mixed media artists.  

I think that this kind of thing is counter productive.   A materials mountain may be a thing of beauty...but it stops you working.  It is often confusing; when you have matched the same piece of cloth in permutations with six different fabrics, in six different ways, how do you decide what to do with it?  And it means you need lots of space to store it all in (another excuse for not getting the work done ; I haven't got enough space...).

I think that productive creative people buy materials for projects; stash builders collect materials to fuel their fantasy of being a productive creative person.  Which are you?  Which would you rather be?  And finally, what are you going to do about it?

Quote of the Week.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

                                                                                                                                      (anon)                   

This is one of my favourite ever quotations, and it's the basis for a lot of what I do and teach. I think we confuse ourselves between what we can and can't change.  We  have a lot more power over our circumstances than we like to believe.  It's more comfortable to dismiss an issue as something that we have no power over, instead of recognising that we do have a choice as to whether we take responsibility for it, or not.  There are always choices.  It's just that some of them are so small as to feel unimportant, and many of them involve the lives, freedoms and choices of other people.  It can feel impossible.  But it isn't.  

What many of us forget, is that in order to give to others, you have to give to yourself, first.  For most people reading this, that giving to ourselves will take the form of creative work.  It is a wonderful way of giving yourself joy and meaning.  I believe that it is essential that we make space in our lives for creativity, however we perceive that to be.  This blog is about making that space.  I hope you will find it useful.