Last night was my weekly knitting group, We take turns knitting in a Yarn and Thread Studio, a Law Office and an Art Gallery. Last night we were at the Art Gallery. Several of the ladies who were knitting projects of exceptional beauty made the comment. “I wish I was creative.”
One of the women told us how she designed this incredible triangular shawl, that looked like a night sky at twilight, yet her explanation had many of the things people say that make creative people feel small inside. It is only knitting, I used a technique I learned here, It is not some special expensive hand painted yarn… STOP! That shawl was a fine example of Fiber Arts at its best.
My little bumpy uneven fingerless mitts are in my Official Opinion as an Artist, Creative. I have no problem calling them a fiber arts project. I also know that they would never win any prizes in a knitting show, as I put my effort into other area of my art, not my knitting. However, This does not make them not creative.
A teacher who is constantly coming up with all kinds of fun projects and ideas, was one of the ones who said I wish I was creative. It is sad how those little words of self deprecation hurt not only yourself but other creative people around you. Her own scarf is all knit stitch, in a wonderful variegated yarn, that is beautiful, soft to the touch and just makes you want to take it and wrap it around your neck. I watched as she looked at the shawl and then looked at her own.
I then gave her my Official Opinion as an Artist, that her scarf was also creative and why.
What gives me the right to have an Official Opinion as an Artist? I choose to have one, that is why. For a long time I had an opinion as an aspiring artist, and I wondered when I would go from being an aspiring artist, to being an artist. I asked an artist I knew and they told me when your art is featured in a television program. Okay, that happened when I was in elementary school. Have I been an artist since then? Another Artist said when your work is published. Odd, that happened when I was in High School. Have I been and Artist since then? I thought more on it and decided that this was something that meant something different to different people, and that no one was ever going to tell me You are an Artist now. Maybe I should print up a bunch of cards and issue them to people who need them. __________________ is an Official Creative. or ___________________ is an Official Artist.
If you would like to see a wonderful piece of Fiber Arts, please check out this silk shirt and Elizabethan outfit.
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Photograph Fingerless Mitts
Rennata Tropeano 