Continuity And Originality

The comments on yesterday's posting went in an interesting direction. They were more about copying than about the actual question - how original can we really be? My point was not that copying is good or that copying is bad but that copying is inevitable. We cannot pass through life uninfluenced by the world around us and - as we've seen - for all that the world keeps advancing, it also keeps re-cycling. Fashion alone shows us that.



While I want to be unique and original, I'm certainly not setting any trends or living a fashion forward lifestyle. Neither is my house. Or my yard. My car. My career. Or any other area of my life. I am more creative than some, less creative than others - more original than some, less original than others - inspired by some, inspiring to others. That's the circle.



Copying is an age old method of learning. Apprentices learn through copying the skills of the journeymen they work with. When I learn a sewing technique from Marcy or Sandra or Ron or Pati, I am copying the current masters who learned from the masters before them who learned from the masters before them. Each adds to the story as it develops.



When I sew a dress pattern, I'm copying the original even though I'm adding my choices to the outline. If I sew a little black dress, that's not unique. Chanel did it. Did she do it first? Are we all copying her? Possibly - but then again - there were black dresses before Chanel so how original is a black dress? How far back would we need to go to find the first black dress and whose idea was it? I find these thoughts of continuity and originality intriguing.



If I string some beads and make a necklace, it's been done before. If I paint a picture or write a book or knit a sweater or organize my studio or decorate my house or get dressed to go out for the evening - or anything else I might do - I'm doing things that have been done before. I'm copying. Knowing that everything I do has an element of copying to it, I wondered how original can I really be? I think the answer is about trying new to you things and about pushing your limits and not settling for less. I don't know about you but I know when I'm doing less than my best. Life becomes dull and stagnant rather than vibrant and energetic.



There are different ways to push your limits. Those are individual too. Since my return to fashion sewing, I've been taking workshops focused on fit and on re-learning fashion sewing techniques and I have developed those skills further while being influenced by - and copying - what I learned from these instructors. That was exactly what I needed then and now, I'm ready for something different. I just registered for a workshop next summer with Marcy Tilton and Diane Ericson that combines creativity with design with fashion sewing with creativity coaching. That is so my thing and I'm really looking forward to it. However...



... having taken workshops before, I know that when I return my work will be highly influenced by what I learned. It will look like copying until enough time has passed for what I learned from them to stop being instructional and start being inspirational - to merge into me, take on my twists and turns, grow, develop, evolve, and become more my thing than theirs. That's the way the circle goes.



When I moved from traditional quilt making into textile art, I decided to work in isolation for a year. During that time, I didn't read blogs or magazines, take workshops, visit art exhibits, or talk to other artists, and I didn't allow anyone to critique or even comment on my work. I didn't want to be influenced by or care about any one else's opinion or about pleasing them on any level. I wanted to rely solely on what I could develop from within. It was a fabulously stretching year that changed areas of my life I had no idea it was going to touch. It was an experience I am glad to have had and one that I can see repeating again at some point although not right now - right now I'm greatly enjoying the interaction with others who sew.



How creative can you be? What limits are you pushing?



Talk soon - Myrna



Grateful - My son. He's 22 today.