I have always taken pride in my ability to remember things, but these days I sometimes feel my aging brain is so full I have to delete memory in order to have room for anything new. Normally I find this utterly frustrating, but this week old age did me a favor.
Last year I took a little workshop after Wayzgoose to learn how to fold a little book. And yes, I have totally forgotten the name of the workshop. I realized as I was in the workshop that this book, when unfolded, looked like a little altar, and of course my brain whizzed and bounced around as I figured out just how I was going to create this gem of a piece. Pages could be folded this way, and that way... designs on one page would seamlessly meld into other designs... oh it was going to be really gorgeous. Isn't it funny how all great ideas are perfect little gems when you are viewing them in your mind's eye? Well this one sure was. I got home and dove right in, head first. And after working on it for a few weeks, I gave up in frustration. I hit a roadblock in the design, and I just could not figure out how to make that little book/altar work, so I put it all into a tray, labeled it, and sadly put it on the shelf, where it has been sitting for nearly a year.
Then a few days ago I thought I might look at it again. I know I set it aside because whatever I had planned was not going to work, and I was stuck. But for the life of me, I don't remember what that plan was! This is so funny, but so useful, because I can look at it with fresh eyes now. And this makes me happy. I put a lot of hours into that thing, and I was a bit bummed that I was stuck with no idea how to get unstuck. I am so glad I set all the pieces and supplies (Aha! THAT'S where my little metal ruler went!) into a tray before I shoved it onto the shelf. All the pieces are there, no hunting for that particular color of silk or scrap of painted paper.
There is a lot of hand stitching on this, and it will probably take the better part of the summer, but this time I know how to finish it, and I've learned a lesson. Set something aside for awhile if it is not working. Maybe a little memory lapse is just what you need to get past your first idea and on to a better one.
Last year I took a little workshop after Wayzgoose to learn how to fold a little book. And yes, I have totally forgotten the name of the workshop. I realized as I was in the workshop that this book, when unfolded, looked like a little altar, and of course my brain whizzed and bounced around as I figured out just how I was going to create this gem of a piece. Pages could be folded this way, and that way... designs on one page would seamlessly meld into other designs... oh it was going to be really gorgeous. Isn't it funny how all great ideas are perfect little gems when you are viewing them in your mind's eye? Well this one sure was. I got home and dove right in, head first. And after working on it for a few weeks, I gave up in frustration. I hit a roadblock in the design, and I just could not figure out how to make that little book/altar work, so I put it all into a tray, labeled it, and sadly put it on the shelf, where it has been sitting for nearly a year.
Then a few days ago I thought I might look at it again. I know I set it aside because whatever I had planned was not going to work, and I was stuck. But for the life of me, I don't remember what that plan was! This is so funny, but so useful, because I can look at it with fresh eyes now. And this makes me happy. I put a lot of hours into that thing, and I was a bit bummed that I was stuck with no idea how to get unstuck. I am so glad I set all the pieces and supplies (Aha! THAT'S where my little metal ruler went!) into a tray before I shoved it onto the shelf. All the pieces are there, no hunting for that particular color of silk or scrap of painted paper.
There is a lot of hand stitching on this, and it will probably take the better part of the summer, but this time I know how to finish it, and I've learned a lesson. Set something aside for awhile if it is not working. Maybe a little memory lapse is just what you need to get past your first idea and on to a better one.
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