Out of the thousands of thoughts we have every day, apparently 90% are repeated over and over. They are usually mundane nagging thoughts like, “call the insurance company,” or “change the furnace filter.” David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, would say you need a place for those things to clear out your head.  Hence, the never ending To-Do List ;-).  There are also conversations loops that go around and around in our heads, “Why did I say that?”…

But every so often, a brand new exciting idea pops into your head! In my case, it is usually a picture of a new piece of art, not necessarily fully formed, but a snippet.  “Hmmm, what if I cut stone padlock shackles to bridge a channel?” or, “Oooh, I could turn those pyrite concretions on their sides to change the texture.” That’s when I pull out a scrap of paper and make a quick sketch.  Scraps of paper an art piece do not make, but they are the start of an incubation period.

I often wonder where these ideas come from.  Writer Elizabeth Gilbert believes they are floating around in the ethers looking for their “mother”, i.e., someone who will make them manifest.  I have mothered hundreds of ideas over the years, but many of them have gotten neglected or even lost. (Please do not call Idea Protection Services and have me arrested!)  The challenge is dealing with the 5 or 10 new ideas I get daily, or even worse, dealing with the scraps of paper 😉

Wherever these thoughts come from, I am inundated with them.  My idea wave starts first thing in the morning. Apparently my subconscious has been in high gear all night.  Thomas Edison said, he too, received most of his best ideas following a good night’s sleep.  He intentionally went after new ideas in his sleep and recommended, “Never going to sleep without a request to your subconscious.”

Every morning, if I’m not careful, I could be chasing down a new idea when there are half-finished projects waiting for me in the studio! “These quartz and apophylite specimens will be a perfect complement to that print stone slab. Just let me lay it out on that table and have a look.” Luckily I have only sooo many tables – ha!

While I am intrigued with where these ideas come from, I realize my main goal is to figure out what to do with them. Textile artist, Lois Ericson, knowingly said, “Use your best ideas and best material first!” While I admit I have hoarded some materials over the years ;-), I am now intentionally opening my cabinets and letting them see the light of day.  My new pocket (above) with amazing malachite/azurite crystals from the Savannakhet Province of Laos is on a rare slab of rhyolitic tuff that measures 26 x 36 inches. I have another even larger sandstone slice that will be seeing the light of day, soon. Just need to find that scrap of paper…

www.stonequiltdesign.com
720.340.2132

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

*|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*