The Sustainable Quilter Bridget O'Flaherty

Sustainable Textile Art by Bridget O'Flaherty

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Fine Art

The Best Reason to Own Art

Art and photo ©Lyla Cravero

Art and photo ©Lyla Cravero

Why do we buy Art?

When we consider the number of households in Canada and the number of rooms in a home, it adds up to millions of pieces decorating walls. Most of it is reproductions, personal photos or a relative’s. It is fair to say only a marginal percentage is purchased original art, but what compels people to seek out original art? Why do we have it in our homes at all? This is a question that seems to have an obvious answer, doesn’t everyone have art? I wanted to understand what motivates and drives people to place it in their home and look at it daily. Is it a status symbol, family heirloom, décor, something inherited or is there a bigger need filled with owning art?

It’s all about Connections

When I asked the questions; why do you buy art and what is your favourite in your home? Most of the time I heard about connections to the artist: a family member painted it, a friend, a loved one, a mentor. The art itself was somewhat irrelevant. Sometimes this applied to the person who gave it to them, it really wasn’t about the subject. Though one could argue that the subject became interesting because of the emotion around the presenting of the gift.

When prodding further, art subjects almost always trigger a memory or inspiration for people and tell a story they identify with.  A connection to the land, the architecture, the sunset, the colours, the texture seemed most common. Pretty well every answer came back to sparking an emotional tie to the piece to a person, thing or place. They evoked special memories, a treasure and keepsake, this lead to feelings of peace, contentment, nostalgia, love, inspiration and improved self-worth.

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” 
― Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

It is good for your Health

There are studies out there that show that participating in art relieves stress.  It can have a calming effect and can contribute to the overall well-being of a person and improve recovery times in some health situations. Some work is designed to be a social commentary and is intended to spark conversation. It does not always have a “calming effect”, it is subjective and can have different meaning for people, often different from the artist. That’s the beauty of it. It feeds the soul of the person observing it.

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
― Pablo Picasso

Owning art gratifies a desire rather than a need like clothing, furniture, technology etc. The desire to connect with a place, a memory, a feeling or person. The initial attraction may come from the impact, the craftsmanship, style, quality, colours, or connection with the artist, but ultimately the driving force behind a person making an art purchase is personal. It’s between the viewer and the art. Some believe that beauty (in the eyes of the beholder) opens the heart and feeds a deep well of contentment.

Fibre Art Connects people to Traditions

When I ask what connects people to textiles, it is almost always about family and lineage.  The historical context is important for the traditional crafts like quilting, knitting, weaving, sewing.  An aunt, grandmother, mother used to do it and it reminds people of that. There is a thread connecting to the people in their lives, a tactile relationship and an emotional tie to textiles. People are always compelled to touch my fibre art. Bringing nature and landscapes into contemporary fibre art bridges traditional craft and artistic imagery. It can be a very powerful way to engage with a viewer.

Log Cabin Never Square by Fibre Art Bridget O'Flaherty

When I started quilting, one of my first quilts was a traditional sampler. I then moved on to geometric modern art quilts and now blend the landscape with the traditions of quilting like in the Offset Log Cabin quilt.

This speaks to the traditions not only of quilting but also the craft of log home building. They are never square! I love to work with clients that are interested in creating a keepsake in thread painting. Custom work is one of my favourite and most satisfying projects for so many reasons. Choosing an image from a memory like a family homestead, cottage or vacation to have represented in a commemorative quilt is one of my most common requests.

 

Connecting with Landscapes for Peace of Mind

I spoke in another post about mindfulness and fibre therapy, this was referring to doing it. I think the same really applies with observing, viewing and owning art. It gives us an opportunity to pause, enjoy, derive pleasure from what we are viewing. It’s worth reflecting on and taking the time to own art that speaks to us tol improve our overall well being.

Upset by Rejection as an Artist? Maybe It’s Exactly What you Need.

5 Tips for Dealing with RejectionDisappointment City

Cry a little, have your hissy fit, it’s ok to be upset! It is disappointing to get the rejection letter and as a professional artist, you will receive many of them. Some might feel like it takes a toll on you and steals a little of your soul, but for many, it feeds the fire and drives the grit.

The Call For Entry

You spend loads of time putting together the submission, review the criteria, craft the write-ups, get the best photos to create the best possible impression. You feel great “I’ve got this, they would be crazy not to accept me”. Then you wait, checking your inbox daily and finally, the email finally comes in. Maybe you wait a few minutes to open it, if you don’t open it, you don’t have to be disappointed right? It usually comes in a formulaic way. The introduction  “we are absolutely thrilled that you applied to,  we certainly appreciate the time and effort...”

The Rejection

Sadly, we totally know what comes next: “Unfortunately, we were not able to, reject, unsuccessful…”  And the attempt at softening the blow: “Please understand, more applications than, the decision does not reflect you, we hope you’ll continue to follow…” Does that sound like a break up to anyone else? It’s not you, it’s me, let’s stay friends??? I’ve had my share of these rejections and I dread getting them too.

You feel like – if they had just looked seriously at your application, or maybe you blame the committee, someone on the panel has something personal against you, maybe you decide you were better off not doing it anyway. We tell ourselves all kinds of things to not feel like it was our own fault or a reflection of ourselves and our art. I’ve received many of these over the years, one as recently as last week, they are disheartening, to say the least. But I have the determination to carry on and it just makes me more convicted to stick with it, I won’t let it stop me.

There are many things we can do with a rejection letter (sadly with email – no burning the letters anymore!) Here is my list of the top 5 things I do after being rejected, maybe some will help you get through your own disappointment.

Here’s where you have permission to be upset.

Take a moment to be annoyed, blame, curse, maybe even cry a little. But that’s it. Move on to the next step and don’t linger here very long, it serves no one.

File the email

Don’t keep looking at it. It will say the same thing no matter how many time you go back to it. File it or delete it. It’s not going to do anything else for you.

Re-read your application

With the knowledge of not being accepted, it can help you to look critically at your own submission. This is not to berate yourself, this is to look objectively at what you accomplished in the application. This was no small feat to put this together. You spent time researching, designing and creating the product. Perhaps you did something for the first time like an intro video, uploading to a cloud drive, opening a social media account, finally getting good photos together, writing an artist statement. These are amazing things that you would never have done if you had not taken the leap to apply in the first place and they will help you move forward to the next thing.

Give yourself some credit.

It took guts to put yourself out there. It took courage, confidence, talent and grit. You were one of only thousands or hundreds, you put the time in, you believed in yourself enough to try. That is an amazing thing.

Look for the next call for entry

gallery or show. I’m serious, the more you do this the better you will get at it and eventually, you will get the acceptance letter. For every 20 rejections, you may get one acceptance. Depending on what you are applying for, you may see many more rejections than that. The most successful authors, artists, poets and craftspeople have seen many, many rejections.

If you believe in your work and you are authentic in your vision, you will eventually get there. Talent is part of it, determination, hard work and perseverance are the rest. The journey has many steps and each one leads you to your destination. Some are just a little harder to climb than others, if you really want it, you will keep going, your grit will keep you striving for more.

Difficult Road Image

Art, is it Really in the Eye of the Beholder?

SAQA logo

I attended a great lecture this weekend.

It was held at the Art Gallery of Burlington for SAQA members. If you have never heard of SAQA, check out the link, it’s a great resource for fibre arts! Anyway, they had a gathering of about 40 engaged fibre artists and the curator of the gallery talked with us about art; What makes a Work of Fibre, a Work of Art? One of the questions he raised was; what is the difference between a professional artist and a commercial artist. There was more to his presentation, he did relate it back to fibre art but I want to stop here, the question is worth pausing on.

Text: What is Art text

Commerical vs Professional

Why is there a difference between a commercial artist (one who makes money selling their art) and a professional artist? Presumably, a commercial artist is good at what they do, they are successful after all. Robert Bateman was used as a good example. Technically he is spectacular. He has sold hundreds of thousands of prints, he is a household name, clearly, he is successful, but is he a professional artist? It’s a good question, one I’m not sure I have the answer to. I thought I knew; art is subjective, it’s in the eye of the beholder, only they can choose what they think art is right? Well, I’m not so sure anymore.

Here’s the interesting question. Is there a greater obligation to the development of art in culture? To move beyond technically sound and appealing images? Should we as artists be held to a higher cause of championing, evoking emotion, moving people with our work? Maybe there is more to being an artist than just being technically gifted, maybe we need to search out the questions and hope to provide some context for dialogue. I certainly have looked at a Robert Bateman painting and have been astounded at the precision of his brush strokes but now I’m asking the question; is he as significant as one of the Group of Seven or Monet in art history? Will he be a topic of discussion for his artistry? I’m not convinced he will be.

What does it all mean?

This context really got me thinking about my own work and the meaning behind my images. I like what I do, I love a beautiful image. I am now asking myself if that is enough. Am I seeking to be a successful commercial artist? Everyone would like to be able to make a living being creative. Do I need to be breaking boundaries in the fibre art world, can I do both? I don’t think there is a wrong answer here. It is just interesting to challenge myself with the questions. What drives my purpose to create in the first place? I’m looking forward to discovering the answers in the work I produce. I discuss creating a series of work in another post.

The remainder of this discussion was about fine craft vs craft. Again very valid forms, are they art in the greater context? Perhaps not since Quilt-art based on function is a craft, the traditions have been passed down for centuries now. I think there is room to manoeuvre in the medium though, I think it is young in its development, there are opportunities to use the form to speak to art. The art context of fibre work has been developing fast over the last 40 years and accelerating. It’s an exciting time to be a fibre artist!
I’m interested to hear your thoughts on the topic, what is art for you? Send me an email with your thoughts!