“He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder.†– M. C. Escher
She discovers wonder in the world (5.5†x 9â€)
It’s been far too long – I’ve missed posting.
In late March, I injured myself rotary cutting far too much for far too long. I was prepping fabric and batting for lots and lots of art quilts. I strongly recommend pacing yourself with receptive tasks – oh did my shoulder hurt and I had reduced range of motion – I couldn’t hook/unhook my own bra.
After a few sessions of physical therapy, it was clear that I had to slow down – no cutting, very little sewing, no ironing, no folding papers and journal cover, very little computer time. I needed a long break to let my arm heal. Thankfully, I had two weeks of travel planned for early April.
I spent a week in San Antonio at the SAQA conference where I met lots of art quilters and filled my head with ideas and my sketchbook with doodled notes. I spent another week in Indiana visiting family, seeing friends and teaching a workshop. I drove more in 8 days than I normally drive in 6 months living in Alaska. It may be a big state, but we don’t have a lot of roads.
I came home thinking I had rested enough – not quite. There’s been ongoing physical therapy and forcing myself to create in shorter bursts. Last week I celebrated when I could finally do up my bra the normal way.
The worst part about being injured has been realizing that I can’t keep up my usual creative making pace – not without an assistant or laser-cutter. I have to stop beating myself up about missing my self imposed deadlines to stitch enough art quilts and journals to have ample and extra inventory available. It’s a daily battle in my brain to understand that my plans to make and stitch have to be balanced against not doing the same task for long periods of time. In other words, slow and steady progress is better than finishing fast and being hurt. With summer soon to arrive, the call of the sun will hopefully pull me out of the studio and give my arm a break a more frequently than I had been.
So sorry to hear of your pain! But you should have seen the smile on my face when I saw you had posted this morning. Your creativity – slow and steady – is an inspiration. Do pace yourself – your results are worth taking your time.