So I’m a little bit in love with Kate Tucker (actually a lot) . I know many of you out there will understand. Her painting’s are …..well I have no words except love. I get excited every time I look at one. And then I heard her speak a little at BHB2013 about making time for your creativity in the midst of motherhood and it made me love her even more. But I'll tell you about that some other day.
So I am on the mailing list from the gallery she is represented by and they just sent me a preview catalogue of her latest exhibition Unstable Elements. As expected, in the catalogue is a little bit of a discussion about her process for this body of work and she said this….
“In these works I tried to push everything and I resisted resolution and balance. Yet, despite this, everything seems to find its resolution. They have their own force towards it. I spent a lot of time painting over areas that were perfectly fine because they were not doing what I wanted them to do. Intellectually, I was exploring how I might bring more failure into the images.”
She wants to bring more failure into the images and resist the resolution and balance.
Wow!
The idea of intentionally failing to find balance is so interesting to me as I suspect that it is often where the magic lies.** And is totally outside my comfort zone.
I’m still trying to do more quilting but I’m finding there is a vast difference between the quilts I love, and what I think I would feel comfortable making. Every design I try to draw is symmetrical and balanced. When I look at my visual diary on pinterest the quilts I love often lack symmetry and/or lack balance, but when I am making something myself the urge to balance is almost overwhelming. The idea of making something that is unbalanced is quite unsettling. And yet it it often what I am drawn to when I am looking at someone else’s work. What is that about?
I know that when I look at Kate’s work then that is the bit I find exciting. It is the bit that draws you in and keeps you interested. And this may sound like an odd leap – but it makes me think of times in my life when as a whole I/my life was a little on the unbalanced side. Thinking back I still find the chaos of it interesting when compared to daily life as a more harmonious mothering 40yo. In this case I definitely don't want to go back there but it was more interesting on many levels.
Kate goes on to say;
“Colour is obviously a very important part of my process. I don’t choose colours because they necessarily look good together. The colours are chosen intuitively, but I also seek discomfort. I don’t think, ‘That beige will look good with that blue.’ I am more likely to stand back from it and blur my eyes and think, ‘What would I not expect to see in there?’”
This last statement is so completely contrary to how I craft - I am always looking for harmony - for things to “go”. But again, it's not what I like when I look at other people’s work.
Kate finishes with this;
“Every time you pick up the brush you have to make a choice, and I get excited about making the difficult choice not to resolve what is there but to unbalance it. That way you end up with something that is the documentation of an inquiry that has been really free. Every single bit was an active interesting moment. There are no dead zones.”
Free, active interesting moments and no dead zones. Wow!
I have no answers today – only questions.
Is it fear of making a mistake that makes me stick to the safe? Harmony seems easier to make than discord. You can tell when something "goes" but to make something not go and still have it work (the magic?) …..Is it something only genius' are capable of? Is it actually a problem that there is a difference between what I like and what I make?
Is this something you think about? Does balance bother you? And what are you attracted to – harmony or discord? Do you actively seek out one or the other in your craft?
Another interesting idea to come out of the visual diary. So thanks Anna x! And thanks Kate!
Felicia x
PS. I've heard from some people that they are having trouble leaving comments on the blog. If this has happened to you can you email me at thecraftsessions@gmail.com. I really want to try to resolve it and need your help..
* A quick note to all you lovely grammar lovers. I know the word isn't unbalance but I liked the fact that using unbalance made me feel the same as how a lack of balance makes me feel. Y'know??
**I’m totally seeing an image from Season 2 of Girls where she is having the interview with the magazine editor about “your comfort zone” and “the magic”.
