Thoughts on perspective

Having perspective is one of those important life-skills.  It teaches us the importance and value of things and allows us to prioritize and let go.  It's also a great skill for stress management.  Gaining perspective on the magnitude (or lack thereof) of an issue can help you to see that it really isn't all that important after all.

I think perspective in art is one of the most important aspects of what makes something interesting and what makes it amazing.  To be able to see the tiny details and how they'll fit into the bigger picture makes or breaks a work.  For instance, when I was quilting, I was a scrap quilter.  I would buy fabric that I liked.  Very rarely did I buy a "set" of fabric to make a quilt.  My goal was to make something that had overall perspective but not necessarily "matched."  So, when I made an Irish Chain for a friend, I used navy blue solid for the background and different fabrics of light blue for the chains.  This was a really nice option because the eye wants to make things go together put the blues into one group and the navy into another and the pattern glimmered.  It's amazing how two red fabrics can sit next to each other and not be pleasing, but put those two fabrics together with four or five more reds and the perspective totally changes.  Those 7 fabrics now read as red when paired with something that is "not red."  It's amazing (try it sometime).

Crafting always makes me think of perspective.  The work you do is so up close and personal and the end result is usually not quite so up close and personal.  The perspective I have when working on something is totally different than my enjoyment of it when it's framed and on the wall (or however else it's put in its final version).  I think that weaving is very interesting regarding perspective becuase I never see more than 2-3 inches of woven fabric completed at one time and the fabric on the loom is completely different than the fabric in its "finished" state.  Perspective makes a huge difference.

And it's the designer who sees what it needs to look like up close and personal and envisions what it's going to look like on a grand scale who can really wow people and create art.

Today's picture is of my loom when I was weaving a lovely pink scarf.  The warp is so bright and beautiful and this picture shows how I see my work when I'm working on it.