Lessons Learned

I mentioned that the fusing class is officially over.  I really enjoyed it and learned a lot that I can apply to my own fabric art. Melody had moved onto assignments that were puzzling to many of us...but she had given us the basics and skills we needed to keep going on our own. I opted out of submitting my last assignment to the class because I just wasn't confident. My previous one had gotten a really tough critique.....so I chickened out.

But...for the sake of full circle disclosure (and closure) and developing a thicker skin, I'm going to share it here.

Our final assignment was to THINK BIG but work small. Melody gave us this image of a Matisse piece and talked about the importance of scale.

We were to make a small piece that could be imagined large and hanging in a gallery. 

This is how it started...

.....and this is how it evolved. It was like playing with building blocks.  

I did work small and ended up with this little graphic piece that's only about 3 X 3. When I enlarged the photo (below) I could see that the hand stitching was really terrible. I should never stitch without my glasses.  I second guessed everything about it...so just couldn't put it out to the class....but here it is. Final assignment: Check! 

I had as much fun digitally adding a couple of women looking at it as in a gallery.

Here are some of the lessons learned from the fusing class:
There's always something new to learn...even with something I've done before
Don't overthink
Always stand back and look
Audition, tack....then fuse (once it's fused it's fused)
Have a good variety of fabrics prepared with fusing so I have good choices
Don't take shortcuts...do it right...use what I've learned
Be patient
Keep it simple
Take time to plan and do the stitching...it makes a big difference
Laugh at myself and my flops and move on
Public critique is tough but helpful
Make it my own