Seeing things

I have been thinking about my voice here in cyberspace. Many of you know me as a rug hooking designer through my business Primitive Spirit and that I specialize in vintage style hooked rugs. You may have just found my blog and are interested in fiber arts like knitting or crocheting and enjoy reading about what I am working on.

I thought today I might share some thoughts about myself so that you would understand more about where I am coming from. So here are some things about me.

I notice things

I am always looking, seeing things. You could even say that I am living in a daydream. As I write this I can’t help but look up from my computer and un-focus my eyes to see the light shining on the countertop illuminating my orange pottery: I see a vignette, a composition. I see them everywhere all the time. Sometimes what I see makes me stop my work and think of how a color combines with another color. Or I may see a color in a new way. A dramatic shadow falling on a bead board wall may pull me in, musing at its shape. Or I might sigh at the subtle color change through the morning air as I look at the distance trees. I see the glow of light through a leaf. My eyes are taking in beauty and drawing inspiration. I do this as naturally as breathing. I love the world I see in all its changeability.

I am all about creating

Making beautiful things gives me joy. Using my hands and cutting, digging, knitting, sewing, painting. Today it might be hooking a rug. Tomorrow I may paint a shelf. I want to make something. Many things I keep and cherish and live with. And then I may give it or sell it and move on to something else. The creating is an end in itself and gives purpose and meaning to my life.

I am a time traveller

It is as if I am living both today and in another time period and I want to reach back and bring it here with me. I have a connection to the past that gives me a familiar feeling that I can’t ignore. When I see a vintage textile I feel a shiver of mystery that it has grown so old and lovely, as if it were made by me long ago. I love how age becomes an artistic element that adds a new unplanned harmony. I love being surrounded by beautiful objects from the past and I love crafting new things that look antique.

I see connections

I see life as a puzzle and the many pieces of it create a picture that elevates it to become a huge surprise. This makes me feel childlike, ever learning, ever in the ah-ha moment. This beautiful mosaic is supreme artistry to me, and I translate it as I blend dibs and dabs of color in my rug hooking, in many layers of colored paint in my faux finishes, as I decorate with pieced quilts and textiles, in carding bits of fiber together to spin into yarn. I feel akin to the Impressionist painters and how they used their brush stroke.

I see life as mystery

This last one brings perspective to all that I do. For as long as I can remember I felt that there was more meaning in life than what can been seen with the eye. That this special thing called ‘my life’ was not to be taken merely at face value. I could see that being put here on earth was a great gift, and that my quest was to be about discovering as much as I could about that mystery.

And since I am creative, I see that I am a reflection of a creator. One who loves beauty, color, and nuance. Who takes great pleasure in things like the flamboyant change of seasons, the dramatic light and shadow of a sunrise, and the way clouds dance across the stage of a blue sky.

As I grow older these mysteries grow more profound. I won’t be here forever. So what of it all? Did I do justice to the mystery? I don’t know. But I do know that the hidden hand has been there every step of the way, surprising me when I stumble onto something brilliant, beyond where I intended to go. I think of that as grace.

Thanks for reading my thoughts and joining me today on the creative journey ~ Karen