Deeper Into the Process
There is a big red pickup truck with all four wheels off in the middle of the shop blocking my door. It is my truck so I can’t complain. I am grateful we have the skills and the tools to put the new brakes on it. With the world the way it is, the more things we can do for ourselves, the better, in my opinion.
I thought that the world would end when I found out I was blocked from my shop today. But the truth is, that it forced me to take a step back and say, “OK, what am I doing?” I have a tendency to barrel forward and attack any work I have head on. I am a divergent thinker for the most part, rather than a convergent one; although, when it is time to do specific commission work for a client I am capable of drilling down and getting specific.
This image is actually a thumbnail for a video, a process that I have been learning over the past year. I have learned enough to just begin to be dangerous. Yesterday a graphic designer colleague of mine used my video to teach basics of video editing on his YouTube channel. ( if you are interested in such things, check him out — Eric Fischnaller https://www.youtube.com/c/EricFischnaller/videos).
I learned a lot from that experience, not least of which : (a) if you are going to demonstrate an intense stitch technique make sure your hands and your example are in the camera) and (b) if you plan ahead and dont jump around the video editing will be easier.
I also learned how much I do not know. I love learning and it always seems that no matter how many things there are to learn there are exponentially more as you move deeper into any direction. When I was in graduate school, we still used card files and carrels. I remember being at Brown University in the basement fourth floor down, sitting in the stacks, buried in books, piles of books around me on the floor. Each book had a nugget that brought me to the next.
This process is much like that. Its important to me, because I want to communicate with the outside world, the world beyond this beautiful secluded retreat that I live in. It may be a while until I travel, but I plan for my words, thoughts, ideas and processes to go out ahead of me.
Carol LeBaron
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