The value of skill

One of the blogs I read, Bobulate, contained a musing on the importance of skill the other day, drawn in turn from a Boing Boing article. The relevant quote is

Ever since Andy Warhol made “ideas without skill” fashionable back in the 60s, it seems to me that popular culture has been playing a game of “skill limbo”. How low can we go? How badly drawn can a cartoon be and still be considered a cartoon? How many drum machines and sequencers can we stack up to avoid having to learn a real instrument? How much plastic surgery does it take to make acting skills unnecessary? I really don’t know the answers to those questions. Every day is a new horror.

But when I see someone who has both an idea AND skill, I’m reminded just how doggone powerful and dynamic a creative artist can be. I’m sick and tired of accepting “half a loaf.” (Boing Boing)

I wonder, sometimes, what value we place now on skill in the current crafting arena, the arena that’s visible on so many blogs and internet stores today. Is it enough to have a good idea? How necessary is it that skill be involved as well to render an idea well? I wonder about the cross-section of skill and art as well.

There is of course value in that I can pick up an X-acto and try something new one day – because we all have to start somewhere, sometime. In the middle is my own sewing and crocheting, which I’ve practiced for years but still, I’m nowhere near satisfied with the skills I have. On the other end of the continuum are people whose practice of a skill go back years. My grandmother, who has been sewing and quilting her entire life, whose seams are a marvel of precision and her garment fitting a thing of wonder. The 70-year-old crocheted potholders I have that astound me with their intricate attention to detail, evidence of a long life of practicing fine handiwork.

I think about the sweater that I am struggling to finish, the hat I’m now making for my brother, the needlework that I do, and I wonder myself about what value I place on my own skill. Do I turn away from the hard thing or persevere, hoping to add another aspect of a skill to my arsenal? Do I place enough value on my crafting to put in the work it takes to be really good at something, to really understand how it works and be able to use it as a tool for expressing my ideas?

Just some things I was thinking.

p.s. The mountain in question, as guessed correctly by my brother who has been there, is Denali. Because Denali is awesome.

p.p.s. This hat I’m making for Jeremy also features mountains.

I get ideas while I sleep …

On Saturday morning I woke up with an idea to do a papercut. The subject I wanted to do is not actually this, but when I try something new I usually do flowers the first time, it’s a recurring theme. This was one of those usual times, so I did this.

It was fun. Papercutting. It was nice to think of something and do it in one day. Most of the things I think of take a lot more time. It looks nice with light behind it … so I’m trying to think of a way to mount this so I can have space in between the two layers and allow some light to filter through as well. I sense a trip to a framing store coming on.

While I was doing this one, I was talking to my brother. He saw the final and liked it, so I said I’d make him one. I figured I could handle something a little more complex on time 2. His request was expected – he also has a usual theme that he requests on a regular basis, and it’s not flowers. I’ll give you a hint, his email signature is “I fear flat planets.”

Can anyone guess what mountain this is? If you follow the picture to Flickr, you will see, but if anyone can guess that would make me happy that I got it sort of right. The inspiration for my original pencil sketch was a great photo by birder7 I found on Flickr. This one also does well being backlit. An Jeremy, once I figure out the frame, I’ll send this to you.

Papercutting is fun, if a little hard on the fingers holding the X-acto knife. Next time, I’ll investigate using a thimble on my forefinger. All those tiny trees! The backgrounds are watercolors. I’m not sure if I’d like these as much if they weren’t transparent colors.

Since this wasn’t exactly the theme I had in mind – I have a scene in my head I’m not sure how to execute – I think I will try a couple more (once my finger recovers) and see if I can really manage to put on paper (or cut out of paper) what I was thinking of. Ooh! Just thought of another one too …

Unending Rows

So … This was the red sweater I started last June. The one where I was struggling with the fit.

The one that I naively believed I would finish it before it got cold. HAHAHAHA. Yeah that’s funny.

This picture is from a week ago.  Somewhere around this point you start working on finishing it, at least that’s what you think. And that’s all nice and everything, and of course I figured my sweater’s a bit different because it’s a pullover instead of a cardigan. Except a few days later I figured out there’s really still a lot more work to do. Neverending.

I’m pretty convinced I’m going to spend at least 30 hours on this sweater, only to discover when it’s done it won’t even come close to fitting. *sob* At which point I may give up crocheting clothing for myself.

In the meantime, I’m getting to watch plenty of Doctor Who while I stitch.