Last week a package arrived from the Hoffman Challenge people. It was just large enough to hold Trifecta III and I admit I was chagrined thinking that they had returned my piece and I hadn't made the cut. When I opened it, I discovered a catalogue of the accepted work, a fat quarter of fabric and a few other small gifts. The accompanying letter told me that Trifecta III was accepted and will be a part of a traveling show for a year! I was thrilled, of course.
When I entered, I checked "yes" on the form, asking for the judge's comments. I think there were ten categories--binding, design, quilting, etc.--and I didn't recieve one "excellent." And "very goods" are just not good enough.
My father's goal for me as I was growing up was to be "superior" in any pursuit. I learned as I matured that he had contrived an unrealistic goal for me. Not only that, but aiming to be superior is morally reprehensible. It implies a desire to be better than anyone, to be above others, whereas the pursuit of excellence relates to my personal best, hard work and self-improvement.
Hobson Pittman was my first art mentor. It was he who urged me to leave Penn State to study at the Academy (PAFA) in Philadelphia. He would frequently say to a student whose work showed promise but hadn't quite arrived, "It is too beautiful not to be more beautiful."
Now my personal challenge is to figure out how on earth I can improve my skills and make my quilted pieces become more beautiful. I honestly gave Trifecta III all I had, using all my skill, precision and all my know-how. I can't imagine how I could have made it any better. But now that I know better is a possibility, it is up to me to figure out what I need to learn and to be open for new discoveries.
Maybe it's a teacher/mentor I need. Maybe there are members of my quilt guild who have information or advice that will help me. It's an odd quest, because if I knew what I was lacking, I would work on it until it was corrected. But I simply don't know.
The creation of kaleidoscope quilts is a unique category of quilt making. My first impulse is that I would learn the things I need to know from an expert kaleidoscope maker, Paula Nadelstern being the queen of kaleidoscopes. (If only she were doing a workshop in this area!)
But maybe I will be taught by somebody or something completely other--maybe by working in another art form. Maybe I'll learn from a quilter who works in a different area of quilting or perhaps my craftmanship will become excellent from sheer persistance and more experience. I just don't know. But I have a certain trust in the old saying: When the pupil is ready, the teacher will come.
Anyone who knows me knows I will be dogged in this quest. This is really my Hoffman Challenge and it feels like a new stage in my development as an artist. A new beginning.
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