Friday, May 30, 2008

Stand back

Sometimes those maxims from art classes are kept firmly front and center, and other times I discover them unexpectedly, misplaced in a corner of my mind. I just found one of those this morning.

Last night I was ready to rip out my latest bead embroidery necklace. The only thing that stopped me was the sheer amount of work involved in the ripping out; I was just too tired to begin. So I set it down on my desk and watched Star Trek instead. Am I ever glad I did! This morning, as I walked down the stairs, I glanced over at my desk.

To my great surprise, the beadwork that I thought was not working looked great! It just needed a little distance. Up close, right under my nose, with my hand on the needle, it seemed disjointed and not quite right. But from a distance, oh, from a distance, everything changed. And then I remembered, "Always analyze your art work from the distance and height at which it will be viewed. Don't judge anything from the the other end of the brush!"

Luckily, it doesn't need a lot of distance. A foot or so is fine. And I don't expect anyone to get any close than that to my chest.

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