A few weeks ago, at the beginning of the Olympics, I posted that I was going to complete a small tapestry as I watched the games. Well, I did not get it done before the games were over. Sometimes that is the way it is with the Olympics: the one who was supposed to get gold doesn't medal at all, the one to get silver throws a giant unsportsmanlike pout, and the one who gets bronze realizes he/she is the third best in all the world, and celebrates with teary smile for the whole world.
My Olympics include a bit more than a week with the gymnasts and swim team shown above. They were so busy and fun, that I missed a great deal of the 'real' games, preferring to try to keep up with the ones I was hosting. I even missed seeing all but one synchronized swimming broadcast, and that sport does fascinate me. I watched just enough with one grand-daughter for us to speculate on how they keep all that make-up on underwater.
So, my Olympic 'goal' went by the wayside as I chose to do better things.
That is often how it goes. I have been filling my roles as wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, housewife, and teacher for the past few months, and have lost control of my role as artist. There are many reasons why most successful female artists were unattached. But I would not want to sacrifice my attachments, even for my art. Now, I am in a position to be able to regain my artist identity. So I have today and yesterday turned my back on the dirty house and piles of laundry, my husband and I have eaten leftovers and hot dogs, and I have finished the small tapestry of incoming waves. It is not blocked, the ends are not trimmed, and it is not in any way 'finished', but it is off the loom.
I am not sure if I consider it to be 'successful' or not, in depicting water. I will determine that later. I have other things in the studio that have been on hold that I need to attend to, before my other roles distract me again. I need to finish the tapestry commission that is on the loom, and I need to do a painting (possibly two) for an upcoming exhibit that I always participate in.
In the meantime, here are some images from our 'closing ceremonies,' including the last bit of the Olympic Flame, which we toasted marshmallows over.
2 comments:
Amen! You chose wisely!
Thanks, Julia. It's hard to not feel guilty when avoiding work for family and pleasure, but family (especially when they are so terrific) beats even the best work all the time!
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