Ladybug Lake Update

Just a quick update to show you progress on the Ladybug Lake piece. I am so very pleased with the way this is turning out, the colors are great and the design works so well with them. Although I am getting antsy about always getting to the next "step" of completion, it is easy enough to realize how much I am enjoying the process and relax with just the doing it.

I recently saw an interview with Colin Hanks, the actor and Tom Hanks son, on "Off Camera with Sam Jones". What an amazing guy this is who truly is in love with his craft of acting. There were several things that I took away from this conversation, and one was that you just have to get out of your own way and just do it, win-lose-or draw. I like that idea as I feel I have been operating on the same principle lately with the construction of my own creative craft of stitched art. People like Colin inspire me with their can do attitude and dedicated spirit to their calling, especially when you have to reach beyond the shadow of a famous dad to do it, as many of us have to reach beyond what has been done before to explore new frontiers in our own artistic journeys.

Oh, and something else he really nailed in the interview, he hates math and the reason he gave was brilliant and really brought home my own reason for disliking it. It is very predictable because the sum never changes in any formula of it. 2+2=4 will never, ever change, and for many creatives, that monotony is the death toll for any interest in it. I love the broad learning curve of my art that allows for me to determine the outcome and establish different paths to it. Curiosity and the ability to learn something new from it is what stokes the imaginative fires of my art, and is why I am perpetually enthralled by it every day.

Getting Framed

Since Ladybug Lake is moving along so well, I have begun thinking about how to frame not only it, but future projects. The pieces I am thinking about for the near future I believe would look best matted, and it seems to me that having them done in a simple mat with a black frame will suit not only this one but also Ladybug Leaves when that gets underway. For a different one I started a while ago but put on the back burner, probably a more traditional frame would fill the bill.

There is a local frame shop that I'm interested in contacting about doing the work, since I pass it by frequently and it has been in our town for a while now. However, I know from experience that it is hard to find a good needlework framer. I think I have "framing anxiety" from a piece I made for my daughter and wanted framed. A friend of mine suggested this place that actually was a photography studio but she told me also framed needlework. Trusting her that they were good, I gave them my piece. Now custom framing is not cheap for needlework, and this probably holds true for any framing job, but I figure it is worth it to have it look professional. After paying for the job and then getting to see it afterwards, I was shocked how poorly it was done. Even worse, when I pointed it out, I was met with this incredulous look, like I had just told them an alien landed in their parking lot. Fortunately they were agreeable to try to improve their work, and the second attempt looked better but was not what I was looking for.

I could take my work to my closest needlework shop, but they are quite a distance drive from me, always charge more than regular storefront framers, and take forever, and this is all contingent on if they have someone they can farm it out to. The stars all have to perfectly align which seldom happens for me. So at this point I will talk to my local frame shop and see if they even do needlework framing, and if not, I'll probably have to slog out to the needlework shop and hope the stars are in my favor.