Creating requires practice and it produces left overs. We are a studio mindful of good economy and careful stewardship. Practice prints of trees for a chasuble are reserved for other secular art work. Paint and dye techniques practiced on silk dyes reappear on clergy stoles and women’s apparel.
I learned the lessons of practice and left overs growing up on a farm. The practice jacket for a 4-H project was not made from muslin, but rather an inexpensive cotton that was serviceable. The batches of practice brownies made the month before the county fair were snacks for farm workers. Grandma Alice’s midweek menu often included a “mess” of something, which was usually a tasty medley of this and that. Of course, patch work quilts were the destiny of fabric left from cutting clothing.
These work habits are now labeled generative and derivative work. I add time to production schedules of major projects to include intentional production of cloth that will generate new art work. I organize work space to facilitate quick cuttings of small gift items derived from both the ideas and materials of large projects. I hope to work with greater focus, continued expertise, and deeper expression.