The Wayside

Lately, my writing has gone by the wayside. Though writers are often told never to use clichés, I’m using one, because it works. Phrases become cliché because they provoke the exact image we want. Why should we avoid them like the plague?

Anyway, the time I used to spend writing has been taken over by another passion. I’m not complaining. No one has let this happen but me. Manipulating fabric for textile art calls to me more than writing does right now. I can’t wait to get the have-tos done (laundry, exercise, housecleaning) so I can play with fabric.

I even love to watch videos of other artists creating with fabric. The other day, on The Quilt Show http://www.thequiltshow.com/, I saw an inspiring interview of art quilter Patty Hawkins, who said, “Simplify, exaggerate, and repeat.” I went straight to my design wall and saw how the small quilt I am working on can benefit from her advice. I could use the same lines and shapes, perhaps simpler versions, made by the piecing of the quilt top, for the actual quilting-together of the layers.

The writer in me, who has not left the building entirely, realized that Patty’s advice can help in creating a story, too. Simplify (focus on one, maybe two, story lines or themes), exaggerate (fill out characters, dialog, and scenes to emphasize), and repeat for rhythm and poetry.

Often, while I stitch, my writing is waiting in the wings.