It's Complicated . . .

  

There's a saying in our family: 

"Is two too many?  Is ten enough?" 

 


It applies perfectly in any situation involving aesthetic decision making -- or cupcakes. And one of my biggest challenges as an artist (and as a person -- let's be honest) is keeping it simple.

 
Rather than "less is more", my natural tendencies seem to run a bit toward the Victorian:  
too much is never enough.  


Perhaps because I know the magic lies in knowing when to stop,
that's always the hardest decision I make.

I glory in the piling up of complications 

of every sort.  If I could pronounce 

the name James in any different 

or more elaborate way 

I should be in favor of doing it.

-- Henry James

There's a movie scene I love in which one character asks another what he thought of the LENGTHY manuscript he's given him to read, and his reply is, "You didn't make any choices."


Editing, editing . . . art is really all about editing. 

Adjusting the viewfinder to show exactly what is essential, and not one bit more:  distill, condense, concentrate, cut down, clarify, express, extract, purify, refine, trickle, trim....and thereby get to the meaning.

When it's my turn to order at a restaurant, my family does a collective eye-roll.  It's very rare that I don't have to tack on a customization of some kind to my order, a "make sure it's well done" or "sauce on the side, please" or "cheese on the enchilada but not the burrito"... I always feel like I've really accomplished something when I can just say, "I'll have the chicken parmigiana."  Period.


So it was a welcome challenge for me this week
to create a piece for which one of the requirements was simplicity.  And luckily this simple project came along  just in time to provide my initial post-surgical return to stitching.

I will admit it was hard for me -- I spent as much time taking things off as I did putting things on -- I kept wanting: 

more stitching, 
more embellishment, 
a border, 
more in the picture . . .

. . . but I was working under strict parameters.  

Always a great exercise for a person such as myself.

And actually, it required the perfect amount of stitching to get my fingers working again.  Threading needles the second day was a bit easier than the first, and that little progress was enough to put a smile on my face.  Hopefully the trend will continue, because there's something of a work pile-up cluttering my to-do list and complicating . . . well . . . everything.

But for now, Friday's here!

And whether your weekend 

finds you enjoying the simple 

pleasures of home or 

seeking adventure elsewhere, 

I hope it finds you . . . simply happy!