“Good order is the foundation of all things”
Edmund Burke
“No, it’s not”
Maria Lalic
Every year I make the same resolution – to be more organised. Every year I think if only I had the perfect diary, Filofax, calendar, whiteboard, blackboard, something – ANYTHING – then I would succeed in my resolution.
This January, for the first time, I am trying to see if sticky notes will help where everything else has failed. I am not optimistic because already they have disarranged themselves out of the nice orderly lines I put them in on the board and have started clustering haphazardly together. I notice particularly that they have adopted a list to starboard ie they are now diagonal instead of straight. This is not unusual in my house. I use a spirit level to put up shelves etc, but there isn’t a horizontal surface anywhere. I think this is due less to incompetence and more to the creative bit in my brain not liking straight lines.
I love organic shapes
and natural textures
These are things which excite me as an artist and make me want to get the paints, fabric and thread out. So here’s the question: do I pay more or less attention to the creative bit of my brain? There are people who have found incredible and creative ways to interpret straight lines. I looked at the very beautiful work of Textile Artist Yvonne Brown recently. You can see her art here. It is amazing how fairly formal patterns can be given such a depth of texture. Last week I came across the Stonehenge designs of Linda Ludovico and it is remarkable to see a different take on the simple ‘straight’ line.
I wish I could say I feel inadequate when I see the work of these two but I don’t because comparing Textile Artists is like comparing apples and oranges. It is a joy to work with a medium where there are no boundaries and no rules. None of us do things right and none of us do things wrong. We just do. So maybe my resolution for the year shouldn’t be to more organised but to be more accepting. Now excuse me while I go and rearrange my sticky notes …
PS This is what Mother Nature does to straight lines.
