Thursday, June 23, 2011

fini!





There is something to be said for going forward even when unsure, or when confidence and motivation wane.
Just one foot in front of the other.

It is becoming clear to me that I make shoes not really for the sake of making shoes but to engage my abilities, to see change and progress...   to grow.

And I think they're pretty cute.




Thursday, June 16, 2011

stuck in second gear

OK. It's a little pathetic that this is as far along as I have gotten on these shoes.  It's not that I'm losing my enthusiasm for making them but distractions continue to abound.
These small lasts are a challenge, albeit a worthwhile one. And making shoes in pairs is more tedious.
I admit to being easily bored and having to work in duplicate forces patience upon me.
Certainly, making the same pair twice doubles the tedium.  So why don't I abandon them, particularly since they are just a simple style, in a bland color?  Because I'd hate to leave them unfinished.
That being said, I suppose I have, in fact, lost my enthusiasm for them. But I will plod along.

I was recently introduced to the work of two artists previously unknown to me (is that redundant?) : John Frame, who sculpts and animates extraordinary articulated figures of wood and fabric and found objects. And Louise Bourgeois, also a sculptor, whose work defies description. They each express beautifully strange sensibilities, a kind of transcendent darkness. I am both inspired and intimidated by their work.Can I incorporate this into the very modest and pedestrian art of miniature shoemaking?