My new studio is still in its early stages as I’m still waiting for my supplies to arrive. The first two months after arriving in the Netherlands have been focused on settling the family. But as artists can relate, at some point you have an intense need to get to work. I felt like my arms were tied behind my back without my beloved tools. I do have some good art books I’m reading that I’ve found inspiring but these have just made me want to jump into the studio more!
I remind myself that this is what going to a residency must feel like. Whenever I’m frustrated, I think of my friend, Emily, when on a residency in 2019 at Vermont Studio Center, took only a single pencil. She found an old ironing board and used this to create shadows on the wall that she shaded in with her lonely pencil. This restriction began a multi-year series of astoundingly beautiful drawings. And so, I zipped it and got to work with what I had, which was my Schmincke watercolors, some brushes and too many notebooks. And I waited for inspiration.
Soon, Édouard Vuillard’s paintings began to appear everywhere. Even at the used bookstore we often walk by, where they have a huge Vuillard book in the window. I learned that he grew up surrounded by fabric, which is why so much of his work has an almost textile sense to it and probably why I was so drawn to it. I really miss sewing.
I learned a few weeks ago that our goods will take longer to arrive due to an enormous shipping backlog. We hope to see our things in the next few weeks. Soon all of my barren shelves will be filled with tools and art books.
With news of the shipping backlog, I decided couldn’t wait until my supplies arrived to start sewing something. Anything. I brought my rotary cutter, fabric scissors and some basic sewing supplies in my checked luggage but that was all I had. I ordered a new sewing machine, deciding on essentially the same Juki semi-industrial I had in Sonoma. My cutting mats took longer to order as I debated over inch or centimeter markings. What won out was the color, or lack thereof, and so centimeters won. I tend to cut my textiles in a weird combo of centimeters with ¼” seams. I just found cm to work better for me and fractions are not my strong suit so I’m happy to live in the land of metric! This probably makes sense to no one!
Next was fabric. I discovered a lovely fabric shop, Folk & Fiber, a short bike ride away. The owner, Gina, has impeccable taste in fabric and color. Her shop has mostly linens, khadi cottons and cotton gauze. My three favorite fabrics to work with! I will shop there often. It also looks like a lovely community gathering spot for sewists. I also want to explore Utrecht’s Saturday fabric market.
I now have some very, very elementary basics and am back at sewing. My first project was to make napkins. Weird thing … it’s really hard to find decent napkins … or any napkins here. It’s just not a thing here? But back to product development, as everything is completely new, I’m starting from scratch. I’ll talk about that in a future post but you can see some of the ideas tossing about in my head on my wall. They’re, not surprisingly, map-like!
What a beautiful studio you have! And to be living near a fabric store that suits your style and is a community for sewists, plus the Utrecht Saturday fabric market -- wow! You're in the right place, for sure. Looking forward to seeing all you do.
Loved reading this. So great that the fabric shops are a good place to find like minded people. The story about Emily and the pencil! Just saw her brilliant show at SeagerGray.