Diversity or focus? That is the question I’ve been asking myself for years! I’ve not found an answer yet and I’m not sure it’s necessary to find one but it’s an interesting conumdrum just the same.
Some say that by focusing you will perfect a technique. I’m sure that’s so. But how much fun is it to do the same thing over and over again?
Others say they won’t continue to learn things if they stand still and I know from personal experince that this is so.
So, for me diversity is the way to go. I like to explore new things because that’s how I expand my repertoire. The dictionary meaning of repertoire is “the entire stock of skills, techniques, or devices used in a particular field or occupation.” I’m not sure that ‘focus’ will produce the same result.
Who’s to say who is right. Maybe in the end diversity and focus are the same thing.
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Act as though it were impossible to fail.”
…………………..Dorothea Brandt
JenArt 
*sigh* I know these arguments only too well 🙂
It’s good to know I’m not alone! 🙂
I vote diversity. Mainly because I too cannot do the same thing over and over.
But I find that dabbling in one thing going on to another then returning to the first often allows me to develop more skill than doing the same thing continuously.
About all I develop with “focus” is boredom. LOL!
I think you probably have a little focus while practicing your diversity, but in the end diversity aways wins with me. I like learning new techniques and ideas and applying them. That’s probably why I have so many ongoing projects at one time. Sigh.
came over for a little peek – Woohoo!! look at you… up & running. What a girl – looking good, Jen, you must be very pleased…
….. as for your conumdrum, why not focus on diversity? Focus on the job at hand giving it your best shot, with all the concentration it deserves, then move on & explore wherever that focus leads you… does that even make sense? Hmmm… – R
Thanks Renate….it was due to all your help that I’m finally up and running!
It makes perfect sense. I think perhaps I already ‘focus on diversity’ as in seeing where a particular idea or technique might take me. More often than not it leads me to ask “what if I were to do this”….Unfortunately I find the lack of time to explore all the “what ifs” a real problem. I’m always finding half finished ideas hiding in the strangest places 🙂
Is it not 2 different things? Diversity, yes.. but you need focus to learn and explore new stuff. I would say what works best are diversity between different focus 🙂
Yep….you do need to focus while learning new techniques etc – it’s the only way to learn.
What I fight with is the idea of being contained within any one technique or for that matter, any one medium. Some people can do it and they work away quite happily doing the same thing over and over. But it’s not for me. I like all the “what ifs” that my creative life throws at me! 🙂
I was told by a fellow SciFi artist that I should concentrate on one medium rather than showing all manner of paintings, sculptures and constructions at the shows. I laughed out loud but he was serious. He also had no idea how much of my creative time is spent on fiber work, since I so rarely show those at the SciFi conventions. I could no more focus on one medium to the exclusion of all others than I could eat the same food for every meal. And focus on one narrow subject within that medium as he did? Ha!
I wonder if thats a gender difference? I know far more male artists who lock themselves into one medium and one distinctive style within that medium. For the women who have tried that, usually on the advice of editors, it’s a real struggle.
Yes, Halla! My sentiments exactly! 🙂 🙂
As for the gender difference. That’s an interesting observation. Come to think of it, men in general do seem to more single-minded than women……
If my publisher had told me to “focus” I’d never have written a single book!
This has been a great discussion – thanks everyone for taking the time to comment….
Nothing ventured nothing gained!
A creative mind cannot be bridled just to put more focus on
perfection!
Sometimes the purposefully pursued path to perfection will lead to a creative stagnation –
I think one will just have to go with the flow and follow one’s instincts. Often the exposure to new venues adds skills to previous ones.
In the end I will definitely have had more fun exploring than possessing that one perfected technique.
Hi Laura…..great comments, thanks!
Actually, each para makes a really good stand-alone quote!
🙂 Oh yeah…..I hear ya!
I cannot even begin to wrap my head around focusing on just one thing, without my mind wandering on to the next idea!….that’s the beauty of creativity- the creative mind at work, reinventing old ideas, forming new techniques~ no matter how disorderly it may seem.
Someone once said, “When you stop dreaming, you have stopped living.” The creative mind begs for diversity, to keep from going blind with boredom~
Ah, I gave myself a headache trying to keep focused without going Twilight Zone (or if any of you remember “One Step Beyond”) on this topic ~ LOL!
A girl after my own heart! 🙂 I’ve always had the problem of a ‘wandering mind’ whilst working on an idea.
It’s so great to read the comments regarding what I’ve always thought was a bit of a “diversity dilemma” and to find instead that it’s perfectly normal!
I, too, have to have diversity. However, there are many kinds of diversity and some of them can be every bit as dulling as any repetitive task. Diversity for the purpose of furthering reach or expanding result is one thing; diversity stemming from a wandering mind is something else entirely.
For potters, the passage of time often causes them to look back at work done earlier and feel great embarrassment over that earlier work. A teacher once told me that is a good thing, although it might not seem so at the time. She said, and I agree, it is good because it provides an incentive to grow even further — a kind of prodding to move on and get better. I believe the kind of diversity that comes from this is almost always the good kind.
On the other hand, I know plenty who only seek to “spice up” their own lives through diversity as a way to combat boredom. What they choose to do is rarely edifying in any way. Mostly they entertain themselves by aggravating the cat, so to speak. When they have finished perhaps they have succeeded in pushing back boredom but they are not in any way improved.
I have to confess I have, and continue to take both approaches. Sometimes the cat and I just need a moment…
Fred
There are people that do lovely traditional work by sticking with the program and repeating and repeating and repeating. Some of us, however, would die of boredom before finishing the first project. I say, do what feels right in art… that’s what art is all about.
Thanks for a very inspiring day in Wollongong yesterday.
Penny (nearly 2) has had a lovely day “helping” me sort my stash into colours!
Deirdre
Thanks, Deirdre, I had a great day too….I love sharing what I know and spending time with like-minded people….
Good to hear you have a two year old already interested in ‘freeform’ even if it was only to sort the colours! She has to start somewhere and let’s face it, colour is really important in freeform!
Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective.
A lot of times it’s very difficult to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and appearance. I must say you have done a very good job with this. Additionally, the blog loads extremely quick for me on Chrome. Exceptional Blog!
Hello Jenny,
Although I’ve been knitting all my life, I’ve only recently started freeform knitting and crocheting. Knitting the patches is great fun, I’m already ‘hooked’, but I find the assembling rather challenging. Do you give a detailed instruction of ‘how to’ in one of your books/ I couldn’t find anything really useful on U Tube. My piece buckles terribly if I sew the pieces tightly together, or I’ll have lots of small gaps, which I could ‘fill’ In?. I’d be very grateful if you could give me some hints or simply tell me that one of your books would offer all the explanation I need.
Kind regards
Gitta Green, Australia
Hi Gitta,
No-one can really give ‘detailed’ instructions on how to assemble freeform fragments/patches because everyone’s work is so different. I try my best to help in the Putting It Altogether chapter of both Freeform Knitting & Crochet and Freeformations by giving tips about how to deal with ‘ruffling’ fabric which indicates too many stitches in an area, ‘cupping’ which indicates too few stitches and ideas for dealing with the inevitable gaps both within the body of the work and around the edges. After a while each person finds their own solutions.
I certainly wouldn’t sew your fragments together tightly as that will just distort the fabric and cause other problems….they need to be treated gently and be allowed to find their own space. Gaps within the body of the piece can be covered with little treble or double crochet circles which can stitched on top of the fabric. Sometimes you may even decide to ’embrace’ the gaps and leave them be. Filling in little spaces around the edges can be fiddly and sometimes it’s best to leave them alone and let the piece have uneven edges. For larger areas you can work dc, half trebles or trebles to fill in the “valleys”, sometimes using say double crochet stitches in a straight line, sometimes using gradating stitches, depending on the area needing to be filled in.
I hope that helps a little.
Jenny
Hi Jenny
Thank you so much for your very quick reply. It does help a lot. I’ve taken the stitches out and have laid the piece out again, there will be some gaps, and i’ll ‘live’ with those. Around the edges I will fill in the valleys, because I need straight edges for a bag.
The other thing that came to mind was: blocking all the pieces before sewing them, an awful lot of work pinning them onto my ironing board and covering them with a wet towel and something heavy.Too much? But, maybe it’s worth it.
Thanks again
Gitta
Hi Gitta…..no blocking required! That just makes unnecessary work. 🙂 I’ve never blocked a freeform piece and I don’t know too many other freeformers who do. But again, it depends on the type of freeform – perhaps openwork freeform might require a bit of blocking, and of course it is the personal choice of each individual artist as so much about freeform is.
Glad the tips helped….with a bag the gaps in the body of the work are fine providing you are lining it. In fact that can add another dimension especially if you use a contrast lining which can peep through unexpectedly….unless you are building the freeform fabric onto another base of some kind in which case lining wouldn’t be required.
Jenny
Hi Jenny Thank you so much for your very helpful hints. I’m quite confident now to sew my pieces together leaving wholes and as I’d planned lining with a contrasting material. I let you know when I finished the bag. Thanks Gitta
On Sat, Dec 22, 2012 at 10:36 AM, Jenny Dowde’s Blog wrote:
> ** > Jenny DowdeJenny Dowde commented: “Hi Gitta…..no blocking required! > That just makes unnecessary work. 🙂 I’ve never blocked a freeform piece > and I don’t know too many other freeformers who do. But again, it depends > on the type of freeform – perhaps openwork freeform might require a b” >