Constraints: Time

I had just enough time last weekend to take a whirlwind tour of the quilts at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago. The festival was a last-minute addition to a packed schedule and I had to choose which of the many wonderful quilts on display  to spend time with and which to skip. I did not consider this the ideal approach to  art appreciation! However, I was able to zero in on quilts which I found interesting, used unique techniques or materials, had a refreshing point of view, or just spoke to me from across the room. It was refreshing to only  eye-collect (is that a thing?) pieces that I would include in a quilt festival of my own favorites. It's several days later and I still can recall clearly most of the pieces I enjoyed. That's a contrast to some shows where I come home with sore feet and "quilt fatigue."

Last November I attempted the Art Every Day for a Month challenge. The idea is to make art every day. Simple enough. It can be difficult to find time, but I tried to finish a small piece every day (and managed to, until waylaid by a bad cold). Here's my first piece, definitely an opening salvo.

Answering to no one but the clock is a challenge, to be sure, but also freeing. In the piece above, I gave myself five minutes to make fabric choices. No dithering or auditioning fabrics for hours.  I learn by doing not by deliberating.

I used to be more of a collector of projects to do someday. I gathered fabrics, designs, patterns, ideas, sketches, books, etc. Now, though, I realize that really what's in short supply is my time. I need to edit projects to those that excite me most. That's what I intend to do.