Full Transcript for Episode 143: Creativity Lessons from Denise Love

--> 00:03:46,953 And you can't get too precious about a painting if you know you're going to 33 00:03:46,953 --> 00:03:53,093 end up cutting it up into smaller pieces. So this approach also really lowers the stakes. 34 00:03:54,393 --> 00:04:00,673 So I've been thinking about whether there are any analogs to this approach in spinning. 35 00:04:00,853 --> 00:04:06,333 So just how can we make it easier to get started spinning a project? 36 00:04:06,653 --> 00:04:10,993 And I think there's one way that we don't talk about enough, 37 00:04:10,993 --> 00:04:17,713 and that is allowing ourselves time to really warm up and experiment at the beginning of a project. 38 00:04:17,713 --> 00:04:21,993 And I want to encourage you, and I'm also encouraging myself, 39 00:04:22,213 --> 00:04:29,093 to think about the first few yards of any project you spin as time to experiment 40 00:04:29,093 --> 00:04:30,433 with different tensions, 41 00:04:30,833 --> 00:04:33,373 diameters, and even drive ratios. 42 00:04:34,313 --> 00:04:38,773 Make a few plyback samples and see which ones you like best. 43 00:04:38,993 --> 00:04:44,353 I often start spinning something and then I just think that however I happen 44 00:04:44,353 --> 00:04:48,973 to start spinning it is just fated to be the way I spin for the rest of the project, 45 00:04:49,133 --> 00:04:54,493 when there are probably actually a range of good options, which I could discover 46 00:04:54,493 --> 00:04:58,953 if I just gave myself even 10 minutes to experiment. 47 00:05:01,293 --> 00:05:09,913 The second lesson that I've learned from Denise's painting classes is to make lots of things. 48 00:05:10,633 --> 00:05:15,953 And so another stakes-lowering thing that she teaches and demonstrates in her 49 00:05:15,953 --> 00:05:21,793 classes is how freeing it can be to make lots of different iterations of a thing. 50 00:05:21,933 --> 00:05:27,813 So in a painting session, she'll make eight or nine small paintings in which 51 00:05:27,813 --> 00:05:32,133 she explores similar ideas or techniques in slightly different ways. 52 00:05:32,233 --> 00:05:36,673 And this increases the likelihood that she'll end up with something she likes 53 00:05:36,673 --> 00:05:42,853 because she can stop doing things she doesn't like the look of and double down on what she does like. 54 00:05:43,253 --> 00:05:49,693 And so the iteration allows her to refine and make adjustments as she goes. 55 00:05:50,953 --> 00:05:55,793 So how can we translate this principle of making lots of slightly different 56 00:05:55,793 --> 00:05:58,293 versions of something to spinning? 57 00:05:59,173 --> 00:06:02,333 Say it with me. We can do it by sampling. 58 00:06:02,553 --> 00:06:06,473 And not just sampling different yarns, as I just talked about, 59 00:06:06,473 --> 00:06:11,873 but by incorporating sampling into different parts of the yarn-making process. 60 00:06:12,293 --> 00:06:16,873 When we're washing a fleece, we can wash a small sample first, 61

00:06:17,573 --> 00:06:23,333 see how it goes, and make tweaks before we wash pounds and pounds of wool. 62 00:06:23,813 --> 00:06:29,493 When we're deciding how to prepare a fleece, we can try using a variety of methods, 63 00:06:29,873 --> 00:06:34,853 spin samples, and see what we like best and most enjoy spinning. 64 00:06:35,833 --> 00:06:41,173 And when we're combining colorways in a combo spin or a combination drafting 65 00:06:41,173 --> 00:06:46,473 project, and I talk about the difference between those two techniques in episode 101, 66 00:06:47,013 --> 00:06:53,113 we can try several different versions to see which one we like best. 67 00:06:55,050 --> 00:07:03,090 Number three, use good materials. So I'm learning a lot from Denise about art supplies. 68 00:07:03,410 --> 00:07:10,370 She has a lot of them and usefully she's a big believer in using professional quality materials. 69 00:07:10,930 --> 00:07:14,830 When I first got started with watercolor, I was introduced to the distinction 70 00:07:14,830 --> 00:07:21,870 between craft, student, and professional grade paints, also brushes and paper. 71 00:07:22,270 --> 00:07:28,070 Turns out watercolor paper is a whole thing. I'm learning a lot about that lately. 72 00:07:28,470 --> 00:07:33,630 And I learned that the difference between grades of paint is in the quality 73 00:07:33,630 --> 00:07:40,510 and the amount of the pigment present, and also in how light fast the color is going to be. 74 00:07:40,830 --> 00:07:47,150 And I started with a student grade set of pan watercolors, which I'm actually 75 00:07:47,150 --> 00:07:48,690 really liking working with. 76 00:07:48,830 --> 00:07:52,630 I think they're the Da Vinci brand. 77 00:07:55,290 --> 00:08:02,010 And I'm but I'm working my way towards starting to experiment with more professional 78 00:08:02,010 --> 00:08:08,670 grade paints and papers and here the application to spinning is pretty obvious. 79 00:08:09,710 --> 00:08:15,550 I beg I beg of you use the best materials and the tools that you can afford 80 00:08:15,550 --> 00:08:21,810 because it will make a huge difference to your spinning experience right from the beginning. 81 00:08:22,230 --> 00:08:28,930 And for heaven's sake, stop accepting gifts, and I put that term in quotation 82 00:08:28,930 --> 00:08:35,510 marks, of free fleeces and then feeling that you're being wasteful if you don't spin every bit of it. 83 00:08:35,930 --> 00:08:40,130 There are watercolors for sale that aren't light fast, and there is wool so 84 00:08:40,130 --> 00:08:43,430 packed with VM that it is not worth your time. 85 00:08:43,630 --> 00:08:49,030 So be kind to yourself, honor your time and energy, and just work with good stuff. 86 00:08:49,370 --> 00:08:51,470 Spinning is supposed to be fun. 87 00:08:53,151 --> 00:08:56,691 Number four, recycle your leftovers. 88 00:08:57,271 --> 00:09:02,631 So the exercise of making a large painting and then cutting out the parts of 89 00:09:02,631 --> 00:09:06,351 it that you like is going to produce some scraps, right? 90 00:09:06,791 --> 00:09:12,771 And Denise reminds us that those scraps can be just the thing to add to a collage. 91 00:09:12,891 --> 00:09:18,351 I've been doing some collage as well, and having some bits of painting projects 92 00:09:18,351 --> 00:09:23,571 to put in collages can really liven things up by adding texture and color, 93 00:09:23,611 --> 00:09:28,291 and it's probably color you already like since you've already used it in a painting. 94 00:09:29,151 --> 00:09:35,151 Last week I compared art bats to collages, so here again the application of 95 00:09:35,151 --> 00:09:40,411 this idea to spinning is a pretty straightforward one. 96 00:09:40,551 --> 00:09:45,511 Just save those little bits of fiber and use them on your drum carder or blending 97 00:09:45,511 --> 00:09:47,451 board or even your hand cards. 98 00:09:47,611 --> 00:09:53,691 I sort mine by color and keep all those little bits in big bins in my studio, 99 00:09:53,711 --> 00:09:59,231 and they're a great way to create really rich, complex color in your yarns. 100 00:10:02,231 --> 00:10:07,451 And finally, number five, let yourself love what you make. 101 00:10:08,071 --> 00:10:12,751 The last lesson I learned from Denise can be good advice for any maker, 102 00:10:12,771 --> 00:10:18,791 and one of the reasons that I find watching her classes so much fun is that 103 00:10:18,791 --> 00:10:21,431 Denise herself is having so much fun. 104 00:10:21,691 --> 00:10:27,071 She'll make a mark on the page and burst out laughing or say, 105 00:10:27,191 --> 00:10:29,911 I love that, or isn't that just beautiful? 106 00:10:31,371 --> 00:10:35,871 She's from Atlanta, so she has a Southern accent, which I am not trying to reproduce 107 00:10:35,871 --> 00:10:39,231 for you, but just imagine it in your head. 108 00:10:39,371 --> 00:10:44,231 In other words, she really lets herself love what she makes. 109 00:10:44,631 --> 00:10:50,391 And I think that we can hesitate to let ourselves just fall head over heels 110 00:10:50,391 --> 00:10:52,071 in love with our own creations. 111 00:10:52,511 --> 00:10:57,951 I know I did for years. I didn't trust my own skills and instincts, 112 00:10:57,951 --> 00:11:03,531 and only if someone else told me that they liked something I made did I feel 113 00:11:03,531 --> 00:11:08,071 that I had the permission to like it too. And how messed up is that? 114 00:11:08,791 --> 00:11:13,851 And when I think back on that version of myself, it actually makes me really sad. 115 00:11:14,531 --> 00:11:21,331 I know now that if I love it, that's enough. I don't need others to affirm my aesthetic choices. 116 00:11:21,871 --> 00:11:27,691 So just decide today that you are going to let yourself love what you make. 117 00:11:27,931 --> 00:11:32,011 That doesn't mean that you have to love every little thing about every project 118 00:11:32,011 --> 00:11:34,711 or that you're going to stop striving to get better. 119 00:11:34,891 --> 00:11:41,271 It just means that you're going to allow yourself to fully take in the joy of creating stuff. 120 00:11:42,871 --> 00:11:48,411 So to sum up the five lessons I've learned from painting classes with Denise 121 00:11:48,411 --> 00:11:56,411 Love are find ways to make getting started easier, make lots of things and iterate as you go, 122 00:11:56,991 --> 00:11:58,631 use good materials, 123 00:11:59,231 --> 00:12:04,091 use your leftovers, and let yourself love what you make. 124 00:12:04,391 --> 00:12:10,111 I hope you found these lessons give you some food for thought and that you experiment 125 00:12:10,111 --> 00:12:14,951 with them in your own practice. If you think of any other ways to apply these 126 00:12:14,951 --> 00:12:17,851 lessons to spinning, I would love to hear about them. 127 00:12:17,991 --> 00:12:23,651 And you can add them to the dedicated discussion thread in the flock where you 128 00:12:23,651 --> 00:12:27,671 can comment on this episode and discuss it with me and other listeners. 129 00:12:28,231 --> 00:12:33,991 The link is in the show notes for this episode, which you'll find right inside your podcast app. 130 00:12:34,251 --> 00:12:38,731 So just open up the description for this episode, click the link, 131 00:12:38,771 --> 00:12:41,391 and you'll be taken right to the thread. 132 00:12:42,771 --> 00:12:46,631 Darling Sheepspotter, that is it for me this week. 133 00:12:46,791 --> 00:12:53,151 Thank you so much for listening. I will be back next week with our first episode in March. 134 00:12:53,571 --> 00:13:00,111 All the podcasts in March are going to be about the plying and yarn structure 135 00:13:00,111 --> 00:13:05,331 pillar from the Pillars of Skillful Spinning, and you definitely do not want to miss them. 136 00:13:05,851 --> 00:13:10,931 While you're waiting, spin something. It's good for the soul. I promise.