Confession

I have a confession to make. I am not motivated to work on our current challenge. I have several other projects which I am much more excited about and I'd much rather be working on.

However, I'm committed to my Twelve by Twelve compatriots so every now and then I make sure I give our theme a little attention. Last night I even drew a cartoon for it n(and by cartoon, I mean a drawing which I'll be working from as a sort of pattern, not a comic interpretation). 

My process is not unlike the one Helen so eloquently laid out a few posts back. I start with thoughts and words and associations drawn. Could I create a work that is maverick? That is "outside the box?" No, that would be pretty cocky for me to assume I could do. How about an homage to a maverick in the quilt world (since our medium is quilts after all)? I'm thinking in particular, people like Nancy Crow, Michael James, Gwen Marston, Joe Cunningham, and Susan Shie. I consider all these creators to be mavericks because of the ways their work veered away from quilting customs and paved the way for those of us who are following. But in my opinion, doing a portrait or a piece in the style of any of these people would be derivative, and that is in my mind neither free thinking or outside convention (definitions of maverick).

So, I'll have to approach a maverick in a different way. I'm looking to the original meaning and drawing  from the meaning of branding and herds. I'm also using my previous work as a jumping off point. I often find that part of my process is to wait until the muse hits, and while I don't want to put this off until the last minute, I'm not rushing to force it. I'm pleased with the groundwork I've laid, and can envision a satisfying solution. There's some room though along the way to wander off the path I've beaten.