fiberhart

Some Thoughts on January's TIF

First, I want to thank all those who left comments about my challenge piece, both here and on the Take It Further blog. It is always rewarding to get feedback on something you've created!

And, what I loved about this feedback was its specificity- in other words, it gave me specific information about what the viewers noticed. Some noticed how I used the colors, some the variation in lines. My favorites noted the texture I got with the use of both hand and machine stitching, and how the foreground colors changed depending on whether they were on light or dark background. Why did those please me? Because those were two 'questions' I asked myself with this piece, and those comments told me I'd answered them- and answered them successfully.

As I've tried to educate myself more on visual expression, it's become increasingly important to me to understand why something does or doesn't work. Being told that a work is nice, or beautiful, or any of a host of adjectives is fine, but doesn't give any information that can help me improve my work. So, I love comments that do help me learn. And, I try to give specifics when I comment on work I see in the blogs and websites I visit.

If you haven't visited the Take It Further blog, it will give a one-stop way to see the huge variety in how we all interpreted this challenge. There is some amazing work there, and challenge #2 starts Friday!