Unfinished business….

I’ve been creatively stagnant for some time now, and tying to figure out why…

My creative paralysis is certainly not due to a lack of ideas. For instance, I’ve been gathering images of mechanical pinball backglass art for a series of 36×24 canvases I want to paint. I’d also like to pay homage to a massive insignia collection I inherited, by sharing the art, people and histories associated with each through social media. And then there’s a community engagement project involving some old wall murals I’ve been trying to realize, which would revitalize an old architectural gem and by extension the town it is located in.

Time, or lack thereof, is at least partly to blame. With a full-time job and long list of things that need doing when I am not at the office, it’s rare when I allow myself a few hours for making. On those occasions when I do so, I become frozen by too many choices, afraid to commit to working on any one thing, old or new.

Disorganization plays a role too. Until recently, my supplies were stashed in the most out-of-the-way places around my house. It would take me so much time to find what I needed to start a project that I would resort to buying these items instead. Realizing how wasteful this habit is, I have been getting better about only buying what I need, when I need it, and keeping everything stored in one [okay maybe two] easily accessible places.

It was during my most-recent attempt at organization that I ‘re-discovered’ a number of projects which I had set aside before completing.  Among my discoveries were a number of Calvin & Hobbes embroidered appliques for a custom guitar strap, a series of ‘Tribute’ painted denim jackets featuring the Dead’s ‘Blues for Allah’, Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’, and The Ramones ‘Rocket to Russia’, and one embroidered, embellished Wedding Jacket which is part homage to the great Nudie and Manuel, and an embroidered piece featuring of some of my all-time favorite albums.

I’ve been carrying the ‘Top 9’ around for so long its moved with me to 4 different states, is older than my marriage, and saw my babies grow into adults. The piece took me almost 15 years to complete, after which the individual squares were stored for a few years before I got around to piecing them together. Then I rolled that piece up and put it aside, nestled between two pieces of fabric that I swear I will – eventually – make something out of, before being found again.

Now that the ‘Top 9’ is out of hiding I can cross it off my unfinished project list, because I finally took the embroidery my framer, where it now sits in her unfinished projects pile (at least for a few more weeks). I can’t wait to see it matted and framed, ready to hang on a wall in my home, looking just like I imagined it would so many years ago. One down, so many unfinished projects left to complete.

How about you? Do you struggle with finishing your creative projects? How do you get over the roadblocks? And what kind of things are you dreaming of making? Drop me a line. I’d love to know.

Unfinished Business – Megan Burtt