Phases in my process

What struck me, was that I worked on the series in two distinctly different phases. A fast phase, which lasted about four months, and a slow phase, which took around ten months. All in all, more than a year! I remember that when I started this series, I had a very different perspective on it. I thought the work would be finished much sooner.

The thought that it could be possible to work faster is a recurring one when I’m creating my work. That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to list the characteristics of the differences in working pace.

Speed is a relative concept

When I start a piece, I often work fast. But speed is a relative concept. In my experience, hand sewing is generally not a particularly fast technique. Compared to drawing, painting or collage, it takes much longer to create a piece of the same size using needle and thread.

At the same time, the time I spend on the actual sewing is rarely the deciding factor in how long it takes me to finish a piece. There are other factors in the process that determine whether a piece comes together quickly or slowly.

To me, the characteristics that determine that the work goes fast are as follows:

• I’m somewhat obsessed with the work and find it hard to let go
• I don’t think a lot about the choices I make
• Decisions are made intuitive (which fabrics, which thread, which colour)
• I quickly put ideas into practice
• I work on a single project/piece/series

Natural pause

After working like this for a while, I often reach a point where I put the work aside for a bit; a natural pause. After that, I often continue at a slower pace. Sometimes the work lies untouched for a few weeks, but when I pick it up again, the pace is slower as well.

The characteristics of this slower pace are something like this:

• I think (carefully) about the steps I want to take.
• This makes me more aware of how my interventions affect the bigger picture.
• I let the work rest more often.
• Projects/pieces/series take turns.

When I compare the amount of sewing I do during the slow phase, with the amount I do during the fast phase of my process, the contrast is quite striking. Looking back at the progression of the series ‘The Geometry of Joy’, I can safely say that the work was almost finished in the four ‘fast’ months and that I spent the following ten ‘slow’ months making subtle additions and alterations.

Still, it’s not the case, that the changes the pieces went through in the last 10 months, could have been left out. They may be smaller and more subtle, but in a way they are essential to the work. During the slow phase a piece of work goes through, the idea, theme or titles of the artworks become clearer, partly because I don’t want to rush.

Then my thoughts on the pieces merge with the artworks themselves, and obviously that takes a lot of time!

Have you ever noticed anything unusual about your own process?

I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Feel free to leave a comment.

If you’d like to stay informed or read about my work every now and then, you are welcome to subscribe to my newsletter