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Oh the laces you’ll go when you’re distracted

by | Apr 5, 2013 | Art Discourse, Creative Process, Crochet, Design, Doily, Fabricating, Found Objects, Inspiration, Installation, Maker, Metalworker, Production, Sculpture, Vancouver

We are to understand that being distracted is bad, and being focused is good.  Being focused will get the job done while being in the moment is not productive — productivity being the cornerstone of our prevailing Protestant work ethic.

I’m aware that it is absurd to continue measuring our national wellness by Gross Domestic Product stats and I deeply respect those ER and childcare workers who must rely on their mental agility to withstand chaotic conditions but if I’m not at least working toward producing something I start wondering why I’m even here.

I’ve been forced to think about the virtues of making over the last several weeks as life trumped my fastidious little production schedule. The best I could do was grab a few moments to watch from the sidelines, or catch a glimpse of work by other producers, like Eastern-Canadian metal sculptor Cal Lane whose Gutter Snipes show at Grunt Gallery wound up last week. Lane, known for wielding an oxy-acetylene torch and scrambling around 2,000-gallon oil tanks, is my kinda hands-on gal.

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Photo from grunt.ca

She shows serious devotion to her work of imposing filigree patterns into found, often rusted industrial materials. It’s the kind of demanding work ethic that recharges my productivity urge, but under the circumstances I had to park that and be content surfing over reviews of her work, her other shows and other collaborators, and soon, other expressions of lace as a pattern.
I’m sure that much has been written about the importance of going on a mental/physical/emotional hiatus, but I usually file that reading for later and get back to the job at hand. That’s probably a sign that I may be overdosing on a devotional practice.

Since I couldn’t get down to any real work I did a lot of image-surfing between things. This image of the artist’s Burnt Lawn installation (right) reminds me that my serious focus can narrow the visual field.

Focusing on not focusing so much is a bit of a trial for me but I’m trying to resist the production compulsion and ride the Googleverse free-form a little more, enjoying the discussion on a related show, Lace in Translation, at Philadelphia University or viewing an interview with Lane at Grunt Gallery (at right).
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Lane’s ‘Burnt Lawn’ at The Design Center at Philadelphia University, 2010
And then I did what was only possible due to the distractedness of the last few weeks: I sat back and did nothing but watch a 12-minute video made for a 2009 exhibition of re-imagined manufactured lace that plays in the space between art and production.  Time well wasted.

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Kerry Polite photo, from The Design Center

Lace Fence, galvanized PVC-coated wire, by Demakersvan, 2009. 16 panels: 152’W x 6.5’H