hmmmmmm where to begin with all the thoughts circling in my head. i just finished catching-up on some blog posts which always leads to links to other blogs and new information and new work and new inspiration .. which results in thoughts circling in my head.
megan auman has been posting from the SNAG (society of north american goldsmiths) conference. this is an organization i had never heard of before meeting megan at the ACC show or before reading her blog. she provides links to some amazing work!! but the thing that really has my mind spinning is the link to annie's blog and her post that touches on the undercurrent of mixed feelings that i mentioned experiencing at the ACC show regarding the "old" crafters and the "new wave" or "indie" or "alt" crafters. -- it is all quite fascinating, and yet i must admit i feel somewhat disconnected from the whole thing - almost like i have no right to even have an opinion because i am so new to the scene and also because i am coming at it from an entirely different background.
IT also makes me think about my run the other morning. i was running around one of the many lakes that are nestled into the city of minneapolis and during the span of a few minutes, i would see 2 airplanes decending towards the airport, coming in at slightly different angles and probably 20-30 seconds apart. at the same time, i could see another plane off in the distance making its circle, in line to make its own decent. a minute or two later that distant plane was suddenly one of the 2 decending planes and the cycle continued .. on and on - probably all day. for some reason this struck me. it was a glimpse and an illustration of the many many networks and systems and mini-worlds that exist simultaneously every minute of every day. happening in contrast or in relation to or entirely oblivious of something else. i realize that my city is small in comparison to other cities in the world, and it is large in comparrison to others - but i sometimes can't get my mind around the fact that this world is so HUGE.
THERE are so many people, so many things, so many ways of doing and being and making. so many ideas .... so many ideas. some that are fresh, but mostly those that recycle, resee, and reuse snipits of other ideas. it is daunting and yet it is also welcoming ... particularly when thinking about making things. i approach making things from a design background - which (for me) is a problem-solving exercise made up of a series of decisions. there are endless ways and endless solutions, but it is one's own series of decisions that leads them to their end result. it is their skill-set and accumulated life experience and education that enables them to execute their decisions - it is their own path and process that enables them to execute their design and define their craft. i don't know how that fits into the craft world - or where that puts me in struggle between old and new/trained and alternative ... i don't know what it means for me or my work or where it will fit best in the marketplace -- but it is my approach and that is what i have to work with.
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