Stitch by Stitch - Intention

I was down with a terrible flu for the past few days. My body was telling me to stop working and just hibernate for a few days, basically mend myself until I am ready to get moving again. I think the signs were there - I was feeling a little under on Friday and yet I still went for my morning walk even though it wasn't the right thing to do. I had stuck to the notion that exercise is healthy but I wasn't in the pink of health, so it definitely was not healthy to make that move!

By Saturday, it was really downhill - I had to cancel appointments, one of my residency sessions with the secondary school, and even a panel discussion. It took me about 5 days to recover. There wasn't any medicine, except to sleep and sleep even more. So, all my art projects are on hold until I have a clearer mind of what I am doing.

Intention

I like to think my life as being something that is lived with intention, but sometimes it is just one mad rush that we forget that it should be.  I was invited to be one of the artists at Creative Mornings Singapore (27 July).  It was a great honour to be displaying my work alongside the following amazing artists: Vix Harris , whose beautiful artwork looks at the empowerment of women across cultures and backgrounds; Hanna Mi Kim who draws amazing paintings and drawings; and Nandita Mukhand, who I have admired for a long time as her sculptures are incredible.   The guest lecturer that morning was Namiko Chan Takahashi, and her words of wisdom on "intention" resonated with me. How can we create a piece of artwork or even communicate our ideas to someone without intention? And where does intention come from? It has to come from your heart - do you really mean it?

Slow Stitched Letter

Have you ever written a heartfelt message to a loved one? Would it be better to type it out in an email, whatsapp, or put pen to paper? A friend recently asked for some input about how she was doing and wanted to get honest feedback from all her friends. She decided the best way was to get it through the traditional snail mail. What was supposed to be a  handwritten letter ended up being a handstitched letter to my friend.  The process of slow stitch allowed me to carefully plan out what I wanted to say to my friend, knowing that she would appreciate the thought and intent behind the letter.  It was short and sweet, but I got my message across.

Finding My Inner Tortoise

That's how you live with intention. Everyone has an inner tortoise; it's in there, but everyone has a FOMO (fear of missing out) that we continuously chase the hair instead. A friend once said that her life felt as though she was running after a finishing line but she wasn't really sure what the race she was part of was about. Do you sometimes feel that way with your art work?

My first decision to slow down was last year, and I decided to share it when I was invited to contribute an essay to The Birthday Book 2018 "The Roads We Take".   I hope many will realise the importance of slowing down in life - not only is it good for our work, but for family and health. Will you find your own inner tortoise?

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Finding your inner tortoise through stitch
For me my inner tortoise is related to slow stitch, watching needle move up and down and seeing how the piece progresses.  You can slow down through repair and upcycling:

a) Repair Sewcial -

1 Sept, 2 - 5pm, $50 per person
Venue -  Marinate, 6 Ubi Road 1, Wintech Centre, #05-13, S(408726)
Sign up - https://marinate.weebly.com/reservations.html

23 Sept 2-5pm, $50 per person (includes a cup of Sarnies coffee)
Venue - The Fashion Pulpit, Liang Court
Sign up - https://peatix.com/event/421942/

b) Restyle Your Wardrobe Upcycling Workshops - $95 per person
Sign up for 16 Sept or 21 Oct (1pm - 5.30pm)
Venue - FashionMaker Space