Posted by
Meredith Heron
Saturday, May 26, 2012 4:02 PM EDT
I considered telling the fine people at HGTV.ca that I would be on unexpected vacation for DIY Month because, to be honest, me talking about DIY is a touch disingenuous. Just thinking about it always makes me debate the fine line between DIY and Art (or, if you will, "art").
Ink Series (2012) by Meredith Heron; unframed: $475, framed: $950
This is not to suggest that I disparage DIY — far from it. As you read in my previous blog, “Pinterest and the Contemporary Craft Movement: Is DIY a Dirty Word?," I am not and never have been anti-DIY, or DIY-phobic. It’s just that DIY can be pain-staking, and it’s almost always time-consuming. To that latter qualifier, I run a “time = money” design business that offers luxury services, and I have no choice but to be choosy about how I allot my hours, every day. Then again… I’m also a frugal type who has a hard time spending money on things I know that I could do myself. So, I’m pro-DIY after all. (I am always, if anything, a paradox.)
Recently, I was invited to attend Brimfield Antique Fair in Brimfield, MA as a guest of the divine design house Robert Allen, who were launching the most spectacular new line of fabrics, in Neutrals (Note: If you think you know Neutrals, you do not, because this line redefines it). Better than elegant, this line is also extremely affordable, which, you won’t be surprised to hear, thrills me to bits.
But I’m not here to write about Robert Allen (at least, not today). Wandering about the Brimfield Fair, I discovered a wonderful booth that was selling wood blocks for block printing.
Wood blocks, for printing. I loves me some paisley! Big plans for these, people — big big big.
I bought a lot of these blocks, because I not only love block-printed fabric but also am deluded enough to think that I can do block-printed fabric myself. My plan: Make a few pillows, work out the kinks, and then reproduce the prints digitally. (Bonus: The digital distro angle elevates this project from DIY Crafty to something more profound. I need a good name for this, something catchy and marketable. Help me in the Comments!)
It’s Friday as I write this post, and I have a big photoshoot next Wednesday. My delusion extends to (but does not stop at) believing that will have made up some of these fabrics and gotten the fabric to my seamstress — sewing, I always delegate — to make into pillows, before the shoot. No one will disagree that I am ambitious, correct?
No one but me, I suppose — because a nagging doubt has been creeping in. You see, while I’m a very artistic person, I am always trepidatious about actually calling myself an artist. I don’t want to offend those that I deem “true artists” (definition still pending).
Earlier this year, I was thrilled and mortified when, after seeing some pieces I painted for a Spa I designed [pictured at the top of this post, and below], a client commissioned a new series of ink paintings. My work was worthy of being displayed in someone’s home?! (Yes, that was both a question and an exclamation.) How much would I charge for it? That’s a question that I still have not answered. First off, there’s deciding what constitutes charging too much, and too little. Call it the Goldilocks scenario (well, except, I’m a redhead). Myriad crafty types offer their wares on Etsy and I’m often amazed that people will pay money for some of their, well, “art.” Yes, intentional scare quotes, and lower-case “a” — because a lot of this stuff feels rather, um, DIY. There I said it. Does that make me an art snob or am I just voicing what many people are thinking and are too afraid to say? (Surely, I need not remind you: You can speak your mind in the Comments!)
Now, I don’t want to squelch anyone’s dream of becoming an artist or something more creative and wonderful than they currently are. But let’s face it: Not everyone can be a capital-A artist, just like not everyone can be a (insert your specialized career of choice). Art is work, and dedication; just like any career. Hence my own doubts. I’m artistic, but am I an Artist?
Ink Series (2012) by Meredith Heron; unframed: $475, framed: $950
Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Fair enough. And let’s agree that the same applies to Art (and, “art”). We can all get along!
I’ll leave you today with a sneak peek at a new project of mine that has made me proud as punch (and will soon be published in a fabulous shelter magazine). I haven’t shared the How To because, frankly, it’s not something that just anyone can DIY. Skill, patience and an eye for the blending of colour, scale and proportion are needed.
Project “Kitchen Gorgeous”: hand-painted drapery; designed and painted by Meredith Heron
As I said: Art is work, and dedication — and whether or not DIY is Art, or “art,” it’s work, and dedication, too. Good luck to us, every one!
All images in today's post, by Meredith Heron
In the Comments, let us know where you draw the line between DIY and Art/“art,” and where you stand on Etsy merchants.
