Page 47 - The Digital Cloth Issue 7

When I create a textile collage, I leave
everything behind and escape into my
creative world. The walls of my art studio are
covered with sketches, watercolors, painted
fabrics and my daughters’ artwork. The
massive studio table is my prized possession,
designed and built for me by my husband. It is
usually a huge mess, covered in my obsession
of the moment and many works in progress.
Having this dedicated space for creativity
encourages me to play—and to work—on my
creative practice.
Collaging fills me with joy and energy. When
I create and tinker, I slip out of my busy adult
brain into a child mind free to just play.
Whether I’m there for 15 minutes or three
hours, I go back to my life feeling calmer and
more alive. It’s all about asking questions
instead of having answers. “What does this
shape remind me of?” “How do these textures
play off one another?” “What’s missing?” I let
my inner response make decisions instead of
my logical mind.
As we are coping with a global pandemic,
many of have felt lost in a monotonous
cycle with the discouraging sense that we
are “stuck” or life is on hold. We can retreat
into creative play, where something new can
always happen. When making art, we
transform uncertainty into creative energy
and possibility as we experiment. By staying
with the process, we find solutions to the
problems that always arise when creating
anything new. Acting out my creative
process has inspired me to keep working with
the changes and uncertainty of this time—to
“stay with it.” As I work to create a new sense
Sara Kay Hartmann
of normal for myself and my family, being
in the studio helps me with life outside the
studio and keeps me focused on beauty and
magic in the world. I am drawn to subjects
from nature such as butterflies, flowers, and
mushrooms. Creating textile art transforms
these bits of everyday inspiration into patches
of beauty I can hold with my hands. Anyone
can create in this way. It is about adopting
an attitude of being creative, not about any
particular skill or talent. Maybe you’d like to
try it too.