Under the influence of TV, that is. I put it on simply to break up the silence, but to my surprise, Saturday Night Live is actually funny tonight. I haven’t been able to relegate it to the background like I’d planned. Maybe it’s because of where I am in my own life at this particular moment (ahem), but I nearly bust a gut laughing at the Annuale “commercial” – the pill that gives you only one period a year. Cracked me up. And that’s all I’ll say about that 
.
So tonight was the Synergy banquet, and since I can’t possibly go anywhere special without something new to wear, I was compelled to make a skirt and necklace set last week. The necklace is unlike what I usually make myself. I’m generally all about the simple pendant, but something told me to try a more chunky look. I think I like it. I used some of the canes that I made at the clayathon last month.
The skirt is another Sew What! Skirts-inspired A-line elastic-waist, and I made it longer & more triangular like my Valentine’s Day skirt. (Actually, I think this skirt is even longer than that one.) I tried adding bands of contrasting fabric along the bottom, and while I like the way it looks, I’m not entirely sure I did it “right.” I think there was probably a better way to construct it. That’s ok. I’m learning a lot about sewing by using this trial-and-error approach.
So. Synergy. I gather you’d like me to talk a little about the experience? I had planned to. I considered going into some details about the seminars I took, the panels I observed, the people I met, but the more I think about it, the less I feel like doing that. I’m not much of a reporter and a lousy reviewer. There are other bloggers who are going to do a much more thorough job of it than I can. If you aren’t already, I suggest you keep an eye on Polymer Clay Daily and Polymer Clay Notes for the next week or so. Also, feel free to check out my flickr photos. I really didn’t take all that many, but what I did take is there for the looking.
What I would like to talk about is a question that the conference raised for me – maybe you’d like to chime in with your own thoughts, whether you were at Synergy or not. I’d enjoy a dialogue if you’re up for it. Here’s the question [and a fabulous pair of earrings by Kathleen Dustin]:
There was much discussion about craftsmanship, about finding your artistic voice, and creating art that has a message of some kind. The point was made that a piece can be a gorgeous, impeccably finished piece, but if it doesn’t have something to say, it falls flat. Most of the well-established artists appeared to be in agreement on that point. But I am not sure I get it. I wonder what, exactly, does an earring have to say? Or a button? Is it not enough to be attractive, well-designed and expertly-crafted? Does it really need to tell a story? Maybe I misunderstood the point. Or maybe that is just the difference between real artists and the rest of us: a true artist can craft an expressive earring, and someone like me just makes a pretty one. And I’m not putting the latter type down – I happen to like pretty. It just lacks the depth to be considered art. That’s one theory, anyway. Any thoughts on this?
All-told, I came away from the conference full of ideas for improving my work. I have been relatively complacent for some time now, enjoying the fact that I can whip up a tile pendant in less than an hour, using canes from my library. But the seminars I took, and even more than that, the incredible work I saw up-close this weekend are making me feel like I really could do impressive things with just a few changes to my construction and design processes. For the first time, I think maybe I would like to take those extra steps and see where they take me.
But first, I think I need a day to nap 