Ugly Cats

June 4, 2020 9:34 am Published by EverEden Leave your thoughts

 

A lot of people have been getting into arts and crafts because they’re staying home: Corona BS. I got into the most recent project for other reasons, but it still passed the time and added some focus.

I like art. I like to paint and sculpt. I like contrasts and gradients and shading and different types of effects made by brushes. I like compostion, I like meaning and attempting to understand what the artist was trying to express. I like symbology, I like sizable pieces, I like many types of styles.

Last month I realised I hate craft.

Fuck craft. It’s stupid. It’s finicky, time consuming and too expensive.

Why the hell did I choose to do it? Because I wanted to try something different and needed to take my mind of other things. Do I regret it? I don’t think so, but I’m still unsure.

I decided to make some cats out of wool. I knew I could do it, I’m good at stuff, all of the art stuffs, so I knew the end result would be at least be acceptable. I originally wanted to make one for my mum for Mother’s Day since her other gift wouldn’t get there in time. It took me a couple of days off and on and it cost money, frustrated tears and blood. Yes, literal blood because you have to use a needle and on top of it being a sharp needle, it has freakn spikes on it so when it accidentally gets stabbed into your flesh it SUCKS. It also taught me to be more mindful and stick to one task because any time my thoughts wandered, I’d miss and hurt myself.

The first two “cats” I made were for my mum, and mums DGAF about how shit your art is. They like it because you made it. She said she liked them.

The first one looked like an angry kangaroo and the second looked like a weird Simba. Simba was my saving grace because it also kind of looked cat-like.

Then everything went downhill. I don’t know what happened exactly but now every single one starts as a vague cat but becomes a…thing. I’ve made an accidental gargoyle for my friend, I have made an angry “DAT” (dog/cat, I think it’s a dog but it might be an overly-muscular cat?) and others. I have a deranged cat army now. But looking at them all together, it’s pretty awesome. If someone else had made them, I’d have thought they were cool. They all have character, they’re all individual, all unique and handmade and I’d pay money for them. Each one takes about 5 hours depending on how much I’m raging when I stab the wool and sculpt shapes, and every single one has drawn at least SOME blood. #hardcore #rockon

So, they are worth something somehow because they took time, they’re unique and someone dedicated a chunk of their life to make them.

It’s like writing novels and generally how my art goes. I have an idea and it changes over time. If there’s a twist or something doesn’t go the way I planned, I modify it and usually keep within the general outline/goal of what I originally planned, with two exceptions. If I’m dedicated to getting a specific result, then I restart or work at it until I get what I originally wanted. The other exception is if the new idea is too good to go back. EG: When I made the accidental gargoyle. Its face was not going to be brought back from the brink and suddenly become a cute kitty so I shrugged, added wings and started changing other features and adding more colour to make it an even better gargoyle creature instead.

I see a lot of “what ifs?” from writers/performers and artists just starting out or trying something new. Sometimes there will be a project you probably should just scrap- it might not be the time, maybe you’re not the person who should be writing it yet, but often the project is just needing some tweaking or a new direction to become something even better. Don’t be afraid to see where your art or story takes you. It’s not a waste of time even if you don’t end up using it, because you’re practicing skills. Sometimes projects get left aside until the right time. That could mean that you become more experienced or qualified to write the idea better or that the market/social opinion has created a niche for your subject etc.

In martial arts (and I suspect a lot of other things like it) it apparently takes 500-1000 repetitions of certain movements to develop muscle memory and execute without much thought. Writing is the same. The more you do it, the faster you become at constructing effective sentences as well as editing yourself before you send it to a professional or submit it somewhere. Nothing you write is a waste of time.

Always create. Sometimes you will get to a place that’s just as good as your original idea, or even better…and if you don’t get what you originally wanted…at least you’ll have an army of ugly cats?

TLDR:

*Don’t be afraid to make a mistake when you’re creating.
*Sometimes mistakes are better than your original idea.
*Everthing is experience and practise.
*I made ugly cats. Want me to gift you one? Wanna buy one? HMU 😀 

 

 

 

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All content is no copyright infringement intended. All posts are opinion only and are subject to change due to experience, kicking ass and learning how to adult more effectively. If you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. Elements of original content may be reproduced with expressed permission from Ever Eden.

 

 

 

Tags: art, arts and crafts, bored, Canadian cock, cats, cc, character, craft, creative, creativity, depressed, editing, expression, felt, gargoyle, gifts, martial arts, modify, muscle memory, sad, symbology, time, ugly, ugly cats, write advice