The Progress in Perfection

I am still working on finishing the snake-skin print dress, but noticed something when I tried it on again yesterday. I should have used black serger thread, instead of white, because with the knit fabric the serger thread shows through a little bit in the shoulders, because, as it turns out, I made them a wee bit too short, and so that area is stretched. So, what do I do now? As in all of my projects I am on a quest for perfection, which is a slippery slope. But it has always been this way. I am a commercial artist, which means that there are deadlines for things. I want, appreciate, and need the deadlines. I feel like that with a project, I can always continue to work on it, and make it better, but at some point it has to be finished. Am I just settling for good enough?

As I venture forward into sewing from Graphic Design, again I struggle with the same delema. With Graphic Design I have found ways to move through the process quickly, and fluidly, to get the project "done" sooner, so I do not have as many late nights or trips to the emergency room with an exact knife protruding from my thumb. I had a great conversation with my sister last night about these sorts of creative endeavors, and so I wonder, when are they ever really done?

I have a photo (reprint, of course) of Richard Avedon's, Dovima with Elephants, on my wall. When I saw the exhibit last year Ramon took a picture of me next to the real photo, set it to my phone number on his iPhone, and now looks at it fondly whenever I call. I look happy in the picture that Ramon took, because I feel like I am standing next to my favorite (if I had one) celebrity. Since the first moment that I saw that image, when I was 17 in the public library, in Richard Avedon's book "Evidence," it has moved me. I think of it as the epitome of beauty, and classic elegant grace, perfectly balanced. A few years ago I bought a second copy of the book just to carefully exacto knife out the image, and frame it.

What really gets me though, is that this image, that is my favorite photograph of all time, and one of my favorite pieces of modern art (top 3), Avedon always felt was a failure! How can this be? Well, Dovima's white sash, see it softly at an angle to her body? Well, he felt that it should have been blowing slightly more to the side.



And what about McQueen? Did he look at his own works of art and find failures? I am sure that he did. Clearly, he was a perfectionist too, but when did he decide done was done? When the models were stepping out onto the runway? His beautiful and sometimes extravagant works of art we see as beauty complete, and I am sure that he probably felt that some of there were that way, but not, impossibly, all. How did he know when to quit, and move onto the next thing? As I only have a very limited view into McQueen's public life, I can only speculate about his private and creative one. Genius as he was, he to worked by deadlines: Spring and Fall.

Maybe he never did quit, and that is why his garments were always art, not mere clothing. While the seasons defined a step, and shaped the journey, they also kept him searching for perfection, something which I don't think any type of artist can ever achieve. Oh McQueen, why did you have to leave us so soon? I was enjoying the show.

Back in my own show, I have a few routes that I can take with my snake-print dress.
1. Start over from scratch, and use black serger thread this time.
2. Cut out the shoulder seem, and use black serger thread to put in a 1" block, making the shoulder a little wider.
3. Decide that it is time to move onto the next project, get out a black sharpie, carefully color the thread, and finishing the bindings.

I think that we're going to go with #3. I think it is time to take what I have learned, and get started on the next thing. I mean, thanks to the bargain bin, this is a $3.00 dress after-all.