february 7th, 2005
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what i sent to pluckyfluff for her book, more proofreading needed (but jason helped for a few valuable minutes, he's so good at writing) but didn't have the time so sent it off "as is":

ana voog's advice to the freeform crocheter:

freeform is about not following premade patterns and is about creating things as you go along.
in my experience, one of the most common questions i hear from those who wish to learn to freeform is "how can i create exactly what i envision in my head?"
the answer to that question is that it isn't very often that an artist can make exactly what they see in their head (for so many reasons too long to cover here). so the sooner you can let go of your expectations for something to be what you want it to be, the more the act of creation will flow and take you on a journey of exploration.
instead of asking "how can i make this be what i see in my head" ask "what will happen if i let this be what it wants to be?". strangely, one of the best ways to do this is to leave in all your mistakes and incorporate them in! i like to call mistakes "beautiful accidents" or serendipity. almost everything i have ever made has lead me to a better place than i thought i wanted to be when i left in the mistakes :)

the best way i can decribe this to you is through allegory.

freeforming is like building a house very slowly (but you build the house like a bee or a coral reef, one stitch at a time). imagine that you are building your planned house so slowly that trees start sprouting up inside (trees=beautiful accidents). rather than pullling up the trees, you allow them to grow; it is your plans that may change - not the trees... build around, and with, their contributions. imagine that soon you have a lot of trees (and maybe even a few owls) and so the floor plans have to be rearranged as you go, so much so that the entire house is now a different shape than you had originally planned.
holes have to be cut through floors to allow the trees to grow. branches start growing through the rooms and you realize that it's growing in a way that is perfect for you to hang your clothes on... or maybe it's a long branch custom made to put your feet up on.
the symetrical spiral staircase you envisioned now careens gracefully in a organic manner. your house is even more spectacular than you initially imagined; you have reached a point where you can no longer imagine a house without these trees. the "mistakes" actually took you on a journey you did not expect and you learned more about architecture than you would have learned if you had stuck to your original plans. perhaps your house isn't even a house anymore but a treefort or a spaceship?

this is how i make my creations, whether i am crocheting, painting, photographing, or writing music :) and my way is certainly not the only way! i just share with you what i know :) take what bits you like and resonate with and discard the rest.

you do not need to have any special skill to freeform. 99% of all my hats are created by using only the single stitch! any shape you imagine can be created and the more you practice the more you will get the hang of it. don't be discouraged if what you make doesn't meet your expectations.
the 1st thing i made looked like a crazy lopsided gourd! but i just let it be that and it ended up being a very cool gourd-like hat :)

say what you make looks like a sad pancake. that's GOOD! go with it :) make a sad pancake hat! maybe even make lots of sad pancakes and then hook them all up together and see what THAT looks like and where that will take you! it's all good :)
allow your "mistakes" take you on adventures!

instead of saying "what IS that? it's not what i expected" say "what could this BE? what would happen if...". maybe you started out making a hat but it really wants to be a purse. or maybe sometimes it just wants to be a sculpture or a bedspread of a piece to a sweater you will create a year from now.

if you ever end up being really truly stumped by what you are making and you can't even bear to look at it anymore, put it away for awhile and come back to it. some things that i thought were the ugliest things i have ever made and could never be salvagable 6 months later end up being "the missing link" to some other creation i am making and they are my best work. sometimes pieces to 3 separate things made over a years time end up being part of the same project later.
sometimes it helps to put it out somewhere where you can look at it and ponder on it for a few days or weeks. the beauty of crochet is that, like painting, you can crochet over it.
sometimes what you make will simply end up being the base for something else!
embroider over it, crochet over it, stick it the the wash and felt it, dye it, maybe even paint over it!
there are NO rules! not even anything i have said here :)

for me, freeform is about loving the process, the journey. it's not about getting anywhere in particular but immersing yourself in the process of "now", which is from where the well of creativity springs.
it's about letting go of all expectations and just being. don't worry about making things the "right" way, make things YOUR way! want to know how to connect different pieces? connect them however you want! connect with single stitch or another stitch, sew them together, heck, glue them together if you want to! there is no right or wrong way. it's all about discovery and FUN!

i will say that if you are creating a outfit to fit you or someone else, it really helps to have a dressform (or an equivelent, for example you can make a duct tape dummy and there are many places on the internet with instructions on how to do this). when i make my hats , i use a rubber head that is used for hairstylists to learn their craft. i like it because it's rubber so i can tack pieces to it, and i've found that it is the closest to the real average human head. fashion mannequin heads, from my experience, are on the small side and are not realistic for the average human head. (and i am a very small person at only 5' 2")

also don't worry about using the right colours or not. if YOU like the colours together then those are the right colours! follow your instinct! your instinct will never do you wrong! and remember that what YOU like will not always be what everyone likes. that is why there is no right or wrong! there is only what is right or wrong for YOU, in regards to creating :)

just give it a try and see for yourself! don't take my word for it, experience it in your own way.
you have nothing to lose and everything to gain :) at the very worst, you will make a sad pancake hat with soul. and have HUMOUR in all you do! that is ALSO essential! i can't believe i almost forgot to mention that and i say this at the very end. laugh at your sad pancake hat like you laugh at your dog who sleeps upside down. after all is said and done, it is things like these which are the most precious bits to life :)

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name: ana clara voog
creates: one of a kind freeform crochet hats and other things
site: www.anacam.com/hats
hat journal: anavoog.livejournal.com
inspiration: sea creatures, science fiction, plants, dreams

 

7:20pm

 

6:50pm

went on the bicycle type thing for 20 minutes because the treadmills were taken.
it was horribly depressing there in today because one of the anorexia women was clearly beating herself up about something today and was on the stairmaster just working out almost violently.
i just wanted to run over there and push her off of it and scream "STOP KILLING YOURSELF!"
fuck, so depressing and harsh. and you can't really intervene, or can you?
it just made me feel very confused and twisted up inside because i felt so helpless to stop her.

4:49pm

the pluckyfluff hat for her book:

she likes it!
*HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF*! :)

i've just been working on those photos all day.
i took a ton. i told her if she wanted any adjustments to either the photos or the hat, let me know. and told her many other options i could do.

now jason is on his way home, i have to get all this make up off me and take a bath. then it's off to the treadmill.

i'll see if i have time tonight to hook up cam #2.
but mostly tonight i think i will be working on writing a page about freeform crochet for her book so i can get that to her tonight.

i'm just trying to get a lot of things done today....
more later.

 

 

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Horoscope for Aries (February 7 2005)

You may think you are prepared for what's to come, but this time a little extra effort will go a long way. You will be surprised by the hold-ups that appear out of nowhere. Have an alternative plan ready.

and

You have probably already made your choice to ride the incoming waves and now that you are in motion, it really doesn't seem quite as overwhelming. This isn't to say that things are easy, for you've got some work ahead of you and you know it. Regardless of the actions of others, you have the capability to transform your love into something greater than it already is.

and

Mental effort **
Be careful how you talk to others today. Your energy level is very high, and you tend to identify your ego very closely with your ideas and opinions, so that you are quick to take offense. You have great capacity for mental effort today, but if any obstacle gets in the way of your energies, you will quickly become angry and irritable. And you are not likely to keep your irritation to yourself. There is considerable danger of arguments and disputes, particularly at home or at work. When you look back at this later, you may realize that there was nothing to argue about except egos; no real issues were at stake. But if you have to fight for your beliefs, today is the day to do it. You are sufficiently strong to carry your point of view.