Motivational Musings Antoinette Perez Motivational Musings Antoinette Perez

Craft vs. Art

““He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.””
— Francis of Assisi

In 2010, I participated in an Austin Fashion week runway show, showcasing recycled clothing. About 25 designers shared one to four pieces each, every garment made from recycled materials. I’d been sewing not quite four years, but had spent much of that time exploring the limits and themes of discarded clothing -- turning something unwanted into something desirable.

By runway day, I'd completed two garments: one followed a familiar dress silhouette and construction, made of black denim, and incorporated about seven zippers; the other, sewn from khaki trousers, was completely improvised, from beginning to end, covered in cargo pockets.

The black denim dress was simple to put together, as I'd made similar dresses from patterns for years. This gave me a chance to spend time figuring out where and how I would attach the zippers for most visual appeal.

The khaki dress was a discovery all along the way. When I cut the legs off the first pair of khakis, I realized that if I turned it upside down, what was originally the waistband would make a perfect hem to the skirt for a dress. And those pleats on the front, hideous as they might look as khakis, created a perfect fullness as a skirt. Cut, pin, sew. Eyeball. Cut, pin, sew. After a very different process, my second dress dress was done.

After fittings and styling, it was runway day. (BTW I finally understood a tiny bit of how contestants on Project Runway must feel — a simple and potent combination of pride, exhaustion, and terror!)

The moment the black denim dress came down the runway, I felt a surge of pride I could sum in one sentiment: "I made that!” The model walked with her left hand on her hip, as we’d agreed, to highlight those perfect, parallel rows of recycled zippers. I remember thinking how lucky I'd been to be so familiar with that dress shape, so that I could focus on this set of details. The polite applause validated my sense of handcraft and attention to finishing.

Next, the khaki dress came down the runway. All I heard was silence. In a moment of panic, I looked to make sure my model didn’t have a wardrobe malfunction. Nope. Blood rushed to my face. Why wasn’t anyone making noise? I noticed several people pointing to my dress, and appearing to hold their breath. They had just figured out that the bottom of the skirt was the waistband, and the rounded tulip shape was made from the pleated front of the original khakis. Finally, murmurs of recognition, followed by vigorous applause. 

It wasn’t until I saw this quote that I thought of my runway experience, and the lesson I learned about craft vs. art. Craft is good and respectable. It requires a sense of patience and discipline, and the proverbial devil really is in the details. People relate to the care and love that goes into craft.

But art. Art is visceral, in my experience, both as a creator and as a receiver. It is more forgiving of technique, more tolerant of experimentation. It celebrates intuition and passion. It can bring insight, challenge what you think you see, and take your breath away.

Can one piece encompass both art and craft? Yes. But it was good for me to experience that there is a difference.

Here's a link to a few casual shots we took before the show, but I relied on the pro photog to take shots on the runway... and he did... and now I have no idea where that album is.

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Motivational Musings Antoinette Perez Motivational Musings Antoinette Perez

Think Bigger

“Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger.”
— Tony Hsieh, Founder, Zappos.com

Or don’t. ;)

Bigger can be amazing! But bigger is not always better, and I say that as a Texan. By mindlessly pursuing “bigger,” you could ignore values that influence your current success and satisfaction.

At least once a week, I see a major news story about middle-class Americans — often middle class American women, specifically — who “want it all”:

  • a happy and successful family
  • a strong marriage / personal partnership
  • a thriving career
  • perfect mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, and
  • an ideal balance between all these things and everything else their hearts desire. 

After all, don’t we all deserve the biggest life we can imagine? In reality, bigger is not necessarily better. There are trade-offs, because the fixed constant is time: 24 hours each day, every day. As we make more investments (of time, money, energy) in our increasingly bigger lives, we will eventually reap diminishing returns on our investments.

I also see businesspeople who are consistently challenged to think bigger and grow bigger. They create a massive to-do list that stresses them out, and over time this stress spills over, onto the rest of their team. Because any growing business cycles through the law of diminishing returns, they get frustrated when their higher level of investment in the business is not producing significantly higher levels of results. After some reflection, some say that they wished they had done a better job of balancing their desire for lots of personal time with the to-do list for massive business growth. Others share that they chased the goal of bigger without any regard for what was truly important to them.

So I never assume bigger is better.

And yet, here are some ways I can flow with this quote:

  1. Think bigger just to see how big your idea can go. Does that excite you? Does it make you want to shake trees and make it happen? Is your team and your family on board with this vision? Yes? Then go get it.
  2. Think bigger as a contrast to the way things are now, and explore the gap in between. Even if that huge thing is not exactly where you want to go, maybe there's a spot in between that looks like a good growth goal.
  3. Invite your work team / family / friends to think bigger, together. A dream board is a great way to think really big, while deciding later what kind of timeline you might put on it. No commitments, just freedom to dream and envision.

Think big, yes. Then think bigger. And then make good decisions that honor who you are and the values that guide your business and your life.

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