Out of Thin Air

by Lin Hsin-Chen

I have always feared learning unfamiliar languages. When I saw the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet ‘tet’ for the first time, I realized that I have to make change and be brave to accept characters other than Chinese. Feeling helpless, I did a sketch freely to relieve my anxiety and increase confidence for a while. And then I try to weave joy out of thin air. Thus, the unknown flower is born.

After careful consideration, I decided to extend the flower based on the fundamental element of freedom in hopes of having a good art performance and experimenting on new creating techniques. During the creative process, I sketched spontaneously and followed my heart to cut fabrics with scissors. I sewed them directly without making any modifications. Besides, in order to pursue my original creative concept of freedom, I stop myself from changing the fabrics. I only choose once for every piece of fabric I use in the work. I know that protecting ourselves is a human instinct. Fearing of language learning is also one of them. However, art helps me to accept Hebrew language and arouses my creative energy to seize every possible opportunity.

 This piece, Out of Thin Air, depicts a flower reborn from complex inner fears. It is joyful, confident and creative. It is also a meaningful self-learning! It’s wonderful that Betty brought this challenge topic to us. I’ve learned so much from it. It has made me not only better understand myself and accept the learning concept of starting from scratch, but also complete an interesting work! Thanks for that! It is the last piece I made in 2014. “Out of Thin Air” brings me expectation for 2015. I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Materials: commercial cottons

Techniques: hand pieced, hand appliqué, hand quilted

Size: 18” x 27”