Baseball

Baseball: Swing for the fences

Baseball, you say?

Well, here we are a team of 9, in the 9^th inning, ending this cycle of our challenges to each other.

Baseball began in the United States before the 1840’s and by the 1880’s was beginning to be played in many other countries.  Today it is played internationally, is an Olympic sport and every summer draws youngsters from around the world to baseball’s Little League World Series in Williamsport PA.

I think the metaphor “plays well with one’s team” describes each of us.  Further, each of our cycles has a pitcher, a team that alternately goes to bat, and a really fine Player/Manager/Coach in Martha Wolfe.

I challenge you to playfully go to bat.  Bases are loaded and you’ve got nothing to loose and everything to win.  Swing for the fences, my friends, and PLAY.

Living Color

My inspiration for the "Play Time" challenge is the upcoming Indian festival of Holi.

Holi is celebrated at the approach of vernal equinox, on the full moon. The festival date varies every year, per the Hindu calendar (this year it will be March 6). Holi signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, a celebration of color and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forgive and repair relationships.

In India during Holi, people of all ages laugh, yell and run around like children at play. It is not unusual for kids to hide around a corner waiting for an unsuspecting stranger to walk by… so they can squirt them with water or throw fistfuls of colored powder on them.

By the end of the day, people are like human tie-dyes, covered head to toe in colorful splashes.

At Bat

I spent many a childhood summer day at the baseball stadium. My father and brothers were avid fans and they taught me to love it too. I memorized the starting lineup, learned how to diagram plays and cheered with the fans whenever our team’s crusty manager would stride out to the field to argue with the umpire. Such great memories!

Diane’s analogy to baseball is apropos for our group. I love being part of this team and Martha is a great “manager”. In addition, who could resist a challenge to swing for the fences and play? 

 

For me, swinging for the fences means trying something that simultaneously scares and excites me. Pushing my limits in hopes of exceeding them. The piece I’m creating has been in my mind for some time but I haven’t felt ready. I absolutely knew I had to make this piece but I wasn’t sure I could. Right now I’m up at bat and swinging hard!

And play! Yay play! Try new things without pressure to achieve, do what you enjoy, lose yourself in something so fun that time flies. Yippee! Bring out the paint! I love the idea of a brush in paint. And then I get to sew! Woo hoo! 

What a great way to wrap up another cycle of Viewpoints 9.  I can’t wait to see everyone’s work at the gallery opening on February 27^th.

High School Baseball in Korea

by Misik Kim

When I saw Diane’s challenge, I remembered my childhood.
When I was young, I liked to watch a baseball game.
So I often went to the stadium to watch it.
At that time, professional baseball teams were not in Korea,
but, high school baseball tournaments were popular, like pro.
Many people were excited about the high school baseball tournament.
The players were so famous, like movie stars.
They had lots of fans and I was one of the their fans.
When I remember these days, it makes me laugh.
It is a pleasure to remember the days when we were happy

Thanks, Diane ..........

Swing to Bat

Not knowing anything about baseball and its terminology, I looked up the phrase ‘swing to bat’ in the web, and this is one of the explanations I liked:

Swing to bat: Successful competitors are not lucky. They simply make more attempts (in other words, they make more calls – they swing more bats).

I liked the idea. It makes sense to me. I often tell my quilting students an anecdote from the book “Art and Fear” by David Bayles and Ted Orland: at the beginning of term, a teacher of ceramics divided her class into two groups. To the first group, she told to make as many pots as they could in the time available; and not to worry about quality.  To the second group, she asked to produce just one pot during the whole term, but they had to aim for perfection.  At the end of term all the pots were compared.  And the best ones came from the first group, and not from the second.

"Map Fragments" 

are small affordable pieces I make for sale in exhibitions.

They are matted and their overall size is 10" square.

“Practice makes perfect” is another phrase that comes to mind, which may be applicable here, but it’s not my favourite.  Practice makes things a lot better, but I’m not one to aim for perfection – I think we can get better all the time.  The fun is in the process rather than in the goal.

This "make more attempts" explanation also reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers”, where he talks about people needing 10,000 hours practice to get good at anything.  Both great books, worth reading.

Play time

It's with a sense of achievement that I approach the end of the second round of challenges in Viewpoints 9. Having been given permission to play by Diane, I have been having a nice time, sitting in my air conditioned sewing studio, listening to an audio book and stitching on my quilt. I am well ahead of the deadline as I already had a hand printed fabric that worked well with my chosen idea.

This is a detail of my hand printed fabric that used flowering wattle, gum and grevillea.

Cutting binding strips to finish the quilt.
I love seeing the varied interpretations from the talented members of this group and I love grappling with the challenges. Here's to a wonderful 2015 with more to come.

Group Discipline

by Lin Hsin-Chen

When I received the challenge about team work, my younger son just joined the army to fulfill his mandatory military service. He is an honor guard in the Republic of China Army. The team has to perform rifle exhibition drill at major celebrations and when foreign dignitaries visit the country. He is very nervous about his performance because the honor guards require exact discipline and spirit of team work. He always reminds himself the sense of honor, hoping to become the elite of the group.

I have the same sense of honor of participating in a quilting group! Not being late. Follow the rules. Shoot for a verity of positive opportunities for the group. We play well with our team.

Time to Play

Sounds like we're wide open for fun times Diane!
One of the things I enjoy most about what I do is the freedom to go for broke with every new piece.
Right now, I'm back in fossil mode.
I plan to cover a crackle treated background with ancient extinct animals, done with many different materials and techniques.
I have been thinking about Hsin-Chen's upcoming show, TIQE '15, and the over arching theme of ecology.
What could be more important than learning from the past to prevent us from going the way of the dinosaurs?