{"id":18457,"date":"2018-01-10T06:02:22","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T12:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prairiewoodbasketry.com\/?p=18457"},"modified":"2018-01-10T09:13:54","modified_gmt":"2018-01-10T15:13:54","slug":"creativity-and-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prairiewoodbasketry.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/10\/creativity-and-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"Creativity and Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have been thinking about this topic for a long time, years in fact. I believe that focusing on excellence, on developing and fine tuning our skills, encourages creativity. In my experience, a lifetime of making things, including twenty five years of basket weaving, I find the pursuit of excellence to be the key to creativity. This principle is also evident when you look at other artists and the progression of their work.<\/p>\n

Mastery<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malcom Gladwell has made popular the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to master or become ‘good’ at something. That’s 10,000 hours of work! And the wicker basketmaker’s school in Lichtenfels, Germany (Staatliche Berufsfachschule f\u00fcr Flechtwerkgestaltung)<\/em> has a three year basket weaving program. That’s right, willow weavers in Germany go to school full time for three years, after which time they graduate and begin their basket weaving careers as Wickerwork Designers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>My Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

For myself, after making my first basket, I couldn’t stop weaving. I wove every day for three years, mostly from patterns. These were functional baskets that reflected my skill level, and in many cases, revealed skills I had not yet developed. During these years I also wove many of the new ideas in my head. Those original pieces were interesting – while\u00a0 most clearly reflected other baskets I had made from patterns, some were very unique. Some were kind of\u00a0 pretty and some of them were down right ugly.<\/p>\n

Somewhere around basket #500 I noticed a big change in my work – my skills had greatly improved and my original work was – well\u00a0 – nice! While basket weaving had always felt natural to me, I was mastering techniques and had more ideas then I knew what to do with. By basket #1000, I not only\u00a0knew<\/em> I was a master basket weaver, I was brave enough to say it outloud.<\/p>\n

I’m not saying I had arrived at the top of some ladder. There is always something to learn, something to develop and more to understand. I continue to weave several times a week, I continue to try new things, and I continue to practice the basics.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Although, I do believe that excellence takes time and hard work, I don’t want to imply that only experienced artists have something to offer the community, or that everyone’s path will be like mine. I have found the basket community a wonderful place to share and learn. We can learn from each other regardless of how long we have been weaving. Sometimes a new weaver sees things so clearly. Sometimes the experienced weaver can help us change a bad habit.<\/p>\n

My Point – Regardless of your weaving skill level, invest in yourself. Give yourself time to learn, take time to do the work of learning and honing your basket weaving skills. Focusing on excellence will enhance your creative ideas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are a few tips on how you can positively work towards creativity and excellence:<\/strong><\/p>\n