23/02/2023
Day 23 of the ; my younger self â¨
This isnât exaaaactly my younger self, but instead the first fiber I ever dyed. Turmeric and vinegar gave this organic wool the most delicious golden hue!
â¨Today, Iâm thinking about all of my old (and sometimes reoccurring) insecurities about my craft, and wanted to share with you the analogy of the Helsinki Bus System. Arno Rafael Minkkinen, in a 2004 commencement speech, connected this beautiful metaphor; that all buses in Helsinki begin at the same station. They all travel the same route, making each the same first stops. Only later do they finally branch out to different parts of the city. He says that your work will not look much different from others in the first years of your journey as an artist. âItâs simple,â he said. âStay on the bus. Stay on the f*cking bus. Because if you do, in time, you will begin to see a difference.â Do the work, but also the rework.
â¨When I feel embarrassed about how my colorways or my pots look like this aspect of this persons, or someone made something that looks similar to mine, I now remind myself of this bus system analogy. We are all learning to find our voice, and when we begin a craft, we have limited technical skills, limited vision⌠just like our peers. We have similar influences: who is well known and in our minds often? Only later, through years of following what calls to us, do we have the vocabulary to articulate ourselves among others. No one exists in a vacuum, and ideas are investigative tools! As I tell myself still, and wish I could tell my younger self too, be patient with the process, be kind to yourself, be kind to what you make. Stay on the bus.
