Life + Art School Lessons : Drawing straight lines, riding bikes, driving cars- Sew What?!

"Life is like riding a bicycle. In order to keep up, you must keep going." -Albert Einstein

To add to that- you must keep your eyes on where your going. Not looking down at where you are currently at, or you will surely crash. 

This is a lesson that life continues to teach me. In art school I learned to draw a straight line without the assistance of a ruler [or straight edge], by keeping my eyes on where I wanted my line to go, NOT by watching my hand. If I watched my hand, my line would always come out bumpy, or slightly wonky when I stepped away and looked at it. Its like the more I concentrated on that one thing [my hand drawing a a steady line] the more I lost focus of the bigger picture and where the line was supposed to end up.

When drawing a long straight line,  if you focus just ahead of your hand- on the path the line is supposed to follow and where it should end up- the chances of you getting a perfectly straight line are much higher. Try it! 

The past two weekends I’ve had the opportunity to sit in at Fabricate Studios [here in  Atlanta] for their sewing 101 class. AND I was once again reminded by this life lesson, when learning to sew a hem.

To sew a straight hem line you must watch your guide lines on your machine, not your hands directly. If you focus too hard on your hands, your hem line will surely be crooked.Our lovely instructor, Reign used the analogy of driving. If you focused on your hands steering the car and not the lines on the road- you would most likely crash your car! 

You’ve got to keep yours eyes FOCUSED on where your going, where you will end up- not where you are currently at.

our instructor Reign [doncha love her hair?!]

My colorful fabric

taking a sip of coffee + looking over instructions

We made reversible bags this Sunday

So if you find yourself looking/feeling down, STOP- and re-adjust your focus and look ahead! I don’t want you to start walking down a crooked path. I know how hard and stressful life can be. I see pain + suffering in so many close to me lately. But let me encourage you all to keep your head high and your eyes focused on your goals. Even if they seem to far out of reach right now. You will NEVER get there if your looking down, focused on how stuck you FEEL in the now [Remember, feelings are ever changing]. 

Even if you feel like you can’t see what is on the horizon for you right now [maybe you feel extremely hopeless and lost] stay focused on the horizon anyways. Have faith that something great is waiting there for you. Continue to always work hard, do your best and hold your head high, so that eventually- when your vision becomes clear, and you can see whats ahead of you. You’ll be focused and ready for whatever is next in your life, not caught off guard because you were looking down, lost. 

And hind sight is ALWAYS 20-20. When you look back, you’ll see that your path to where you were headed may have had a few bumps along the way, or a few stitches in the wrong places but mostly your path landed you straight  to where you were meant to be. 

ohh and my hair is blue now!

<----Here is a snap of my classmates and myself with our finished bags. We all pretty much made our straps waaay too long, but overall I am really happy with the outcome + proud of myself and I think all us gals felt that way! 

Oh and I've got to get a new sewing machine, mine is dunzo. Any suggestions?! If so comment below, or email me what kind, and why- please and thank you! [oh and maybe how much :D] 

Psst! : For those of you needing a good kick in the butt to get motivated, here yuh go- watch
this Ted Talk. Its not long, and may be just what you need if your feeling stuck. [Ted talks on my lunch break is what keeps me sane y'all.]