Space Between the Beats...

Last night's quilting activities did not happen because I took my son to a Drummer's Clinic put on by Mark Schulman.

Mark Schulman has toured with BILLY IDOL, PINK, CHER, STEVIE NICKS, SHERYL CROW and he is currently touring with FOREIGNER. 

It was a pretty cool clinic even for a non-drummer like myself.  My son loved it and I will admit, so did I.  While it was VERY LOUD, it was entertaining and educational.

One of his key points was the importance of the space between the beats.  That space is VITALLY important, because without it you just have noise.  The space between the beats is almost more important than the beats themselves because the space between them is what defines them.  Each one is individual, and each one is important, from the small *tap* on a high hat, to a hard core double bass roll, every beat is important, and without space before and after each one, they lose their identity.  BUT, individually they are pretty boring.  It is the assembly of the beats and the spaces that is music.


It was actually pretty philosophical and it got me to thinking about life and also my quilting.  Each seam is important, each stitch is important, every cut we make with our rotary tools is important.  ALL of those things individually are pretty boring.  If our craft of quilting were comprised of making ONE cut in a piece of fabric, nobody would quilt.  Same could be true for sewing one seam, or even one block.  Individually the parts (the tasks) aren't very impressive, it's the assembly of those pieces and parts that is impressive, almost intoxicating.


None of us LOVE every part of the process.  Let's be honest enough to admit that there is a part of every quilt that we don't enjoy.  For me, it's usually cutting.  I don't enjoy the cutting part.  I don't enjoy it because it is during that stage that the final product starts to take shape, it begins to form in my head, I begin to recognize which parts are going to be easy and which parts are going to be tough, but the reason I don't like it is because it is boring.  It is boring because while it is exciting to see it forming in my head, seeing it in my head is no where near as fun as it is to start sewing blocks together and assembling the finished product, but it is a necessary part nonetheless.


The Space BETWEEN the beats is what defines the beats themselves.

Reflect on that for a moment, and if you'd like, share what that means to you.


Until Next Time,
Paul