Mind Vacation № 2: Daring Towards Unsquaring & thoughts on embracing imperfection
Inherent Square-Less-Ness: A True Story
I've been thinking a lot about the concept of squareness in relation to both Jenny Pennywood and as a painter.
Every so often, I receive an email or message following an order regarding the “lack of squareness” of my napkins. Though the first of these correspondences left me feeling that “lack of squareness” was a problem that needed solving, over time, I've surrendered to this notion & adopted The Art of Unsquareness as a guiding philosophy for my business because me and my work are not square.
Every Jenny Pennywood napkin begins its journey as a true square. At their conception, each is cut & sewn at perfect 90 degree angles, modeling absolute squareness.
The dyeing process is when the journey towards unsquareness begins. The perfect squares begin to shrink, trading their correct lines for unique shapes that make each beautifully one-of-a-kind. And the little napkins, those sometimes transform into the wonkiest (and by my standards, loveliest) forms of all. In fact, that's what makes the littles some of my most treasured napkins.
Sharing these notes on unsquareness, I find myself reflecting back on my own life story as an artist and my ongoing, real-time journey of shedding the rigid rules once taught to me around the proper form & place of “the fine artist.”
Wise, those imperfect napkins. After all, who decided napkins need to be square?
