Bye, Bye Bonehead

Sometimes it's not what you leave in, but what you take out that makes the difference. I often remind students that Best Achievement in Film Editing gets an Academy Award each year. Now it's time to put my delete key where my mouth is.

I've been editing the Digital Fabric class I'll be teaching at Sievers next week. It's time to decide whether an example using a photograph of chew bones from my dog's toy basket...

a) memorably illustrates what you can do with Gimp, Spoonflower and Picnik and inspires students to throw out preconceived notions about fabric design, or

b) stalls the action.

I made the Bonehead design while testing a class challenge to photograph objects and create a story fabric. The exercise is in, but not with this example. I'll take the Bonehead proof swatch along in my collection of printed fabric samples, but it isn't a fabric I'll use to illustrate process. So Bye bye, Bonehead.

Instead, I think I'll use a photo of goldenrod-dyed silk against weathered wood...

...and move the exercise a bit later in the class, while students are working on different ways to handle repeats.

In teaching, making, coaching, gardening and many other activities, it's beneficial to "Edit wisely," as Project Runway's Tim Gunn would say. Wonder what he would say about my red lentil exercise?