Scratching by Twyla Tharp

According to Twyla Tharp, scratching is, "digging through everything to find something." She describes it in further detail, as she says, "It's like clawing at the side of a mountain to get a toehold, a grip, some sort of traction to keep moving upward and onward." She suggests that we should begin scratching by going either going extreme lengths, or by exploring new territories. Scratching is thinking outside the box, seeing what others do not usually see, and then taking these ideas and creating something new. Essentially, Twyla Tharp believes that if a person is exposed to more and more, he or she will have a more interesting appeal.

I can apply Twyla Tharps idea of scratching to my own life by being more adventurous in my everyday life. Because I am interested in art that incorporates music of some kind, I could begin scratching by seeing different musicians in concert, looking at the artwork on their vinyl covers, and by expanding the genre of music that I listen to. If I did this, I would become more open minded in terms of what I believe makes a great musician. 

Because my goal for this term is to learn to knit, I could apply Twyla Tharp's "scratching" to my studio time. I will begin by learning the simple and basic knitting methods, and then once I feel comfortable, I will explore different artists that may use unusual materials and different stitches.