Revisiting the old

I feel I am not progressing in my work the way I want to. To be honest, I don't know where I am going - no vision on things to come or directions in which to go. When I get to this point I find revisting my old work can give me a foundation and with two steps back I can go at least one forward, not exactly ahead but in the right direction.
the series before "Learning DisAballing" was titled " Pillars and Pedestals" . The premise was based on an old friend of mine who moved from New York when he was 15. His vision was Southern girls were easy bait for a suave Northen boy. He stated he quickly found out that Southern girls were as easy to push around as cement trucks. This series of 16 mixed media pieces was based on that contradiction. I researched Southern women of the Civil War era because I assumed that most of the stereotype was based from that period.
Shown here are three examples of this series. Each piece is based on a Southern female maverick. I didn't want the work to be portraiture. Instead, I wanted to reflect the spirit and energy of the individual's personality. The stitching seen in each represents the schooling of the young women of that time period, needlework instead of reading and writing. But, the stitching is wild and the thread starts and stops in unruly mannergiving a hint at the feelings of these girls. The image of a pillar or pedestal is always in the shadows or background representing the standard for ladylike behavior; all these women abandoned their post and ran their own show. The tattered "shards" are the layers and hidden levels of these women. Each torn "piece of petticoat" has a part in telling the story of these more typical than not Southern ladies.
This concentration of work was exciting and had purpose. I need to find another experience or...maybe keep going with these "kin folk". There are more women to portray. Maybe I stopped too soon. At least until something else strikes a cord this could keep me moving artistically.