::More Whiffs, Glimmers & Left Oeuvres::

hangover

2012-02-15T07:45:00.000-05:00

Urgh.

Bless my darling Goodman for making sure my Valentine's day was celebrated properly, with cannolis from the Italian Pie. They come dressed with fresh whipped cream and an extra drizzle of a sweet, creamy sauce flavored with anisette.

This morning I am suffering from a carbo hangover and should spend the morning working out at the pool but will settle for extra fluids and some housework.

roadmaps and hinderances

2012-02-13T12:30:00.001-05:00

I've gotten lot of advice from people I know and respect (and a boatload of total strangers) who have taken a whack at writing.

Everyone had a short reading list for me so I hit the "used" section of Amazon and completed my shopping list for a mere song or two.

It's quite interesting that most of these books aren't a lot more expansive than the instruction booklet that comes (recipes included) with a new crockpot. Except for King and Lamott, who have fleshed out their instruction with very readable autobiographical stuff, everyone else seems to have taken their own advice and cut to the chase...less and less is more.

Since I've been writing for a while for my own entertainment I don't know how much or if I will take any of this sage wisdom to heart. One or two not shown here would be best mulched in a blender with fruit juice and taken as extra fiber...like eating shredded wheat dry.

The hardest part for me? Every frickin' thing is in Black & White! My eyes are parched for color.

Brrrrrr!

2012-02-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

After a very mild winter we are getting a serious polar swat. It was in the low twenties this morning and we are all bundled up with our fur on end and very grateful for clear blue skies with no freezing precip in the forecast.

There were actually a few flakes flying by as I drove into the city yesterday. I made a hasty exit off the freeway because the locals were terrible distracted by the flurry and I285 was quickly shaping up to be a demolition derby. They drive faster while peering up into the skies and talking excitedly on the cells. The long perspective looked like they were trying to drive between the scant flakes.

I've rolled one of the little heaters into the sunny studio, cleaned up a little and plan on putting the finishing touches to my friend Jan's quilt top today. Jan if you are reading this, I still need a verse for the band around the edge.

last stitches

2012-02-10T12:57:00.001-05:00

"Grand Rêver"

I've put the last stitches in this one which has worked out to be 27"x29" . The edges are raw and I am still deciding if I want to mummify this one.

( turns out this is my 1400th post. Sheesh, what wind. I could have had that bloody novel in the can by now!)

learn to quilt!

2012-02-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

Remember this recent acquisition?

The maker, Serena Potter, has started an informal and free online tutorial aimed at people who would like to learn traditional pieced quilting, people who might have no clue how to thread a needle. She doesn't quilt to win blue ribbons or make a quick buck - she does it because she loves the tradition, the process and the finished work. Her easy going and straightforward style is fun and she writes about a range of beginner's concerns that have never occurred to many who charge good money for quilting classes.

I know not many of my readers fit this description. Most of us have been at it so long we would be hard pressed to explain the most elemental details of sewing anything by hand. It would be easier for me to hem your skirt than tell or show you how, if either of us had the patience. I don't.

Serena, who is also the mother of two toddlers, has plenty.

She also has a wry sense of humor that is right up my alley and I have a long list of non-sewers to pass this link along to and I'll bet you do too. It jumps around a bit and the reader might have to scroll forward and back through the days to find a good starting place depending on one's skill set, but it's all worth it.

She worries that there are purists out there who will argue with some of her methods or practices.
I told her "Screw em!" I have held one of her quilts in my hands and if these methods and procedures are how she arrived at this result, then she knows what she's talking about.

from the ridiculous to the sublime

2012-02-08T19:48:00.000-05:00

Have you ever bought a product you didn't need just because the packaging was so cool? There are three more flavors and I didn't buy any because I stood there for ten minutes not being able to decide which of the four to buy!

And we have Morna to thank for discovering the work of artist Huguette Caland. Don't miss a single jawdropping link! Takes my breath away too, Morna..thanks.

This is the kind of work that makes me get all quiet inside and just pay very close attention to all the feelings and responses going on. Attend!

"Rossinante Under Cover I" by Huguette Calnd
51x42”, acrylic and pen on canvas, 2011

supermac

2012-02-07T17:16:00.000-05:00

If you live in the Southern US and you are from the NE you know how hard it is to find a really good Macintosh apple. The produce man tells me that they just don't travel all that well and, in fact, you rarely find them in the stores.

I took a chance on just one from Publix this morning. More often than not they are mealy, blah and disappointing.

Today I hit the crisp sweet/sour jackpot and sat in the car and ate that apple like it was my last damned meal. Actually it was my breakfast and the first apple in way too long, I'm on a carb restricted diet and less than terrific apples were not on the list of things that I missed.

This had to be one of the apples that the wicked witch gave Snow White because as soon as I got home I needed a serious nap. Such has been the highpoint of my day....

post redux - In writing (11.18.09)

2012-02-06T17:37:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the wonderful points of view regarding the use of written dialogue stitched into art. It's good to know what other people think both about doing it and seeing it. For now I have decided against any messages or even letter forms.

I find that when I begin using letter forms I can't help but want to convey something snarky or entertaining. In fact, I find that when I work literally or do something representational you can pretty much bet on something weird, shocking or downright wrong going on. You'll laugh too if you don't run out of the room.

rituals & tradition

2012-02-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

I have a new ritual these days. Some might have noticed that it's eating into my blogging frequency. Probably.

I get up as soon as Jim and Colin leave for work, go downstairs and push the button on the coffeemaker that Jim has blessedly prepared for me.

By the time I've finished dishing out three different kinds of cat food and refereeing the jostling hordes (really, there are only four) the coffee is ready. I take it back upstairs, set it on the nightstand and get the laptop from the studio. It's still dark out as I transcribe whatever scribbles appeared in the notebook from the day before and fatten them as I go. An hour or three will go by before I notice.

If I get bogged down, I will take a new page and devote it to just focusing on a very small detail - Annie Lamott's "square inch picture frame" trick that she would use to keep up the writing momentum.

This morning I went after the day my father's mother taught me to cross stitch and why. The embroidery hoop in the picture is one of a pair that I still have that belonged to Nell. This is the smaller of the pair and the same ones that I used that first time 58 years ago.

She showed me just how to set the hem of the cotton pillowcase between the hoops and watched over my shoulder as I constructed a little march of tiny green DMC Xs along the hemline. I spent a lot of time looking at the backside and trying to make it as neat as the front, no mean trick for a four year old. My real objective was to be as stingy as possible with the thread because Nell told me that after I had used up the three hanks she had given me I would have to buy my own thread. She would be giving me twenty-five cents a week for helping her in the kitchen. Twenty-five cents a week equaled five new colors from the stationary store down the block from our house. I couldn't wait!

The "why" of the lesson you ask? Well, that's pages away.

expanses

2012-02-02T09:32:00.001-05:00

Like the new header? I needed a change of scenery to go with the change of seasons.

It's a section of my personal "Beach" from back in May 2010. I was rooting around looking for more formal images and there are none. I could dig it out and reshoot it but this snip will do for now. It reminded me of the pleasure of arms wide, eyes afar designing and building a piece that was intended to be used and not just displayed.

Come to think of it, I know this piece has no sleeve for hanging which is why it never got properly photographed. More along the lines of this one gives me a lot to look forward to, fiberwise. It's time to climb out of winter's comfy, cozy closeness and aim far and wide.

before the rain comes

2012-02-01T12:12:00.005-05:00

It's warm for February, the jasmine on the mailbox has started blooming reminding me I need to cut the crape myrtles back very soon. Like tomorrow.

I've been spending time working on this one with my hands while I work on the writing with my brain; the other part of the brain that wanders all walleyed when you are stitching.

Each element is like a sentence or paragraph in a story that needs to be complete unto itself yet, for the story to be successful, they have to relate to each other in an engaging way.

I've had to completely remove a couple of pieces and start over in the spaces left behind. Brutal editing.

If you notice something odd about the scale of these creatures, good eye!. They are sitting about ten feet apart, acceptable distance per Karma in the foreground.

Juicy (stretching it out in the background) was closing in on twenty pounds the last time he was to the vets over a year ago. Madame K, on the other hand, might be seven pounds soaking wet.

She's been doing better, thanks.

at the washateria

2012-01-30T09:16:00.000-05:00

Rather than give my aging washing machine a fatal dose of overwork, I hauled a large load of towels and blankets to the laundromat yesterday. It's not a novelty anymore - I don't sit there and watch things go 'round with one eye and CNN on the tiny screen in the corner with the other.

I trust everything to the largest washer and then sit in my car with an alarm set and read, or sleep or stitch. Although it was cool yesterday the sun was blazing and I brought along the current WIP and put in a good two hours on it between washing and drying. Below it's spread out on the (grubby) hood of my Honda but I've backed this one with a piece of organza that seems to be bulletproof.

There's more going on in each block with this one. It's almost twice the size of any of the four previous pieces in this series and I've given up any pretense of restraint, block by block the action builds.

In the top picture you can see the variety of fabrics I'm using - the golden speckled is a bit of a vintage woven tea towel, the lavender with clouds is a snip from a cotton lawn scarf from Dharma Trading, feather light and nearly transparent. The rich blue at the bottom a section of a hand dyed vintage damask table napkin, all three from my favorites basket.

mystery symbol

2012-01-29T11:01:00.003-05:00

I was skimming around the web the other day and the symbol above (best as I can reproduce it) appeared in one of those annoying little ads littered everywhere. Although I pointedly ignored the ad, the image stuck in my brain and I'm wondering now what it was. Have you seen it? Any clues?

My lesson for the day...never write before going to sleep. Wait until morning.

an escape

2012-01-28T17:12:00.002-05:00

I love the Whole Foods Market on the other side of town. It's probably a real good thing it's not closer.

There were bunches of freesias in this display that smelled so beautiful. I stood for the longest time trying to think how to describe the smell but it struck me senseless and I was impeding the traffic so moved on.

No bakery indulgences today but a nice steak for the guys and some shrimp for me and pound of the best sliced provolone cheese in Georgia.I brought home three cans of their store brand cat food and, of course, Karma and Voodoo ( the gooey, wet feeders) fell on it like I never fed them before I left the house. I bet they would just love caviar.

The clearance tables at Barnes and Noble was insane. Books heaped everywhere..all 2$ each. You would think they were going out of style tomorrow. I still prefer holding the real thing in my hands with pages to turn, take notes on and probably give away when I am finished with it. Among others, I bought a copy of "Remarkable Creatures" by Tracy Chevalier and sat in the outdoor cafe and soaked up a little sunshine and tea.

PS...I started using this laptops speech recognition program this morning but while I had it open in my lap, Jim called and Sweetie climbed onto the keyboard to "help" with the phone call. She's not a lap kitty normally but the minute I start talking on the phone she tries like hell to intercede. In the middle of the document I was transcribing there is ten or twelve pages written by cat's ass. Brilliant stuff too.

For a giggle I turned up the TV and let Tony Soprano (badly edited on AE) dictate to the computer for a while. My computer now has some very bad mock swearwords ...motherflapper!

sounds like this

2012-01-27T10:23:00.005-05:00

After a very long and tiring day yesterday I finished work around one am and set about shutting some windows. It had cooled off after the rain and damp was creeping in .

I opened the slider to the deck to make sure none of the cat crew were lurking on possums outside and what do I hear, distant but clear - a few intrepid tree frogs waking up from winter naps to tune up with their wooden combs dragging one tooth at a time over cigar boxes. They sounded tentative but hopeful.

It made me smile and I realized that winter's worst was past and there would be long, lazy summer days before we knew it.

and TGIFF!

Rx

2012-01-26T15:38:00.000-05:00

Not fun.
I spent the best part of today at the cardiologist office being lit up with isotopes and drugged to extremes so we could all watch my heart tango in 3D on a computer screen.

I told them I could not run (or crawl) on a treadmill because I get nauseous from movement that goes nowhere..some middle ear nonsense - so I got the chemically induced version of a stress test. It leaves you feeling like a day old banana peel on the sidewalk.

All the things I brought to pass the waiting time..books, journal, stitching.. were mere baggage cause I was too tired, hungry and yukky feeling to do any of it. I was glad I brought my blankie along for warmth, all the places for waiting were over air conditioned and ring ring...the nurse just called to say that all the tests came back normal - a Clydesdale's heart working just as it should. No worries mate!

fingers drum steering wheel..

2012-01-25T13:48:00.004-05:00

Sheesh..145 or so completely boring looking cars grinding by at about 3 mph. I'm going to lay in a stock of cans of spray paint in the trunk of my car for the next time I get stuck at this crossing.

Idle minds churn weirdness;
"This is a work of fiction. If you recognize yourself and you don't like what you read, you are guilty and should shut up and go away cause I know where the bodies are buried. If you like what you read about yourself, send flowers. Or money."

comment settings

2012-01-25T09:47:00.001-05:00

Somehow the settings for allowing comments from All and Sundry got screwed up here (imagine! who could have possibly been tinkering with stuff that wasn't broke??) and some were not able to fling flowers or poo. Please have another whack at it and let me know ....

Thanks for letting me know, Arlee.

what's afoot

2012-01-24T18:23:00.001-05:00


"The Stars Out of Place"

(It's a scary story, that one)

Some of you have asked what I have been up to. Not a whole lot fiberwise.

I'm still working sporadically on the Grand Rêver (below) which is coming along nicely, if predictably. The majority of my creative time and energy has been going into writing. It's been a long time since I was swept away by the creative process and it's a compelling feeling. I've been warned by a mentor not to “write myself out” but it's the last thing I dwell on at night and the first thing I'm thinking about in the morning.

The time I used to spend in the fiber studio has been completed taken over by this tale spinning. When I look back on some of my favorite fiber pieces the titles remind me that they were often place holders for untold stories and now I'm finally telling some of them. The only problem I'm having is that I am used to sharing works of visual art in progress. It would be a bad idea to start flinging rough first drafts at friends and family – I would surely be locked up.

I'll still be fiddling with fiber from time to time and will show and tell about that here especially since the new dye season will be on us before you know it and piles of white fabric sitting around just waiting to be reborn in color get my attention just like a blank page of paper.

a fork in the river

2012-01-22T13:33:00.000-05:00

These two pieces of cloth are taking on an unintended significance. Cloth too complex and strong to be cut up and incorporated into a larger whole are like memories too deep and dark to be transcribed. Although I love both pieces I am unmoved to do anything else with them.

I ironed both today. front and back, back and front then spread them out and and looked a good long time and it was like being in the room with two belligerent teenagers. Don't bother to meet theirs eyes if they are not yours. These two seem to have disowned me. I'm almost afraid to go digging through the rest of them.

I'm a stash busting in a big way and will be posting a lot of hand dyed cloth to the store and getting some finished things up on the Buy Art page. A liquidation of sorts. Drag it on long enough and I could almost call it spring cleaning.

headcold

2012-01-20T09:41:00.000-05:00

I violated the cardinal Gramma's rule yesterday and went out in the winter chill with wet hair to get about six inches chopped off the ends. Later in the day I came down with an old fashioned sneezing, eye-watering head cold. I really don't buy the connection because it's something I do all the time. More likely I picked up a germ from the swarm at the grocery store. Howard Hughes was right.

Still, here I am,abed stoned to the gills on Alka Seltzer for colds. If I can keep my eyes open there are books to read and feathers and works in progress to stitch on before I have to work this afternoon.

One of the bad things about working from home is that there is little excuse for not working as long as you can sit upright in the chair and see the computer.

I started my shift last night well medicated and found myself strangely sanguine and sympathetic to my hapless customers instead of cynical, impatient and superior. Who knew "nice" came in a fizzy drink? I will have to restrain myself from greeting people with

"Happy Friday! What foolish fresh hell are you reporting today?"

I want to go see "The Artist" in a theater like the Fox downtown but I'll settle for the AMC nearby.

delightful chaos

2012-01-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

Chaos yes, but no trash or garbage. That was part of the mission yesterday afternoon. Two large bags of Garbage to the recycle and a large box of fabric sent off for someone else to "appreciate". I found whole yards of commercial fabric that I could track back to one of my earliest treks to MaryJo's
maybe six or seven years ago. I know it's going into great hands.

As for the rest of this, little by little I'll dig it out and reorganize along the lines of some new priorities.

Dilemma #1: Can a 10x11 foot room really hold three large comfortable chairs?

and what's with those stupid wire racks taking up air in the closet?

Please don't notify "Hoarders"...it's surely not TV worthy.

Karma

2012-01-18T14:14:00.002-05:00

It warmed up a bit today and Karma met me in the driveway when I got back from running errands and a stint at the pool. She was stamping her feet and demanding to see what was in the Publix bags. She has taken to climbing into the vehicle if you fart around too long with the door open.

Here she is taking some sunshine out on the dye deck wrapped in an old wool scarf which she did not fuss about. Lately she seems to be studying on some internal truths. Under all that fur, she is so frail I cannot tell her ferocious purr from trembling with cold.

She is becoming more eccentric by the day as her health declines. Sometimes though, I think she is just sitting around thinking up new ways to make us all worry.

I was up half the night checking on her. She decided to make camp in the boy's bathtub but was refusing to drink from the ever dripping tap- not a good sign- but she was all too happy to take water from a syringe, a teaspoonful at a time. I'm sure champagne would have gone over well. Anastasia has nothing on this Queen. She has figured out that yowling from inside the always open dryer gets instant attention. However much longer she is with us she will be spoiled rotten every minute of that time.

gifts

2012-01-17T13:43:00.002-05:00

I have been stalling posting about this gift, partly because I really wanted to photograph it outdoors on a warm sunny day - wishful thinking even here in Georgia. Secondly I want to write eloquently about the artist and her devotion to her family and her art but she does it so much better here.

I was gifted with this exquisite and exuberant crib quilt just by raising my hand and saying "ME" at the right time. She makes traditional,completely hand made quilts because she simply wants to. needs to. Her reasons are complex and personal but like any artist, she wants her work out in the world, not folded up in the closet. Alhough it came to me untitled, I'm calling it "Serena's Pride".

the missing weekend

2012-01-16T12:53:00.003-05:00

Argh...is it Monday already?? What became of my weekend? It was a blur because I spent the whole weekend in the company of cranky cats. Jim and Colin both had to work this weekend making Saturday and Sunday feel like any other week days. The big outing was a trip across town to Whole Foods where a party was going on..samples of everything under the sun around every corner, even wine.

So I got some reading done, cooking, cleaning, and stitching on a few different projects at once - the piece that's becoming the Monster dream and those aforementioned postcards. I decided three was plenty. It's clear to me that on any given day it's either the needle or the pen.

basking

2012-01-14T08:32:00.000-05:00

"Now" by Clara Fialho"

Clara Fialho is a New York artist who makes magic on a grand scale, this one is 48"x60".
Nothing like starting a studio day with a little sunshine. thanks Clara!

I want to finish off those postcards on the machine, but first, I have to find it under an avalanche of crapola but I'm not going to let housekeeping deter a little creative time. The other day a friend of ours who organizes estate sales gifted me with a large bag of really fine table linens, mosly vintage damask napkins. "Smallish" I sighed as I started going through them but after the wash and dry it occurred to me that lots of small things seamed together could create a grand grid, a starting place for whatever comes next.

I've been spending an hour or more each morning writing and it feels as if I have been working my way down inside a nautilus shell, almost claustrophobic with the isolation of the activity. Writers really can't just hang a work in progress on the design wall for all to have a look at; editing and rewriting are essential steps. It looks like you have to be a little bit crazy to be a writer and if you're not when you start, you probably will be once you get into it. Today I will get out of my own head for a while.

visiting the past

2012-01-12T15:25:00.002-05:00

That's my copy of "Art & Fear" acting as backdrop for the first of what promises to be a slew of potato chips, I mean postcards.

There's a stack of books that need reading and re-reading and reams of research material, now that I stumbled across the online archives of the historical society of my first hometown, Armonk, NY.

I spent hours last night trying to find out if the crossing guard had a real heart attack after I threw myself under the oncoming bus (I really did misread her signals) or just a purple fit of fury after she dragged me out from under the front end of the bus, beat my four-year old ass and sent me on my way to school. Such were my days.

I am derailed and under the spell of the past.

postcards

2012-01-11T17:47:00.000-05:00

I've been asked to make a fiber art postcard (just one?) and I'm tickled to have a needle and thread task. These are some that I made in past years on the machine. After working on my series a 4"x6" canvas seems vast.

sun+moon

2012-01-10T16:49:00.000-05:00

Well, one out of three ain't to bad for a rainy day. And I lied...this pair was purchased in 2003 after their predecessors (the '96s) finally died.
Once I find a pair of sneakers or shoes that I can actually wear, I'll wear them to death. I am the shame of my shoe shopping friends.
I glued the sole back on one quite successfully yesterday and after cleaning thoroughly decided a footlift was in order. So the Moon goes on my right foot and the Sun on my left.

full moon

2012-01-09T20:33:00.003-05:00

I'm not a big fan of the coffee but I love the design of this mug. The white is sort of cut into the black glaze. I added the moon in honor of the day.

And lest ye think that I have abandoned fiber art altogether, tomorrow will be all about updating the store with new arrivals, shots of the ongoing piece and the astounding overhaul of a pair of sneakers I have been wearing since (drum roll please) 1996.

review

2012-01-09T11:54:00.003-05:00

I just could not get into the book but we went to see the American version in theaters now and it was terrific. Fit "horrific" in there too. I made point of not knowing ahead of time about the film, something I strive for when a so-called blockbuster makes the scene. I went into Avatar all unknowing and was appropriately delighted.

This time I was gob-smacked by the originality of the story and the intensity of the emotions. I have Daniel Craig molded in my head as the rather fierce version of James Bond but in this outing he was a surprisingly tender Tool...and no pun intended. Warning...this is an ADULT movie and I daresay some adults might be taken aback by some of the scenes.

After a great lunch at Chili's, we rolled through Neiman Marcus and Saks in a fit of handbag lust and I made several really bad perfume try-out choices. Books a Million had replacements for my loaned and lost copies of "Elements of Style"and "Bird by Bird"

early early Sunday

2012-01-08T07:08:00.000-05:00

For no apparent reason, I've been up since 3ish and gave up getting back to sleep.Could be the horror issue of Granta I picked up at Barnes and Noble yesterday. Got up and made coffee, wrote for an hour as promised, made bacon in the oven, fed the bewildered cat herd and came back here to share a couple of diamond links.

Fair warning; do not have coffee over the keyboard - you may spew some out your nose laughing, and hit the loo first lest ye pee oneself in hilarity. I did both. Here and you could substitute the word "artist" for "writer" in most of these items but I won't quibble.

I finally got the tree undressed last night too.

Love and anger @ the Painter's Keys

2012-01-06T08:30:00.002-05:00

This recent topic in Robert Genn's Painters Keys came at just the right time for me.

"As yet Unbaptized"

I answered one of my own recent questions "why we do what we do" and they published my response to the article. I was tickled at the image the editors elected to use (my header is a detail from it) and mildly mortified at the title they gave the post (not mine I assure you) "What I did for Love". Jeez Bob. Thanks. I guess.

Before the holidays I treated myself to a subscription to ART IN AMERICA magazine and after reading the first two issues I've been overwhelmed with the general tone of nihilism and anger that so much of the art conveys.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not looking for puppies, poppies and sunsets - I'm just repelled and bored by endless depictions of mutilations, gore, chaos, mayhem and horror. If I want more of that I'll turn to current pop crap-culture now infested with vampires, zombies and similar escapist nonsense.

All of these genres and their spawn illustrate my ongoing complaint with society in general- the abdication of personal responsibility for one's behavior. None of the heinous acts are anyone's fault because they are afflicted somehow and compelled to act the way they do because of the affliction. No one is responsible for their actions.

I'm convinced that none of the problems of our society will change until people own up to the fact that they constantly indulge their own slightest whims or desires without a thought for the consequences to themselves or anyone else. "I was high. I was drunk. I was a vampire. I was a zombie. I was from the Jersey Shore." Give me an effing break!

It looks to me as if this magazine and the Art Machine in general is simply pandering to this segment of the population, a segment, I might add, that (despite current economic conditions) seems to be able to indulge in those whims to the tune of thousands of dollars for art that I would bury in someone else's back yard in the dark while wearing a string of garlic.

I can only hope my attitude forever keeps me from being "mainstream" because the mainstream is a polluted sewer.

Ahhh. Feel better? I do.

PS..HUZZAH June!

wayfinding

2012-01-05T13:32:00.005-05:00

I know you'll pardon the sloth. Now that the detritus is getting up to level of my design wall, it's probably time to do some serious housekeeping.

But the purpose of this shot is to show the progression in the series I've been working on.

Some of the elements in this largest one bother me and will be changed as the work progresses.

I missed the morning light window in the studio this morning because I was hunkered down in the still dark bedroom working on the beginnings of a story.

Writing is an entirely different creative process from working with cloth - everything is happening behind your eyes instead of in front of them.

A whole 'nother part of the brain must be engaged and being one hundred percent present in that place is most important.

There's no mindless stitching (that I can tell so far) in writing although I did delete as much as I finished up with...akin to ripping out?

hardbooting the muse

2012-01-04T12:08:00.003-05:00

Acrylic paint sure is more expedient than cloth. Knowing when to put on the brakes at speed is an even bigger challenge. I think I like working with oil pastel on canvas better but then, these are small, 8x10 inches.

There's a thirty-six inch canvas gathering dust in the other room that I'll attend to soon. Jim, I may finally use that easel for something other than a craprack.

Yellow Peril

errands

2012-01-02T19:41:00.001-05:00

Out and about doing errands today. Beat feet to whatever brick & mortar bookstores are still in your area! All the calendars and day books were on sale at the local Books A Million. The selection is still good and 50% off is very nice indeed. I got a plain, small lined notebook for work stuff, a wall calender and one of those page-a-day ones..

I usually get the Wysocki Cats but this year they creeped me out. Sorry Mr.W.

dreaming on

2012-01-01T11:41:00.001-05:00

I spent some time with the big one this morning. I'm starting the construction stitches phase, small mostly invisible stitches with 12wt sulky cotton to anchor and stabilize the many "tender" pieces of cloth that tend to shift, wander and shred even with the rayon basting which gets picked out as I go.

My mother is the "Rose" and this is a bit of one of the many handkerchiefs that she received as gifts from her customers at the little post office she worked at for 23 years. She gave me a big box of them and they have all gone into the dyepots - linen, silk, fancy and plain - they all loved the color.

party time

2012-01-01T00:00:00.003-05:00

Yes, it's party time up in the studio. my three constant companions have joined me for an evening of fun, frolic and phone calls from fools.

Karma carries on in her 16th year on the planet. In her dotage, she has lots of demands and her every whim is indulged...I think she putting one over on us and by me, it's okay. Caviar and ice cream..right away madam.

That black void you see here is Voodoo curled up in a ball on my new chair from Ikea. He continues to work on his Thug routine, menacing all who show any signs of believing his posing. King of the couch, Lord of the Lounge gave us all a bad scare this past fall seemingly cashing in 7 of his nine lives but now fully recovered.

Sweetie has taught me to look down at my feet with every step because she is quite likely to be right there where I was planning to move to.
Although always within arms reach, she'd rather not be fussed with or petted much and will let you know with something sharp when enough is enough.

They never question, never criticize, don't care if I swear, keep any secrets offered and are great company.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T20:37:00.002-05:00

this works for me!

rooms with no view

2011-12-30T09:16:00.002-05:00

"You need a room with no view so imagination can meet memory in the dark." Annie Dillard

Does anyone else compose or design while doing repetitive physical tasks?

I had to do a lot of errands yesterday and while I was the driving familiar neighborhood roads I spun myself the ground work for a new short story. Once the tasks were completed, I went to the Aquatic Center at Bethesda Park not five minutes from home and swam in the gigantic indoor heated pool for 45 minutes.

My stroke closely resembles a manatee in search of the dessert cart but it still taxes me if I keep at it. After a lap or two, seventy five meters worth each way, I stop, hang on the tile lip and stretch this and that before I turn and head back to the distant shore. A few times I put on the steam and swam like I was hearing the Jaws theme music, impressing myself with the pace I was making. The lithe, young lifeguard piped up "Best lap this morning!"- poor thing, she must be bored to tears. Did I mention that I have the entire pool to myself?It seems like the best kept secret in the county. No one else showed up before noon.

Back and forth, over and over, while other chapters of the story began to make themselves known. I tried to stay away from sharp details, descriptions or feelings, as these can slip frustratingly away with no pen and paper on hand to take notes (note to self - devote that new blank notebook to travel, even poolside) but it was a productive swim.

No visual expressions are coming from this activity so far. It's a pretty mundane setting even with one entire wall of glass looking out into the Georgia piney weeds and winter sky. That activity seems to live in a different place in my head but now that I think about it there is a huge wall on one end that begs for a mural...

Ocean Homes

scale

2011-12-29T15:51:00.000-05:00

It's been nice to pick up the needle and get back to work on this piece but I constantly have to step back and remind myself to keep the scale of each element in keeping with the overall piece.

It's very easy to get myopic. Already there are two that I have over worked early on and will probably have to pick out.

2011-12-27T13:16:00.000-05:00

Helen Frankenthaler died in the night.

She was one of the (many) reasons that I do what I do.

When I was in art school in NY, I was once present when she was marshaling an exhibition of many enormous canvases, her work, giving orders to a group of assistants ..what went where, etc. It was quite overwhelming and I remember being terrified that my presence would be noticed. I felt like a spy in the camp.

nothing new

2011-12-26T19:55:00.001-05:00

so here's something old.

"night wings"from 2005..early work with hand dyed and painted vintage damask, layered and machine stitched, 18"x24", give or take and I'm not exactly sure where it is. That will be a mission for the morning.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T22:22:00.001-05:00

Our holiday was cozy and comfortable. Close family close, too much good food and wonderful presents shared all round. Cats running wild with too much fun noise and stuff. Happy Holidays everyone.

no more arguments and

2011-12-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

no more wandering uncompassed.

I dreamed about the steps to arrive at this last night. It's happened before but this time the results were all I hoped for and more.

spectacular messes=

2011-12-23T13:01:00.000-05:00

While I was out shopping, the dye fairies came and messed about in my kitchen with a 20"x42" piece of ~~Kona~~ PIMA cotton that came my way from the Giftee earlier in the week.

The mess in the kitchen was total but this glory was left hanging from the octopus on the dyedeck in the winter sun.

Happy Holidays

2011-12-23T08:46:00.003-05:00

Happy Holidays, everyone.
Time to get down to business.

WEBTOOLS (for real this time)

2011-12-22T11:09:00.002-05:00

(Jeez, don't screw up when you name post here..it seems to be an irrevocable mistake) I was going to write about this yesterday but got derailed, hence the bobble.

A while back I was web cruising about thinking how I wanted to reorganize and revamp my main website when I came across this nifty little web tool. If you maintain your own web presence even on a minimal basis, I'd say it's worth looking into. My own HTML skills pulled up short several years ago so the "What You See is (Almost) What You Get" format suits me just fine.

I had the devils own time with rearranging and editing it last night but I was ignoring the cardinal rule of coding "Don't screw around with stuff when you are tired!" So the tool is called SimpleViewer and the basic version is free and I can tell you that I fully intend on paying for the full version...after the holidays are over.

So here is the quick and dirty what I have been up to with needle, thread and cloth going back to late 2009. There are other things, of course, but a trend is revealed. Of course I'll have to go back in and do the dirty work, you know, titles, dates, measurement, prices...all the mundane workaday stuff we all have to trammel with, but for now, enjoy.

is it wednesday already?

2011-12-21T07:40:00.000-05:00

Work continues on the big one...I won't bore you with pictures at this stage but as I expected I'm running into ongoing unhappiness with the need to scale up the stitching and not be so tight. I think I'll have to get used to a different way of handling and stitching on this piece it's so much larger than the previous four.

Everything is basted in place with nearly invisible single ply rayon thread, the next step is to anchor the tender, raggedy pieces with 12wt cotton but here is where I get tempted to get microscopic. I think I'm going dump all the 12s out of my basket and stick with the DMC floss and some sail making needles..maybe take off the cheaters too.

I look to the work of Patricia Carrigan to remind me of grace and spontaneity:

night skating

2011-12-20T23:02:00.001-05:00

waiting until after midnight, waiting for the furnace to kick on so the sound would cover my movements, the muttering mechanicals breathing warmed air throughout the house, everyone deep into their dreams but me.

Thick socks over thin, jeans and sweater pulled on over pajamas, I sat in a chair in the kitchen and pushed my feet into my skates and laced them tight, tight, my high heels, in just enough time to ease the back door open, slip out and close it before the furnace sighed and stilled.

the ground was covered with brittle brown grass, frozen hard and unforgiving of the misstep. I picked my way carefully down across the yard to the edge of the lake where the ice had trapped little pockects of air that you wanted to avoid stepping on and cutting with the sound like ripping silk.

keeping the blades flat and taking the first steps out onto the black ice..right foot left foot ..tock. tock, tock then leaning and letting the glide take me further away from the house into deeper silence and darkness then setting the toeteeth and pushing off. Another long glide before settling into the rhythm and picking up speed, steadying, shifting and lifting the right foot up and back, leaning in and forward, shoulders down, head up..flying into the night on that burning, bad, but anchored, ankle.

Picking up speed in a wide arc I fly off into the darkness for a while but soon catch a careless toe and go sprawling. Heated up and winded, I lie on my back and look into the overcast blackness unable to find any stars, my eyes smarting with the cold. The ice speaks underneath me then, through me, a thrummimg groan, booming low and pinging high at the same time. letting me know it's gathering strength under me as unseen snowflakes land on my burning cheeks and melt instantly the water running into my hair.

flashbacking

2011-12-19T07:36:00.002-05:00

"Healer" 22"x'22" 2003

I was tinkering with my laptop this morning and some of the newer versions of programs I have been forced into in the move to Windows 7 when I stumbled across a bunch of files from back in the day.

When I first started learning HTML for the purpose of building and maintaining my own website I didn't pay a lot of attention to organizing the files properly. Files are named cryptically and are scattered all over the place.

this B&W image caught and soothed my over stimulated eye this morning.

Both built on common cotton bandanas, this is a companion piece to "Parking Magik" which was created for a black and white challenge and is part of the Del Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection . Once upon a time I was enthralled by commercial cotton prints and beading with no notions of dyeing fabric.

luxury

2011-12-17T12:39:00.000-05:00

When I got up this morning I discovered that the Head Chef had turned his kitchen fairy loose in the night and my one big chore for today had been handled for me. Molte grazie amore mio .

I took the great luxury of starting the basting on this piece with only one or two changes along the way. As the stitches replace the horde of pins it begins to feel like cloth again and not a clanking torture device determined to slash me full of holes. I am happy with the layout now but the colors are feeling very fruity so the next layers will be all about moderating the first go round of color choices. Looking at it closely, not in a fugue state with eyes all crossed and crazy, I know there is going to be arguments about the stitching...what thread? how loud? all those variables.

eye candy friday!

2011-12-16T10:34:00.000-05:00

So this one is shaping up to be about 30"x30" and the individual elements worked themselves out to be scaled the same as the four previous, smaller pieces. This is only the first layer of course and I'm seeing one or two things I want to change before I start basting.

And speaking of grand scale eye candy, check out the amazing works of I Wayan Sudarsana Yansen.. here and here where you can get an idea of how big his work is.

Recently I was fussing with myself about wanting to make cloth look like paint and here is an artist who has made paint look like cloth at it's most glorious - in motion on the wind or in water or maybe worn by a dancer.

more than just a dream

2011-12-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

While I was looking for something else, I found the last piece of that gridded slinky stuff- a blend of silk and rayon maybe, and quickly put it to work as the next step in the series. After a few hours of auditioning bits and pieces, I put it down on the floor to take a picture and looked around for my black scissors to throw down for scale. Something else materialized in seconds. Sweetie is more of a doer than a dreamer, and yes, we are both on diets.

grand rêves

2011-12-13T18:28:00.000-05:00

I've decided to stop causing myself any additional stress so far as how and where my art and chosen medium are taking me. For now, I just want to go along for the ride. "Broader Strokes" has come off the design wall and has been disassembled - the pieces will be put to good use in the next project. more on that tomorrow. The materials for finishing and mounting these four have been ordered.

mending with color

2011-12-12T11:12:00.002-05:00

The corner of this tablecloth had a spray of rust stains. Now garden islands are poking through melting snow.

Right now I have no plans to use this technique in a piece but let me think on it some.

If you are shopping online for the holidays, the last day to mail first class for Christmas arrival in the US is next Tuesday, but I'm calling it Monday, 12/19. ..the store inventory is current! Run Wild!

Last year the lobby of our local post office looked like the deck of the Titanic as the last boats were being swung out....

paying close attention

2011-12-10T18:23:00.001-05:00

Seth just reminded me "Some things are true whether you believe in them or not"

Judy Martin's dots

2011-12-10T09:09:00.001-05:00

Thank so much for the tutorial Judy!

Of course I chose inappropriate cloth, drew the wonky roundness by hand, did not baste and had no silk thread..still I like it. Where Judy's dots are almost holy in their precision, mine will be crawling off the blanket in their own organic way. Remember my notion of islands? This technique could work for that idea. let's see.

broader strokes

2011-12-09T08:23:00.001-05:00

I've decided to stop bitching about it and see how I can go about using fabric more like paint. There will be a lot of false starts with stitch so I've basted this one loosely so the end wont have little blood stains all over it.

Most of yesterday was given over to finally getting my hearing tested and confirming what I suspected - that I am hearing less than half of what is said and have worked out a complex of methods to work around the loss. I really didn't realize how much I was depending on visual cues in face to face conversations.

The phone is another big issue. My job entails listening to incident reports over the phone and I depend a great deal on the fact that nothing much new and strange happens on a daily basis...repetition and anticipation, sort of human predicative spelling. I have reports typed out before people even finish dictating them. How many stupid ass ways can one slip and fall or burn oneself in a commercial kitchen anyway?

The doctor couldn't say if the tinnitus was a separate issue from the hearing loss but it certainly compounds the problem. I really miss stone cold silence. My range of hearing is narrow and odd and hearing aids are called for as soon as possible to prevent further loss/damage. They may or may not help the tinnitus. When it's at it's lowest level, I can pretend it's only cicadas partying hearty on midsummer's eve. At it's worst, a jet's engines revving up just before take off...only it never does. A new element cropped up the other day -- a mercifully short low toned hum, not unlike the reverberations of a really big bell ..it came creeping in my left ear like a fat fuzzy brown caterpillar, and then thankfully slunk away. Sometimes it's hard to hear my own thoughts.

rainy day festivities

2011-12-06T18:17:00.001-05:00

It was raining on and off all day..humid and too warm for December. Then the power was off for a spell in mid afternoon. Some folks know what to do with days like this.

The light was too poor to continue.

letting it all rest

2011-12-05T16:38:00.001-05:00

For a little while, I'll be making feathers, checking my compass and warming up to the holidays. Lovely to hear from everyone. Thank you all.

thank you John Hopper for a very timely post

rêver 4 finished

2011-12-05T09:51:00.001-05:00

Except for a handful of white french knots here and there on the avenues and a little blocking, "rêver 4" is finished.

I had a fleeting notion of mounting the four of these together on a big canvas but seeing them together this way I have changed my mind. Now to commit to mounting them with acrylic medium on canvas.

and to every one who commented on yesterday's post, one by one I will be responding. many thanks for the input and food for deeper thought - all lights on a dark path are welcome light.

conflicted

2011-12-04T11:26:00.001-05:00

detail from "Rêver 4"

To continue a private conversation in public (and one I have been having with myself) - Why use cloth as an art medium when the expressions I want to make have nothing to do with stitch or texture or hand?

What a pain in the ass it is sometimes and why in the world make art in a medium that has been stigmatized in so many ways that we have to spend valuable time countering stereotypes and consign ourselves to figurative textile ghettos to have any public voice at all.

It's been pointed out to me that a big reason people make art in the first place is to get "buy in" or acceptance of the visions that please or speak to them- an agreement of sorts. "I like pie. I made a great pie. Have some. It's delicious if I do say so myself"

It seems creative people would rather have agreement with their audiences (whoa..sometimes in the form of exchanging art for cash!) than spend time cultivating the attitude of "F@#K you if you don't like it" and working in a vacuum or making pies and letting them burn black or throw them at passersby.

Since many of my readers are artists who work with textiles, have you ever asked yourselves "Why cloth" and what were your answers?

untitled Rothko

Chooglin' in the aisles!

2011-12-03T17:14:00.001-05:00

It's no secret we don't get out much but my Goodman made the stellar decision a month or so ago to score a pair of premium seats at the Gwinnett Arena to see Paul Simon and his troupe of amazing musicians put on the kind of show that was so worth waiting for. Yes, the crowd was shiny bald and frosted with white and gray but baby, we was rocking the house with the Master.

Paul Simon's music has a special place in my heart and soul, his music came along at a time in my life when I never had to share him with anyone, no boyfriend, no lover...no one to convince what a genius he was. I just bought the record, or cassette and simply wore it out all by myself . I have never seem him perform live before so this was a special show. What a Hell of a great time we had! Thanks again darlin'.

Yes indeed. still surprising after all these years.

bonbons

2011-11-30T13:11:00.001-05:00

We continue to be satisfied working in this effortless manner. Some much like eating expensive chocolate truffles..but so much better for me.

There is a message in here somewhere.

PS... thanks Mimi..this is not even finished and someone submitted it to
CraftGossip but they cropped out my assistant!

Holiday Shopkeeping

2011-11-29T19:27:00.001-05:00

I spent some time today going through the inventory and cutting prices!

Random Acts of Dyeness is fat with bargains and in plenty of time for holiday gift giving, in fact, a few of those magic cloth burritos came off the shelf and fell straight into my sewing basket.
Will wonders never cease?

rain dancer

2011-11-28T13:15:00.001-05:00

I looked from stitching and caught him dancing on the windowsill.
Some brass!

eyes wide open

2011-11-27T09:19:00.001-05:00

As I work on this with ever tinier stitches (I've switched over to the 2.0 cheaters - I keep thinking about distant horizons, wider vistas and working larger. Thinking of each little element as if it was measured in feet instead if thread counts. Judy Martin's recent post has given me another point of view about working large with cloth. Commitment to the outcome after long, long engagement is a daunting prospect. It's not like there's a shortage of raw materials around here.

Meanwhile, I've been touring other art courtesy of a crazy little widget on the bottom of each post at Oh, What a World and other sources. Getting away from cloth and standing back to look at other art has been refreshing. Take a look at the work of Paul Baumer, Brian Rutenberg, Emily Mason, Clare Kuo and Clara Fiahlo among others...are you drunk yet?

my not-black friday

2011-11-25T12:22:00.001-05:00

This is how I am feeling this morning. I am so grateful to be off today from work. We had a great time yesterday, birds, biscuits and all. It's nice to have guests at the table during the holidays - makes me clean the house like nothing else. Between the cleaning, cooking and working a shift last night I am done in.

Except for tending my friend's cat family while she is away, I will not be leaving the house today. All this lunacy over shopping for a lot of crap that you have managed to live without for a whole year is just plain ugly.

I spent some time this morning working on this with a little help from Voodoo. I unburied my beloved sewing chair in the studio the other day and sat sewing in the sunlight with a friend. Later....leftovers for everyone. He seems to know.

floor glory

2011-11-23T13:02:00.001-05:00

From ABC Carpet & Home..myself, I couldn't walk on these...too beautiful.

They do make me think about working larger.

I shoulda been a stone mason

2011-11-22T11:14:00.001-05:00

I'll pull out the basting stitches and correct the helter skelter as I go but the overall composition pleases me.

Each little brick is a world unto itself and I keep thinking about what it would be like to make one like this on a much larger scale. Scale matters a lot when you are working with cloth.

(Earlier this morning I stumbled across the paintings of Matthew Johnson)

I am so happy to have the respite, the promise of this scrap of cloth over the upcoming days and weeks. Hope you all have happy Thanksgivings.

Candy for Breakfast!!

2011-11-21T07:57:00.001-05:00

How bout some color excitement to kick off a busy holiday week? Thank Lorraine Glessner for these links!

Julia Zanes...

Joan Snyder

Nebiur Arellano

Rêver 4 underway

2011-11-19T21:27:00.001-05:00

After all that yaddayadda and left brain stuff yesterday it was good to unpack the basket and get started on the fourth in this series.

Setting the stage was pesky -working with that woven, gridded rayon is like weaving oiled eels- then, after half the morning shuffling and pinning it became clear that I had lost my space eye and bearings. Pulled everything off and started over with #3 close at hand to keep me straight.

I love these nylon body Ginghers - super tool and very photogenic.

self critiquing

2011-11-19T09:31:00.001-05:00

From Robert Genn's Painter's Keys, the latest article "How to critique yourself" has sparked a lot of interest in my circle of web acquaintances. Like any other lesson, I'm sure it's only useful if you actually implement it as intended.

I was inspired to take a long view of what I have been up to by snatching up some four or five hundred or so images taken from all the blogging I've done (there's a speedy little tool for that) and you know how I love my eye candy.
Then I pared that batch down to just under 300 images that showed finished or nearly finished pieces.

Then I made three folders on the desk top. "What Was I Thinking" (read with a sneer) , "Don't Care One Way or the Other", and "I Would Hang That on My Wall" . Taking some more time to learn a movie making tool that came with my new laptop was good for a few hours aggravation, so here are the ones that made the cut.

I made the movie complete with music by Neil Young , the song timed by Windows Moviemaker to match the images ( or was it the other way around?)
...and yes, Neil, I liked it so much I paid for it. Alas, YouTube has decided that paying for it wasn't enough and the music has been stripped away (but you can see and hear it here if you want but be warned, it's huge)

As for this whole process being an exercise in self discovery...that remains to be seen. It turns out that these images are in fairly accurate chronological order and that's been a revelation of sorts. If you want to comment and Blogger gives you any kind of trouble, email me...and thanks!

Happy Friday

2011-11-18T17:37:00.001-05:00

Madam Karma knows just what to do with November sunshine in Georgia.

worked up over weather

2011-11-17T10:44:00.001-05:00

I spent several HOURS looking for that gridded rayon that was the base for "Rêver 3" and finally unearthed it in the "safe" place I had stored it in. I've been wanting to start the next one in the series and last night fell asleep listening to "Diving Bell and Butterfly" which prompted me to get on with it, stocking the basket with scraps for the project. Once I have the fourth in this series I may find a way to mount all of them together.

We spent most of yesterday morning under tornado warnings but were luckily passed over by the worst of the weather. The cats were all acting up and Karma insisted on having a ringside seat from the planter on the deck. Her senior moments and eccentricities keep us hopping and waiting on her hand and foot. Sweetie chewed on my right elbow while I finally put together the artists statement I needed for the one that's going to AQE12....99 words!

"Using vintage fabrics in my art is a constant and welcome reminder of the character and original purpose of this cloth - beautiful utility.Old damasks and linens take to contemporary surface design techniques,such as dyes and resists, in unexpected and satisfying ways.

This composition came about while waiting in my car in the winter sunshine outside the laundromat and observing several women inside go back and forth between heated arguing and companionable agreement as they watched their own laundry churning. "The fabrics of our lives" seemed to be the theme of the day for all of us."

grey day mending

2011-11-15T15:42:00.001-05:00

It's overcast and unseasonably warm today so I thought I'd take some time for stitching.
I'm following Jude's lead and putting a much missed breast pocket back on the Magic Invisibility Cloak. At first I couldn't find it, then I remember getting some shmutz on it and setting it aside to be washed.

Alas, it got scooped up in a wash day frenzy and got pounded as in on a rock at the river with a load of jeans. Some of the damask and linen pieces have slipped their mooring stitches so some decorative and restorative work is in order.

spotted imaginings

2011-11-14T11:38:00.001-05:00

just moving things around at the moment , trying this and that...far from pins even. I'm in no hurry to commit. So far I just like these colors, patterns and shapes. So far.

there are many UFOs to fart about with rather that rushing into anything here and
I have misplaced "Ocean Homes" and "Beaches" - neither ever properly photographed .

I was looking for "Beaches" because of how that spotted cloth that keeps turning up.
I like making it and using it. The spots are not quite orderly but each one has it's personal space.

babbling

2011-11-12T11:52:00.001-05:00

Thinking about what to write for an artist statement has made me think about the origin of the piece and how and why I've been working with vintage fabrics. This naturally led to thinking about my own artistic process, the steps I take, and it was like striking a match to tinder. For me it always starts with color. In the wake of a long and productive dye season, I've been overwhelmed with beautiful cloth..even if I do say so myself. For a while I have had a design in mind - an iteration of a previous piece - and this morning light helped me choose a palette of cloth and take it out of the studio where there are too many color distractions.

I already knew what the base piece would be (which came right from here) so I selected a double handful of colors to go along for the ride promising myself that I wont be using every crayon in the box...this time. The design will be relatively simple so the colors will have to be limited.

Squeezing the paints out onto the palette is what artists do...marshaling the materials. Ahead of time I know this piece will be permanently mounted to a large canvas 36" square, so my design has boundaries to consider. A piece of batting has been cut to fit and will act as my design wall as the piece develops. Hard decisions will be made about what cloth will be cut and which will be left whole.

The design itself is abstract but will have inferences and suggestions that always come right from the cloth.

(notes for the statement - Reasons why I work with vintage cloth)

I am old fashioned Yankee frugal or just plain cheap depending on your point of view. I could lie and say I'm all about recycling for the good of the planet but then there would be people taking exception to my use of contemporary dye processes and they would be right. I work with whatever my vision calls for- vintage fabric is everywhere and can be had for next to nothing and a little dye goes a long way. Long ago the fashion of setting a white table was the rule and a lot of that cloth has outlived the fashion and I am happy to be able to reap the harvest. I have my favorites, Irish double damask and cotton lawn, but I'm an indiscriminate collector and don't mind if a piece has holes, stains or burn marks- it's all going to be transformed anyway. I've surmised that because of changes in the manufacturing processes, cloth that was made sometime before the 60s takes up dye and other surface treatments better than "new" cloth. Fabric that has never been treated with fabric softener takes up the dye almost fiercely, yielding colors that could be described as translucent, even iridescent. You can begin to see my "whole box of crayons" dilemma.

I like the randomness and serendipity of the results of my dye process on vintage cloth. When I used to use acrylics on canvas I never, ever used a color straight from the tube, in fact, I rarely cleaned my brushes completely leaving them pickling in jars of dirty water waiting to be wiped off (on my jeans) and used to reveal hints of whatever color had come before a reminder and echo of the previous days work.

There is a deep sense of personal history inseparable from these cloths. Many of the pieces I collect were created and used in ways that no longer exist. I hold a length of cotton flour sack in my hands, examine a hasty, unskilled mend and think about the life of the person who worked that rough needle and thread and what repairing this cloth meant to them - how important and completely utilitarian cloth was in their daily life.

I pick up a large damask dinner napkin that is as thick as felt with the depth of the fine weave and layers of jacquard design embossed in glossy white and monogrammed with the mark of the owner, the possessor of the cloth done with incredible complexity and skill by a person of low social station, her skills taken for granted and cheaply bought.
I can drift away thinking about her sitting on a stool by a window with cold New England sunlight coming over her shoulder as she works the fine threads into the hooped napkin. Time traveling at it's best.

Ripping into these cloths and transforming them with color sometimes feels steeped in hubris. Not so much ballsy as lunatic.

I digress and have sidetracked myself but I'm rolling on two rails right now..writing about the how and why and starting something completely new. Really? 100 words?
Good times, noodle salad.

assignment

2011-11-11T08:24:00.001-05:00

You spend hours working on a piece. Later you feel like gambling and rather than run off to buy a few lottery tickets you spend hours deciding which pieces to enter into a prestigious exhibition. The nerve!

Then you spend more hours re-photographing them and obsessing over the paperwork and meeting the deadline, barely. Then, one day after you've forgotten about it, the Fat Letter (or Fat Email) arrives to let you know that your work has been accepted and your job is far from over. "Lavanderia" will be going to Art Quilt Elements 2012 and I am incredibly honored.

I submitted my three entries without artist statements and now I have to come up with one hundred words either about my work in general or this piece in particular. You say "How hard could that be...she never shuts up here on the web.."

Well folks, this time it's going into print and I don't want to make a fool of myself. I didn't write a statement in the first place because I wanted the work to speak for itself. Now I have to speak for and about it carefully and thoughtfully. I probably shouldn't go on about how the basic composition came about while I sat in my car parked in the winter sunshine outside the local lavanderia (I like that word so much more than laundromat) waiting on three huge loads of wash to dry and observing several older women inside go back and forth between heated arguing and companionable agreement as they watched their own laundry churning.

redecorating

2011-11-10T06:39:00.003-05:00

It was time to do a little interior redecorating. Most of you would be appalled to know that the walls inside my house are still the "realtors oyster" as when we first moved in.
I hate the idea of painting a room a specific color. I get tired of whatever color it is before I'm even finished painting! Instead, I like to hang curtains and let the light coming through color the room. The blue curtains in the master bedroom are getting pretty old and faded but it's a whole lot easier to redecorate here. The new banner is a detail from "As Yet Unbaptized".

stopping

2011-11-08T09:12:00.000-05:00

If anyone knows of a class on knowing when to stop, let me know. I still don't know what's going on here but I can't bring myself to call it done because ....well, just because. Part of the problem is the pleasure in the process. Just the act of sitting and stitching on cloth is it's own reward, whether something comes of the effort is always a crapshoot.

stitching on something with an end in mind is no less satisfying...here's another feather bound for Jude. The base cloth is a vintage linen napkin with a stamped design that someone left unfinished and Grace found abandoned in a second hand store that was going out of business . Once headed for oblivion, it's going to keep on working a while longer...the threaded needle was still in it and still incredibly sharp. I'm using it to work the feathers.

lazy Sundays...not

2011-11-06T10:30:00.001-05:00

This household does not have that kind of Sunday. Jimmy gets me the NY Sunday Times and I'm lucky if I open it before Wednesday! I take the time to do the housework I should have been getting after during the week . In a while, I'll make a point of getting outside and get some fresh air, sunshine and exercise.

First I'm doing some marketing experimentation...I can't sanction another dyefest until I move out some of the creations I already have! Thinking that the Magic Cloth Burritos may be too much cloth for people who are working "smaller" these days, I put together a new offering called "tatters"...more about it here...

shop updates

2011-11-05T13:54:00.002-04:00

As promised, some new burritos have been posted to the store..more to come
later today and tomorrow, so hold off ordering until Monday!

until then, ponder this incredible photo take by my friend Lynn in California. Doesn't it look like a Turner painting ? What is that little tiny fire?
This staggers me.

Sunny Jim gives direction...

2011-11-04T08:22:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about the creative dichotomy I work in with fabric, swinging from making art cloth that, (ostensibly) winds up in art quilts and making traditional bedwear. "Sunny Jim" above and "Big Muddy" below have reminded how both approaches meet in the middle with satisfying results - putting my art to work while soothing my frugal Yankee work ethic. I work...so does my art.

Somehow, in my morning blog slogging I came across Amy Ellis' Bloggers Quilt Festival. With only hours to participate I'm linking up Sunny Jim. Did I mention there are Prizes to win? And later spend some time rummaging around here too.

Winter looms long and dreary so I plan on working out ways to incorporate many of the fabrics I have been dyeing over the recent months. Stabilizing "tender" cloth with be part of the that challenge- don't want my blankets falling apart in the first round of wash and dry!

kitchenworx - day two

2011-11-03T10:29:00.000-04:00

I remembered to cover the kitchen table with a rescued white cotton blanket first thing instead of a stack of newpapers...good stuff will come of it eventually.

These pieces have just come steaming from the oven after having my own soywax/dye blocks shaved over them. They have to cool and dry completely before the next step and there may not be time today to move to the next step.Grrr.

Grace wrote to me about the difficulty of cutting into a piece of cloth that has been dyed or otherwise changed and become (in her eyes) a unique and beautiful piece of art, no further manipulation called for.

I know what she means. I have a small stack of good sized pieces that I just can't bring myself to force or otherwise organize or incorporate into something else.
What to do?
What do you do?

beach inspired experiments

2011-11-02T12:28:00.001-04:00

Moving on with my surf and jellyfish dyeing experiments - this piece turned out predictably erratic and uninspired.

This morning I fired up the kitchen dyeworks, broke out the soywax and set to work.

I did not stop to take pictures of these two in progress but spent the better part of the morning transforming just two 20"x20" pieces of damask with a series of wax resists and overdyeing.

Time was I measured the success of a dyefest in quantity as much as quality. Working within the restraints of the kitchen will add a new dimension of FOCUS . blah blue becomes .........

and differing set of steps produced a phantasm!

Go Here for a closer look. yes, I did take notes.

back to the world

2011-11-01T08:33:00.002-04:00

I got in from Destin late Sunday night after an exciting (not) eight hour charge over the back roads of GA. We missed our exit off FL 10 and wound up crow-flying it north across the south eastern border of GA and taking 30 mile stretches of industrial farm roads at break neck speed because there was almost no one else on the road and Jake saw to it that my Honda had an alignment, among other preventive measures. Who knew it could go 85-90 mph? On the way down, at saner speeds, I wrung 419 miles out of one 10 gallon tank. Along the way home, fields of cotton ready for harvest looked like fields of snow. I sent my sister a picture of the beach and she sent back a shot of their deck covered with snow!

We went to the 16th annual Destin Festival of the Arts held at my favorite beach, Henderson state park. Most of the artists were there to sell interior decoration to condo owners who never stay in their own condos and there did appear to be buying going on.

I spoke with one painter, Bill Billingsley, whose impressionist seascapes I found spellbinding. In a genre that was invented to sooth and lull, his work was compellingly beautiful. I wish I could find some links or images to share but Bill spends his time building his own (large!) canvases and painting instead of farting around on the internet..go figger! A lady at the fair offered to buy the shirt off my back. I declined.

I have idle (read "lottery winnings") fantasies about moving to this sugar sand beach and making art. The truth is I would spend all my time lolling about the beach and surf, grow gills and probably swim off under the moonlight one night with a pod of sea turtles.
Time to get back to work.

surf dyeing (with jellyfish)

2011-10-30T07:53:00.001-04:00

This turned out to be much more of a symbolic gesture rather than the dye fest I had planned. Although the sun was strong so, was the wind and temperatures were probably not optimal for good results. The water was warm enough for me to go swimming but the jellyfish wandering about (they seemed to follow me) put that notion on hold. Once I brought the cloth back up to the beach I spread it out, sprinkled it with a little soda ash and added a little dye concentrate already in solution (dye powder would have been impossible in the wind). To my horror - and where was my brain?- much of it went straight into the sugar white sand below. I quickly rolled up the cloth, sand, dye and all and stuffed it into a baggie. Then another baggie just for more stained sand. Didn't want to be lynched by the locals. Still, with more planning and warmer conditions, I want to give this another chance. Results? Tomorrow after I unpack.

to the beach!!

2011-10-28T07:44:00.003-04:00

Destin, Florida...my fans await me!

packing....

2011-10-27T10:13:00.001-04:00

the things you find when you pick up the studio!

I'll take this along and stake it out in the surf and see what becomes of it.

dazzled

2011-10-25T12:58:00.003-04:00

It's been a long time since I was stupefied by a blank canvas. Time was I worked on really large canvases with acrylic - hammered the wood, stretched and gessoed the canvas myself. All that preparation gave me time to think, from a distance, about what would come next so I don't remember getting the willies over acres of nothingness.

This is something else.
A big box of vintage cloth arrived yesterday courtesy of my scout, Grace of the American West (who called her that? How appropriate). Colin helped me unfurl one last night and Jim estimated it to be 120" square. Shimmering.

As I sat and went through all the pieces this morning in the sunlight the stillness set in. What more could I do? What shades and hue? The hubris of my plans appalls me, yet the subversive witch cackles, rubs her paws together and daydreams in butternut and violet, storm gray and moss, blood orange and peaches.

If it wasn't for my GoodMan, I'd take the veil.

monday, monday

2011-10-24T11:04:00.000-04:00

I long to just sit down with this and focus on it for a while, as unfocused as I feel it's become, but it's a Monday full of chores and obligations - the usual boring stuff we all have to deal with.

I've decided to take on the Excess in my life starting with my walk-in closet. There will be NO pictures. So far, two bags for the trash and two for the Goodwill- it's time I gave back some of what I've taken out of there.

sunday prayer flags

2011-10-23T10:36:00.000-04:00

that's EQ5 above and EQ6 below

I love it when solutions, or just new ideas, come in dreams.

these are three of the cloth burritos quick stitched into prayer flags and strung in my crepe myrtle grove out front. My dog walking neighbors thought I was taking a novel approach to decorating for Halloween....

I machine basted them to cotton strips just so people could get a better idea of just what was in one of those rolls. Scale is still an issue...most of these pieces are 7 to10 inches wide.

one of the October burritos....they are down now, safely back in the house.

a book arrived yesterday..I leafed through it a bit and am kind of afraid to read closely, sponge brained as I am...

store update

2011-10-21T12:27:00.003-04:00

October Burritos (3)

I've just spent the morning adding some of the fall equinox fabrics to the store...why is it that there are still heaps and stacks of fabric all over the place?
I suspect they are breeding like bunnies.

For those who might wonder about the price increases, these new cloth burritos are bigger than the ones I have sold in the past.

Back to work, cloth woman!

Super textures (2)

homecoming

2011-10-21T10:16:00.004-04:00

The mailman delivered two quilts yesterday.

I had forgotten "Up on Wheels" and "Roadkill" were traveling!! I absolutely have to update my website if for no other reason than tracking the travels of pieces.

All I know for sure is that they were included in a special exhibit at one of the Mancuso shows. Annie Copeland asked me to select two from my gallery months ago. I have to go get some rods and put these up on the walls - I need these colors in my eye especially this time of year

the invisibility cloak

2011-10-20T12:46:00.001-04:00

Here's an update on my project for Jude's Magic Cloth Diaries online class,

warming up for Halloween

proceeds of the day

2011-10-18T22:01:00.002-04:00

terrible light, this little task lamp but you get the drift. If there's any sun at all tomorrow I'm going to reshoot these in groups, take out a precious few to keep and get the rest ready to sell in the store.

they are so soft and full of texture

another run at the colors

2011-10-17T12:28:00.000-04:00

I'm taking advantage of the warm temps to squeeze in one more outdoor dye fest. Got the dyes out of the fridge early and letting them get up to temp before I have to go online this afternoon...hurry hurry....I hate it but, oh well. tomorrow..thunderstorms followed by cold air.

Jimmy looked around the studio this morning and said
"speaking of hoarders.." yes, yes, I know. I have to let some of these go soon.

2011-10-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

For my birthday, Jim and the boys gave me my first laptop. I've been shopping online for weeks but had to go put "hands on" yesterday and came home with this nifty Acer Aspire.

It was a great buy and does things I couldn't imagine. The old monster box in the living room was built in the stone ages (2005) and has been sounding like a guinea pig given birth. It's headed for it's last round up and has given faithful, solid service but it's days are numbered. Now all I have to do is figure our replacements for all the old, outdated software that I'm so used to.

this is my idea of interior decorating.