Shared Harvest - The Beginning

June 6, 2013

This is the first week of picking up my veggies from the Shared Harvest CSA at New Pond Farm. I am very happy that there are ton of arugula leaves ... one of my favorite salad items (along with avocado, but I'll get that from the store).

What I took home today: broccoli, Pac Choi (Chinese cabbage), buttercrunch lettuce, White Russian kale, curly kale, lacinato kale, multi-colored "bright lights" chard, radishes, spinach, dill, and kohlrabi. The radishes are huge ... in fact, I thought they were very small beets! I also didn't recognize the spinach at first ... I knew it looked familiar, but it took me a while to recognize that it was spinach. Funny.

This is my other new thing for this week. Not at all sure where it's going. But it's nice to have something to sew. I like the different blues and the thread which I dipped into the indigo vat, all crumpled up so it came out variegated.

The indigo vat, last year ... learning from Glennis Dolce - Shibori Girl. I did so little, maybe this summer I will pay more atention.

Beginning

May 31, 2013

The pieces in the top photo all want to be together and so do the pieces in the bottom photo. Whether these are two separate projects or all part of one, I'm not yet sure. It's too soon to know how it will end, but it's definitely started and so I will pursue it - whatever "it" is - to its perfect conclusion.

It feels so good to be excited about doing something. I've been fretting for quite some time about when-oh-when will I ever get back into the studio and start making things again. Luckily, I stumbled upon THIS and it was exactly what I needed to remind about what is the most important part of the creative process.

Hint: You have to show up.

The thread, by the way, is some vintage tan crochet thread which I dipped into the indigo vat when I took an online class offered by Glennis Dolce (Shibori Girl). If you are not familiar with her work (and even if you are) do yourself a favor and go exploring because she makes some really drop dead gorgeous stuff and it is always a treat to spend time browsing her latest creations.

As I ponder what I will make with these elements (and this may only make sense to you if you are old enough to carry West Side Story in your memory), this is what keeps going through my mind:

Could it be? Yes, it could.
Something's coming, something good,
If I can wait!
Something's coming, I don't know what it is,
But it is
Gonna be great!

Begin Anywhere

February 20, 2013

The beginning is the most important part of the work. - Plato

Plato speaks to me. I understand what he means. If you don't begin, then there is no work. Beginning is key. Go into the studio and do something; do anything.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Lao-Tsu

When I've been procrastinating and paying attention to the ridiculous things, like reorganizing my bedroom closet, the linen closet, and the pantry - Really? YES! - then beginning is, indeed, the most important part of the work.

But once I've begun? Once I've begun, there are all those other most important parts of the work! I know, I know - a superlative applies to just one thing. There can be only one most beautiful girl in the world. So, allow me to rephrase it: There are many aspects which are of the utmost importance. How's that?

What are those aspects? There are the obvious elements - choosing the right pieces of cloth, or thread, or buttons, and so forth. That almost goes without saying. A crucial aspect of the work involves being mindful, being with the piece, caring about the piece. I have to feel the soul of the piece in order for it to work. If it has no soul, then it is not complete. And that's the other element that is as important as beginning: ending. And by this, I mean properly ending. There is no such thing as "good enough." It has to be right. When it is right, it is perfect.

Dre & Adeline with Charlie - A Particular Kind of Perfection

My new mantra, replacing Waste Not * Want Not, is Begin Anywhere. Adeline introduced me to the phrase (it's attributed to John Cage) and I love it! Waste Not * Want Not is an old lady scolding. Begin Anywhere is freedom and encouragement and no judgment. And that's exactly what I need. Maybe you do too.