Some favorite things

linen, silk, wool ...

A relatively new linen jacket from Eileen Fisher, a treat to myself as I readied for treatment; a silk blouse, also from Eileen Fisher, purchased more than twenty years ago and still serving me well; and a drop dead gorgeous wool & silk scarf, hand woven by Marjorie Meyers Haber of mmhandwovens on Etsy, a recent Christmas gift from my daughter, Adeline.

and messiness ...

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My studio is still terribly messy and therefore unusable, so the dining room sometimes does double duty. I had to clean up for Thanksgiving so now I am loath to get it all cluttered again. I prefer to sit at the table with a cup of tea and enjoy the view. 

Maybe I could learn to create things without making a mess ... as did Mary Ellen Best, if we believe her self-portrait, at right, is an accurate representation. 

Or I could take comfort in the words of Dasha Zhukova (Russian art collector and founder of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and Garage Magazine) who famously said "I like messy. What fun is tidy?"

I think I like messy, too, even though it can get out of hand. I like it the way I like insomnia. The hours between midnight and 4 AM are my favorites, even though it may be better for my health to be asleep during that time.

And, anyway, messiness goes hand-in-hand with genius.

* * * I'm a genius! * * * 

Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the most genius artists ever, shared this memory: "I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I'd draw a big ram's head, really messy. I'd never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spiderman." 

If you want to know about Basquiat, then this is the movie to watch:

My studio - astonishingly out of control.

Linen & Laughter

LINEN LOVE - My darling daughter gave me this sweet selection of linen kitchen towels from Not Perfect Linen. Lucky me - in so many ways.

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WORK IN PROGRESS - Recycled linen and vintage lace ... I had set it aside, feeling uncertain about what it would be, but now I know. I'm very psyched to get on with it, now that I know where it is headed. 

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LOLOLOLOL (apologies to Ellen, who doesn't like the LOL thing) - I was experimenting with the bread machine. My intention was to make Cinnamon-Raisin Bread, but I neglected to put the raisins in at the proper time. In a misguided effort to correct my mistake, I added them way too late in the process, thus creating a "new" baked good: Raisin-Studded Cinnamon Bread. 

SOMETHING I'VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY - As you get older, all your juices start drying up and so you don't really need to shower as often. At least that's what older people think and believe ... which is why older people smell funny. 

Nearly There

This little sweetie has been patiently waiting for me. I added the buttons and a few more stitched. Now I need to figure out what to do about finishing. I'm thinking I'll mount this onto a piece of brown paper, like Kraft paper but a bit more refined. 

It seems I do like to let a piece linger before I declare it complete. I think it's part of the process of letting go. 

I don't actually know if this piece is meant to be vertical or horizontal. 

Because it is National Poetry Month, I plan to share a bit of poetry every day this month.

[I carry your heart with me(I carry it in] by e.e. cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)