Flowers


“A country where flowers are priced so as to make them a luxury
has yet to learn the first principles of civilization”
~ Chinese Proverb


“See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence ....
we need silence to be able to touch souls.”
~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta
 

“I like flowers, I also like children,
but I do not chop their heads and keep them in bowls of water around the house.”  
~ George Bernard Shaw
 
I salvaged the pale pink ranunculus from last week's store-bought bouquet. The pretty lavender babies are growing like weeds down by the road. They grow straight up, single spikes, with the lovely tiny flowers on them. Does anyone know what they are?

Feed the Muse

In order to keep my passions alive:
  • I have to spend time playing with my raw materials ... textiles, threads, wires, stones, buttons, paper, dye pots, inks, paints, pencils, pens, stamps and ink pads.
  • I have to spend time with people who set off sparks in my head ... people who enjoy a good discussion ... people who go way beyond the "never say anything controversial" politically correct crowd. 
  • I have to spend time with nature, exploring with my camera, or my rake and shovel ... getting in touch with the mystery all around ... marveling at the trees, the moon, the flower buds, the air. 
In order to do those things which feed my passions and nourish my muse, I really have to spend less time on the computer. I know  this is a familiar refrain, but maybe you've noticed that I actually am spending less time here lately.

I don't want to stop posting altogether, but maybe I'll post less often. I hope you understand. In fact, I hope you go spend more time with your art, too.

P.S. I like the Aynn Rand quote but please do not take it to mean I am or am not a fan - I've not read Atlas Shrugged and I just don't know enough about her, one way or another.

Nostalgia


Somebody was adorable .... but that was about 1952.
I guess that means somebody is old.

Geeze, from happy and cute to old and miserable, in sixty seconds flat!

That's a Wrap!

1. Quadruple Wrap Bracelet with antique button closure, 2. Triple Wrap Bracelet with antique button closure, 3. Triple Wrap Bracelet with antique button closure, 4. Double Wrap Bracelet with antique button closure

I recently learned how to make these wrap bracelets and I love them! They are fun to make, although a bit maddening to get started, and they look so fabulous. Perfect for when you want to wear a bracelet, and you want to sparkle, yet you don't want "jewelry" in the traditional sense. I guess they satisfy my inner hippie. :-)

Secret Dreams


Some dreams are hidden, behind a silky bodice.
 
 

 

There is an edge, softened with age.  It's taken to curving in on itself.




Buttoned up.  What would you see, if you loosened those buttons?
 


  
Would you see my dreams?  I think so.
 



 They're right there.  Just look.



This piece is made with repurposed textiles, including a piece from the bodice of a 1940s silky blouse. The portion around the linen central "window" is woven strips of cloth, a technique I fell in love with while participating in Jude Hill's workshop. The  border is made from cloth hand-dyed by Arlee Barr.

This piece of interactive textile art - thank you, Dee Mallon, for giving it that identity - is a diminutive 7.25" wide x 6.5" high.

Added 4/19/2011:
On my Flickr page, Dee Mallon at Cloth Company commented on the new direction taken by this piece. That got me to thinking about which aspect(s) would be perceived as new direction.
  • Stitching on this sort of textile? Well, I did do that ages ago, but then I was distracted by the beauty of the felted wool. And when I say distracted, I mean addicted! But I do enjoy traditional hand sewing and embroidery very much - the action of the needle on thin cloth is so rewarding; with felt it is so much more difficult! 
  • Then there is the cloth weaving. I tried this exact technique with the felted wool about twelve years ago! The process was pleasant enough, but the result was not at all satisfying to me and I quickly dropped it. This, again with the "normal" textiles, is so much more wonderful. And learning from Jude, being encouraged to experiment with this and that technique, has made it extremely interesting to me. I hope to do more cloth weaving, for sure.
  • Finally, there is the pale palette. My pieces are usually so drenched in color ..... yet I often swoon when I see a piece that is all misty shades of fog. So, I decided to somewhat force my wild muse to settle down to this paleness, just for a bit. It was tough going --- she really wanted to add red --- and she got her way, didn't she, in the "dream field."
So, what's next? I have a felted wool project which has been bouncing around in my head for several years! I fear the beauty I am imagining will die, if I don't get working on it really soon. This reminds me of a book, Father Flashes, by Tricia Bauer. At one point in the book, the narrator describes her brother, saying he procrastinates "until possibility fades to loss." Is that not a perfect description of the sad truth? I have to thank Tricia; that one elegant phrase has provided a gentle nudge, much needed, to get to making.