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And the Older said...
You stand.
You breath, let it move through.
You go.
Sometimes just to see.
Don't be discouraged.
Absorb the magic of days.
It rained, it snowed, the plow guy didn't show, 7 degrees, it froze, no unfreeze in sight, the only way out is to slide. Or fly.
Just a shadowy beginning to a winter's day. A winter self. Worn thin from a sad world. As it sometimes happens.
Snow over ice. Won't be above freezing for a while. The blues are settling in.
But then thin, always the opportunity, to become like a window. Or to lift off in the wind.
And a thread from here to there...
I am really enjoying this scratched/old filter lately, probably because I can relate. I had added a dyed layer over a print, loving how the illusion of it sliding behind the foliage gave it depth. That gave me a similar idea here.
But before I go further, let me just say, that all my audio and video will be at Feel Free now, as I move to my new series Everything in Perspective. I have decided to continue as long as I can with a modestly priced password protected format. You can come here to read about life and see what I am doing (and that can be enough) and then you might choose to follow the thread (if you are so inclined) to dive deeper into my process. Very much deeper.
Why?
The feed here is unreliable and media is next to impossible to host, especially audio.
This blog has so much content, but the way I just go makes it hard to hold the bits together in any cohesive manner at this point.
I need to generate a bit more income. For reasons that aren't just about me.
The WordPress format is helping me organize my thoughts for book-writing.
I will release a full description of the final part to the series at the end of the month, which will begin mid February. If you are subscribed there you will receive details in a post, if not there will be a thread from here to there.
The thread from here to there, sounds simple, but really the journey is really so much more than a straight line. If you try to map how it holds together.
We are in for another storm. And frigid weather following. The most winter winter we have seen in a long time. I need to run to the grocery store because grocery delivery here is no longer happening due to a shortage of drivers. And low inventories.
But Hey. Let it snow.
We are in the middle of a new storm. Still dark here and I don't even want to imagine the snow and rain mix. The yuckiest kind of weather to try to get around in. So I am not going anywhere.
I took this picture Yesterday. That's a new path winding through the woods. Won't be visible when winter is over.
When we moved here, I brought my attitude with me. My neighbors (the couple is about my son's age) live right on the road below us. About 1/2 acre, 2 teenagers, and an ATV. Not long after being here, I noticed them walking through "my yard". The 5 acres between them and the next neighborhood over. I kindly let them know how I felt about that. Everyday the youngest kid, 11, rides his ATV in circles around their house . For hours. While I think to myself, I hate those things.
Right after the holidays, while retrieving the mail at the bottom of the hill. I saw them on their deck. I called out. We talked from our own sides over a stone wall. It was a long talk. Too long for here, I cannot type that much.
I asked about things. I learned about them. The things we have in common and the things we don't. I suddenly said...something I never would have said before... "what if Nicholas could use his ATV to make a path? I said maybe we could all walk through the woods more easily. Maybe he could use the path once in a while to ride through to see his friends over the hill. Faces lit up. She asked if I wanted to know more about the hiking trails just beyond the hill.
The culture is different here. But people are people. If you try to understand.
I let a lot of things go with the turn of the year. I think that might become more apparent.
So many works I create are about path. Maybe they all are.
0 at dawn.
Photo play of course, but a little lost puzzle piece at the bottom of a basket brought back so many warm memories. A little bit of heart can go a long way. And I played with the photo just to try to express how it all made me feel.
That's what I do really, try to see if I can find a way to do that. A stray snow self I will call WHEN IT'S COLD. These seemingly silly little cloths. They can sometimes go even deeper than a more sophisticated form of expression. I think because, like a children's drawing they can move past agenda and catch you off guard, even in the making. And then the making brings new feelings.
I will be starting a new and final segment of Patchwork in Perspective in February, in case you have not subscribed to or read the Feel Free Newsletter. Details of new teachings and shop updates will be over there now. Just going, here.
2 degrees. Still, the birds are singing.
The email feed service I tried to set up turned out to be a piece of crap. Not worth the ridiculous fees they were asking. I left the old one in place for now. As silly as it is.
Have a good weekend. I will sit with the Magic Cloth.
This morning when I turned on the light. Just there.
Must have blown in on the wind. Or the Man is being funny.
When we moved here, Magnolia was blocking the front door. The previous owner was crippled and came in through the garage, unable to make it up the front steps. We trimmed a large branch. She has healed beautifully.
Just a simple stacking. But yet an intricate exercise in balance. And alignment. I remember my first snowman. Back then I never questioned why it was a man.
A snow Woman she will be, with a fire inside. Sewing Small, looking forward to continuing with Small Cloth. Going to talk about that tomorrow. Which can really be the birth of Large Cloth. Scale, like form is liquid anyway.
Antibiotics done. Head clearing.
I didn't get to the new email feed thing yesterday, I will try again today.
Even more frigid days are upon us.
There was a 4 hour wait, in the hospital.
Kindly, they gave me a private place to wait. I considered limitation. I tried to make a recording but the double mask was limiting.
All went well and it is just a matter of time. And stuff to do. My dental pain has gone which makes it all seem smaller.
No time for talking but I did come away with limitation is the cornerstone of form.
I also spent a moment thinking about the difference between a Doodle and a Drawing. I call the difference a Joodle. But that is mighty personal as a word. I'll get to it.
Today I will attempt to switch my email service for blog posts. I do not know what will happen. I will attempt to migrate the mailing list. We will see. You may have to subscribe again if you stop getting my posts. All I can say is whatever.
I will be going forward with the final part of Patchwork in Perspective. Everything in Perspective. All I can say again is whatever. Soon enough.
The last few months have been filled with so much sad news. At least a new season is around the corner.
It happens. Things do become more difficult as we age.
I made this ages ago.
I thought it simply illustrated limitation. The cropping. Still fits in the puzzle. Quite beautifully.
When I find some time, I am going to make this on a larger scale. Here, based on a 3" square. I call it Nine for limitation. With a small l.
I will be away for the day. Eye Surgery for the Man. Me, the designated driver. Hey Ho.
This is not The Magic Cloth.
The Magic Cloth is a large cloth.
I am starting again in the middle.
Continuing could be a challenge.
Challenge is a component.
Challenge can be a base.
Typepad has changed. I/we have changed.
There are two places, here and Feel Free.
Email delivery here is failing. I need a new service.
.....................................................
It took me hours to put this audio here but I did it anyway.
alternative audio link if you see no player.
This is the Magic Cloth today. Waiting for me to make up my mind about so many things. I am going to hang it next to the bed so I can look at it every morning for a few days, before rising.
Some folks get adverse reactions to antibiotics. I am one of those folks. I feel like shit and that is the base I am working with today.
As I recall, it was June 23rd. 2011.
Hello and Welcome
Hello. Here we are. I just wanted to talk a bit about what I have in mind for this series. Hopefully you have arrived here without any trouble.
This series was set up to follow what I call larger cloth. By this I do not always necessarily mean bigger, but just slower and longer term. Deeper maybe. I wanted a format where I could talk about that a little more. In more detail than I do on my public blog. A place to share more personal thoughts about cloth making. A place more like home that would be more continuous and less planned.
My thoughts are the same again. To just be here as I am, talking and sharing. Doing or not doing, thinking, struggling, whatever it may be. Probably not finishing, but who knows? And for you to be here with me, perhaps working alongside me on whatever you might work on, perhaps being inspired, perhaps just listening. Because really, there is no rush or expectations.
And here I am again. Going back in time and trying to find a way to connect the past to the present. And no the cloth is not finished. And neither am I. Yes, I could just put the class in the shop for those of you who would like to go through on your own. But this one was special. We gathered, we said and did and something clicked, because many of us are still here, going. It was a kind of Magic.
Still, things are not the same. Especially Typepad. Maybe that will just be a big part of it.
I did not go back through the class. I will be like you then, waiting to see what's next.
Meanwhile, the Ice Storm Cometh.
I'll be back with more thoughts. Just Talking, hopefully.
If the path before you is clear,
you are probably on
someone else's.
-Carl Jung