Today, a piece I've been building to help me have a longer view has expanded implications. It's no longer about me, it's about all of us. And I can't help thinking that it's going to take a long time to fill the gaps.
A lot of patches.
Calling all stray selves.
Gather now.
Waste nothing.
Just Looking.
Which always results in Just Thinking.
Gathered greens for class. Or just because.
And some fiddling with an old thread of a drawing.
Which I might rename untangling and becoming green.
Hurray!
I'm gathering for a bit of May Stitching. While competing with the sound of leaf blowers...screaming in harmony.
I am searching for a more quiet life.
For those Ragmates who have joined me, new content in class...
Acorns have been falling.
Mostly encouraged by squirrels.
I've been thinking about my folks. It always comes in between seasons. The two acorns reminded me of them. Together. Through whatever was.
Yes it's been a bit cooler. But this week will be hotter still. And humid. I always remember the late heat that often coincided with going back to school. The hot un-airconditioned classrooms. The difficulty concentrating. How Dad would be home waiting to whisk us off to the beach for a late swim. Like a little bit extra summer vacation.
I stitched a moon cabin. Because I am preparing for my Patchwork in Perspective. I'm looking back fondly at my patched past. Gathering. Documenting. Reconsidering its use to give it wholeness. There's a bit of Mom's wedding dress in there. The silk velvet. Dyed blue like the old sky. She gave it to me and said make something out of it, make it useful. I could have altered it and made it into a dress. But I don't much wear dresses. I like it better like this. Holding the late August moon. For all of us. Part of the bigger basket.
April is warm enough.
I love the back and forth of it. The first greens.
I'll clear away some of the leaves today. The ones that fell during winter. Some hang on a bit longer than expected. And fall with the early spring rains. Just those close to the house will go. To discourage ticks too close for comfort. There is already a warning out here.
There is no need to plant to have a garden in this place we call home for now. Gathering dandelion greens for salad today. And some blooms for the Dyepo(e)t.
The studio needs one more day of straightening. I'll do that later when it gets cooler. Maybe burn some of the twigs from the clean up. Build one of the last fires of the season.
A few things added to the list for keeping with me, travelling companions...
Soul-o,
the dyepo(e)t,
a little dandelion cloth
and the memory of leaves that hang on a little longer than expected.
A list is like a poem sometimes. Might my list grow into one?
So A is for April first off.
It will take me a while to get started with the Index. For A is also for As it turns out.
As it turns out, I have a bladder infection. No comment on that, just Aargh. That woke me yesterday and I still feel like crap but a bit better, apple cider vinegar fasting day 2... A little set back and a lot of bitching.
And A new stray. A real one, shows up yesterday.
Hello.
A is also for Art. That's a big one right? And even though I avoid the word, it needs to be there. Maybe some of you might shed some light on it instead.
John Dewey's Art as Experience was my first read on the subject. I don't read that much but I have read this one twice since this post. I have not changed my feelings about it. I find myself illustrating it at this point. Especially in this go around. I'll pack this one when it comes time. This will go along with me. Somewhere.
So A is for many things... I started somewhere (Doesn't matter where really).
Just gathering initially from the categories here. And I will adding as I review old posts and materials, loose pages. Things that pop into my head. I decided to use the blog format to organize the material first. And then to transfer that information to a more reliable format. It will be a mishmosh in the beginning, just a collection of words and terms that serve me. I can point to them later to give them context. I think it might be best, to compare how they are defined already with how I have reconsidered them. Anyway, this is all probably too much to say, but I'm saying. Interesting that Alphabet is in there already. And Audio, audio will actually be a big part of all this because I hate typing so much. So let me charge that thing.
I am really tired today.
I get confused by a shift in light and dark.
It is very dark. No Sun. For days, and days to come. This shifts my sleep cycle, since the sun is my alarm clock. I woke up late. Too late for my comfort.
I am sitting here doing some last minute gathering before I begin digging in and republishing the lesson (not really that in any traditional way) pages from the original class. As I begin that process, there will be more space between class posts. The old class has a lot of audio to be converted. It takes time. Time I am taking because it needs to be done and all of this is good motivation for that. I have not reworked my way through the old material. I want it to be new to me again as I go. Just to clearly see and compare it all to what I might think now using the same focus.
My motto as it has evolved: Be Prepared to be Unprepared.
Photos. I have a lot of them. They are untamed loose pages. All over the computer and many more on an external hard drive. Too many. Know what I mean?
Some then...
Obviously, the Sun has always been there. And mostly in the center. And it is right? Even if it sometimes feels like it isn't.
Note to self: Be like the Sun.
This is just a collage of photos that I pulled off the blog. It was fairly easy to find them because I tagged them suns for the categories. I am glad I have used that tool here, extensively, because the blog is so big. Some cloths here were from the first class, some not. Some sold, some gifted, some still here. But even the ones that flew away, they are still here too. Because of the photos.
I'll re-organize my SunMoonStars photos today. Just that. I use Google's Picasa to manage photos. There are a lot of tools out there. I have used this one for a long time. It's free and I like its simple editing tools and its logic. Applying tags to the photos allows me to create albums and then collages by subject.
I remember when there was no computer, no digital photos. I used to page through magazines, National Geographic. Clip and snip and make a focused scrapbook. Remember those days?
Actually mine was (is) a scrap-pile. Old loose habits. And instant refocus. Just slower.
Yes, I think there are a few piles left somewhere. This old house is a scrap pile. Maybe I will take y'all up on a tour of the cloth loft. Gathering materials, another small journey ahead.
Gathering Ideas
Gathering always seems to be the first step for a journey. Be prepared. Gather what we need. Gather self.
I took a look at what was gathered last time. In terms of visuals. A handful of old sketches. Scraps really, again, scraps of self. They seem more like that since I keep them loose in a shoebox and not bound in a book. Loose Pages. You might have heard me talk about those. I think, since they have a use here, it might be a good opportunity to elaborate on that process as we go.
Anyway, this is what I was saying back in 2011.
audio link if you see no player
There are always 2 basic parts to the gathering of ideas for me. The second part is Storming. Brain Storming in general is the process. But specifically here... it will be Sun Moon Star Storming.
audio link if you see no player
Below is the quick list I made last time. I plan to do this again later. Without referring to this first storm. Let the wind in and get carried away. See what happens.
Sun-Storming
warmth, sunrise, sunset, daytime, sundial, radiance, center, rays, yellow, sunshine makes me happy, what's new under the sun, solar energy, shadow, sky, life, constant
Moon Storming
circle, path, time passing, the moon makes me crazy, sky, moonlight, moon shadow, man in the moon, mystery, planting, walking at night, waiting, calendar, moon-glow, nighttime, dreams, night light, spooky, ages, change
Star Storming
far away, twinkle, very old, constellations, starlight, wish upon a star, shining, clear nights, dots, time travel, holes in the sky
Note. I started where I started before, just to get this going. Already I've many new ideas. Even new ideas about gathering ideas. I will present these reconsiderings with the next Sun Moon Stars post. The PDFs are meant to document notes and doodles and such. Maybe they might just be a place to jot down your own ideas. Or if you don't want to waste paper, just save them somewhere. Or if you need to save space, not even that.
The Sun Moon Stars posts will be mixed in with my regular postings. Because that is the way it really goes.
Good morning!
Still stitching here. On this very liquid wishing star.
Notes to self:
What's the hurry really? Feel Free. Take time. Time to step back and consider. Consider how to fit things into a life. Considering IS doing. A gentle kind of doing but at the same time an undoing of knotted self. Learn to accept that. Don't wish for the finish line. Especially getting there first. Wish freely. Let it be a kind of gathering. Fill your basket with possibility. Possibility is always free. Free falling in between.
I'd like to do a little video today, maybe later if I have time. Talk in detail about this one. And maybe talk a bit more about how Feel Free is shaping up. Or maybe tomorrow? Video takes time. We'll see.
If the path before you is clear,
you are probably on
someone else's.
-Carl Jung
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