...it's a beautiful cold shiny day and singing woman in under the needle again. And it is all one thing.
She has come together without a lot of saying that could be said, but I still remember each moment.
I am putting together (or trying) a project tracker for the Forever Zone.
I have come to realize the Poetry of Process.
With New Eyes.
I look forward to
considering/ reconsidering that.
It might be a little quiet here now, while I pull my selves together.
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.
Dense fog this morning. A relatively warm day.
I need to finish planting bulbs.
Some parts of circles can make boats too. And sails I have some of those... most of what I had here was just pinned. So I can switch them around. I needed a small fleet this morning. A community at sea. What if a community doesn't depend on location? There are also those who got left behind.
Fog over a small journey. Fog can be dangerous at sea. And also , I imagine, very beautiful.
I am not trying to be clear here, just dreaming. Enjoying the fog then.
Last Night, the setting sun set the distant mountain on fire.
We can see further now. Many leaves have fallen. I even caught a glimpse of the roadside pond below. I used to call it a lake, but it is small, and it has no official name. So pond I guess. I should give her a name.
I taped the small cloth to the window this morning.
The cloth I now call Singing Woman. I examined the thin spots, how perfect they seem. I wonder which parts of me would let the light through? Do I need to work on that?
This kind of thing results from managing layers. Some don't like that word but for me it is about maintaining balance. Nature does it so well. I used to manage a design department. At one point 11 people. Balance ain't easy. People. Like a layered cloth, lightness was always a challenge. But a beautiful thing. Like a thing and then not so much of a thing at the same time. Fluid. And I said to myself this morning... Natural Order includes chaos. I wrote that down to remind myself.
So, I have been stitching. Without a lot of saying. Very slowly. Expressing the standing. Even while feeling knocked down. Or so it seems. Some days.
Big Rain yesterday. Big.
Picked the rest of the indigo, which seems to ever renew. Most of it anyway. Figuring it would get crushed in the downpour.
Indigo, the salt method over previously dyed scrap, Pom and oak. I like an earthy color. A colored base layer helps.
This morning. Indigo, the salt method take 2, to deepen the color, promising.
The pineapple top is sprouting, can't even remember how many times I tried this. Enough I guess.
It's Fall.
And then thinking about Fall. Leaves Fall. But leaves are let go to make room for new leaves.
Our sweet Michelle gave me this little hoop. I played with this photo. I highlighted what might be held by this small gift. And I added a garden layer, the season. Fading.
I say to myself, the layering in photos, as well as digital drawing, can be a tool, for helping form evolve in my story cloth. But then too, tools need to be an extension of those who use them. That is the complexity in the relationship.
Some stitching then, continued from here, yesterday, but more realizing again, how the nature of cloth, it's flexibility, how cloth is like clay, like breath, like extension of self.
I'm in a mood.
Moods are useful.
Expecting days of rain here. Again.
I worked on this one yesterday.
In the lamplight this morning, the colors are altered. The photo not so clear.
I added the red dot. Some stitch.
23. 23 degrees.
First glance out the window and my thought was, it's true, the aliens have landed. Or maybe they are leaving. In any case these are strange days.
I missed yesterday's train . Of thought.
I added a layer of drawing over Holding Pattern. I talked to myself.
audio link if you see no player above.
I did more drawing. Thoughts for quilting/securing the space around the pattern. Which is a kind of basket. Self.
The question, not so much about pattern but the visibility. Darker thread? Or lighter thread? And will visibility disturb the space? Maybe just walking stitch or ? a more textured thing? I will talk to myself again.
Been Loving Deb's exploration in photo layering lately.
This morning real life provided it's own example.
This photo was taken in the mirror across from the bed, already a reflection. And the window on the wall is a layering of the light and shadow from the actual window. Over cloth. Cloth layers. Ha!
A fire this morning. A freeze.
No woodstove yet. So hard to get anyone to commit to any work around here. Strange culture really. Not in a bitching mood though, too much of that everywhere, so let it go. The fireplace insert (the fireplace is on a sunken level) has a blower. Keeps everything upstairs warm. Works quite well actually. Not a bad plan. Maybe I will save some money.
And the frost is on the parsley.
It's obvious that media will be an issue here. So I suppose I am now going to be more focused on returning to Feel Free as the teaching place. I will do a new post about everything. Over there. Soon. Let's just get through this year.
I suppose I have composed one of my selves.
Made the base cloth a bit longer because I felt the need for more space.
An old print overdyed with indigo. Ripped to size.
I cut along the side of the print so I might slide the patchwork into the base cloth. Integrate the two. For Oneness. Of course, I could have slit the base cloth and woven her right in... like I did here. (...how long I have been at this One-Ness thing)
To stabilize the cut and place, I added a strip of very light cloth to the other side. A little longer at the top end so I could fold it over and hug the top edge. Probably I will add fringe to the bottom. For continuing. Now for some glue-stitching.
A Path-Work, long cloth. Needed.
Are all paths the same? Who knows?
If the path before you is clear,
you are probably on
someone else's.
-Carl Jung