eye candy

Today was so beautiful.... especially after all the rain and nasty weather we've been having for months.  So instead of doing anything on my "to do" list, I went outside and took pictures in our field.  I am learning about photography by playing along with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesdays.  (I used some of her beautiful textures on these pictures.)

Our side porch, dressed up for Memorial Day

Jackson, AKA "the wolf"

community....

I was honored to appear today on Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog, writing about the intersection of quilting and art journaling.  Check it out here.  I love the community of like-minded people I've met through blogging, all sharing their art and their feelings so generously.  It is also amazing to see how there is no limit to the creativity of this community -- more really is more.  Thank you all!

Push-Pull

I studied karate for 10 years, and there was a principle we were always working with, called push-pull.  That is, power is created when force in one direction is balanced by an equal force in the opposite direction.  This principle applies to life and our creative pursuits, as well.  I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I am caught in a dilemma.  Do I make art, or do I write about it?

I love quilting and other needlework.  Passionately.  I love the meditative quality of slow stitches and the deliberate, relaxed process of creating a large cloth out of lots of little pieces.  To the outside world looking in, however, it is kind of like watching the grass grow.

I am not afraid of "slow."  I am following the Erosion Bundle Project, an internet-inspired effort to create naturally aged and weathered materials to use in my art. The basic idea is that you gather and put together a bundle of materials -- fabric, paper, bits of metal or other items to bleed color, plus any other ephemera you can think of. Then, you leave it out in the elements (some people bury their bundles underground) for a period of time to weather, after which you make art with the results.  Here is my bundle, which I put together in August of 2010.


And here it is today.  In August, it will have been out on my fence for a year -- I don't know if I can wait that long to open it!!!


Back to my dilemma -- the internet community is so inspiring.  I am constantly amazed when I see the wonderful art that people are making and sharing online on a daily basis.  I am not part of a local art community, so the internet has become a virtual group of friends with similar interests.  The trick is, you have to participate to be part of it.  It all moves so fast, though, so if you wait more than a few days, you are not part of the conversation.

I think that karate holds the solution.... push-pull means finding a balance between "slow" and "fast."  Now, if anyone has a clue how to do that, please let me know!

Color Frenzy

I tend to work in frenzied bursts of energy, where I can't think of anything but my current project.  My husband was out of town this last week, and so I had three days of uninterrupted time to finish this:

I absolutely love these colors, and I enjoy the needle-weaving technique.  My problem is that in the back of my mind I want my art to be practical, and I can't quite see how to use this.  It is about 9"x13," with raw edges;  I suppose I could sew it into a larger wall hanging..... any other ideas?

May Fair!

Today was our town's annual May Fair, a wonderful event I look forward to all year. There are carnival rides for the kids, lots of booths selling flowers and baked goods, a giant tag sale, and the best barbeque north of the Mason-Dixon line... But if you ask me, the real highlight is the book sale.  Most books are priced at a dollar each; here are some of the treasures I found today:

      

An 1867 American edition of Charles Dickens

I've never owned a book published in the 18th century before!

This is a gorgeous set of children's books, published in the 1920's
(the whole set was only $5!)

These books were all published prior to 1860; they have such a lovely feeling of weight that modern books just can't match

These books are going to be harvested for visual journaling -- including an 8-volume set of the Memoirs of Casanova (in French):    


I had a lot of fun today!

A quilter's dilemma

Am I alone, or do all quilters think about the next quilt rather than focus on the one(s) you are trying to finish?  I have one quilt top finished that I'm trying to find a backing for, I have one on the design wall, nearly finished, and another that I have been hand quilting for about three years now that is nearly done as well (not to mention the block exchange I'm working on for my quilt group!)  You would think I would want to finish them, but noooooo.... it's all about the color, NOT the work, I'm afraid.  So here's my dilemma.  I made these two quilts -- one in 2005 and the other in '08 -- but gave both away.



 Now I want one for myself, but they take a lot of time to make.  Do I finish the "almost done's" that are haunting me, or do I indulge myself and play?

Sorrows of a Mother's Heart

I just returned from an emotionally draining trip out west, taking my 21-year old son from one treatment program in Utah to a new one in Texas.  My son suffers from the double whammy of Aspergers Syndrome and Bipolar Illness.  This particular combination puts him in a no-mans land in the mental health world.  There are treatment programs for one or the other of those conditions, but not for someone with both together.   I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that having a family member with mental illness -- and this combination in particular -- is just heartbreaking.  Despite the stigma our society seems to attach to mental disorders, they are illnesses, just like cancer or diabetes!  The only difference is that the sufferer behaves strangely (and thereby makes us "uncomfortable"), but they are still human beings, with hopes and dreams.....

I meant to show these photos from my trip to Bologna earlier this month.  They are some of the most raw images of grief I've ever seen.  What's more impressive is that they were sculpted in 1462 (by artist Nicccolo dell'Arca), before the Renaissance allowed artists to represent emotions more naturally.   (See here for more details on the compianti, or sculptural representations of the death of Christ)

These images resonate because I know these emotions.  I live them daily.  But there is one thing that I never forget.  You can never know great joy unless you also know its opposite.


It's not about what happens in your life, but rather how you deal with what happens in your life that matters.  I am so grateful that my son has been a part of my life -- despite all his difficulties -- because through him, I have learned some incredible lessons.  I know what it is to love unconditionally, and I find myself completely unable to judge other people for any reason whatsoever.  These are gifts I would never trade -- even for a healthy child.

Sometimes I feel as though my heart will burst from the love I feel for my children....
The pain and the joy mix together to make something so beautiful that I tremble with the rawness of it all, and I thank God I am alive.




...couldn't have said it better myself.