Monday, September 10, 2012

a little brainstorming

click to enlarge

i spent a little time today with paper and cloth. brainstorming. just a little, in lieu of the promised rainstorms that were not forthcoming.

i found myself wondering if i enjoy the brainstorming as much as the stitching because i also enjoy the feel and sound of old paper beneath my pens and pencils. like the salvaged fabric i use in making my cloth, there is something special about old, yellowed paper salvaged from the linings of old books, ledgers and other discarded or overlooked folios. the marks made in ink and graphite in attempt to capture fleeting thoughts and ideas seem at home with the ghosts of other fingers...scribblings, stampings, and old typefaces. torn edges echo the frayed edges of their fabric counterparts. each a continuing of the other. both being steps in the continuing of mind and thought.

it feels like there is an allegory in there somewhere...

now it is time to start getting it down in cloth and thread. a little late-night needle chanting, i think.

namaste'

16 comments:

  1. Hi, Joe. What inspiration Jude has caused! Cool rabbit dance/moon dance. I can hardly wait to see what you do on cloth. Having raised a few rabbits, I find it hard to be anything but cynical towards them. The way the males shred each others' ears if not caged is blood chilling! If I draw them, they're definitely shifty characters!
    best, nadia

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    1. jude has a way of doing this...

      hmmm...rabbits as shifty characters? could be interesting, too!

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  2. Ah, I love old paper too, the smell of old books makes me swoon.

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  3. cloth is giving the lift here, nice.

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  4. what a tender soaring drawing and yes...graphite
    ...the touch and Sound of drawing
    thanks for bring me here to see this

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  5. They look like pieces in themselves... visual journaling. Love the aged paper.

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    1. yes... having been a hand bookbinder for several years, i tend to collect old paper and tattered old books... there is a mystery and romance that surrounds them.

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  6. I really love your belly-dancing, veil-swinging hare... she has a lot of power. And it strikes me that power stemming for joy is different from power arising out of pain.

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    1. true! hadn't thought of it in those terms, but definitely true!

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  7. I love that concept, late night needle chanting, something I too enjoy.

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    1. i wonder just how many of us can be found needle chanting late into the night? the thought, at least, makes it less lonely...

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  8. hello Mt. joe,

    i have just stumbled onto your blog and have enjoyed reading all your posts on this from page.

    this wonderful dancing hare caught my attention, love her and the notes on wings and more.....

    yesterday i reached for a scarf, an off-white silk piece that is old and the weave is spreading and turning more like a web than a cloth.... i want to stitch it to something... some how your blog and arts are inspiring me.

    greetings from NW MT.

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  9. I love your rabbit with the beautifully sculpted abs. (Has she been doing pilates?) She reminds me of how strong and beautiful I feel when I imagine the possiblities of life, and laugh at my true age. Oh, and if you are still polling: I always just flew high above. Don't know how I got there. Wish my dreams still went there. They haven't for some time now and I remember how incredibly authentic it felt.

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