storm clouds rumbling

"i am not afraid of storms,

for i am learning how

to sail my ship."

-louisa may alcott, "little women"

an army of storm clouds are rumbling across the big montana sky tonight after a day of posturing and shouting and spitting at the beartooths and the crazies. i had hoped to take the beast out for a ride today before sending him down for his new coat of paint. but for my need for sleep between night shifts and the chaotic skies, i thought better of it and let the beast slumber on, tucked safely away in his garage.

tonight found my fingers whispering and basting the tumultuous waves and frolicking bunnies beneath the clouds and the quiet rabbit moon while the rest of the cottage slept peacefully. there is much needle chanting to be done next. but, for the moment, my fingers are at peace and the rabbits will jump and play without me...

namaste'

the quiet blush of a hesitant spring

i find myself moving more slowly these days. more deliberately. with a deeper sense of presence. is it the hesitant arrival of spring, gently pulling my awareness out of winter's slumber? whatever the reason, my attention is more closely focused on each breath. each stitch. each moment. there is a connection between my quiet heart and this sleeping rabbit. an anticipation. . .

next to summon the clouds. . .

namaste'

tax day tuesday

so many seem to quiet today. must be working on last minute tax documents! so glad mine were done last week so i could walnut dye this salvage cloth... i've been bitten by the mark-making bug again and it is finally warming up outside. think i may be working on some discharge, eco-dye and rust-dye projects in the coming days...

namaste'

rabbit moon

"while the moon

floats over the ocean,

a rabbit runs

over the waves."

-ancient noh poem

this motif is very popular in japanese decoration and tells the story of a rabbit who crosses the ocean from okino island to inaba by using the backs of sharks as stepping stones. not favoring sharks much myself, i've chosen to have my rabbits romping in the waves beneath a sleeping rabbit moon instead. the salvaged and stitched cloth to the right of my sketch is the background for this panorama and is only a seed for manifesting these whispers... but i had to start this journey tonight to fill the long, quiet hours while the elders sleep and the laundry dances in the mud room. next, i shall begin work on the sleeping rabbit moon... it seems that my unusual habit of maintaining a box of scraps and salvage fabric in the back of my truck has proven useful once again!

namaste'

it's a hungry morning

as all y'all can see, i've not been idle while my fingers heal. i've been rusting up a storm...and this is only a tiny fraction of the suns, moons, and background rust-dyed fabrics i've been working on! many of them will begin filtering their way into the shop soon (i'll post when they are ready). others have been whispering their stories into my ears and are waiting to begin their metamorphoses on my design table. i've got some stars, fences, grids, trees and moose rusting at the moment and look forward to playing with them as well...

all this eco-dyeing has me thinking in so many directions of late. of experimenting with overdyeing once again. of cross-platforming some of the techniques and seeing what happens. of playing with new colors and textures... so many ideas and speculations! i keep scribbling away in my art journal and digging through my cloth to set things into motion...

it's crisp and cold out...and there's a rumbly in my tumbly...

meanwhile, i've been inspired while browsing here and here.

namaste'

no dust yet

"an idea can turn to

dust or magic,

depending upon the talent

that rubs against it."

-william bernbach

just a start on needle chanting the whispers from deb's wondrous cuss pot! my friend says the character looks rather like a carrot wearing a wild sash...though, i'm quite certain she is wrong about that one... there is still plenty more chanting and whispering to go... all the fabrics, including the backing cloth, came from deb's generous gifts (the background is from a cloth burrito she sent months ago and only recently found again), with the one, small exception of the the little polka dotted strip that was found clinging to the side of my dining room table...

namate'

persevering gently...

"go on working

freely and furiously

and you will

make progress."

-paul gauguin

last week i slashed three of my finger tips with a sharp knife at work. it is amazing how many nerve endings reside in such small spaces! it also boggles the mind how much we use these small spaces in nearly everything we do...

i'm only just today getting back to thread chanting and cloth making. the first to make her whispers heard was this odd little plumed owl-creature, llorona. a secret keeper. like some, my secrets haunt me. so i whisper them to llorona to ease my burden. many whisper their secrets upon the winds for llorona to hear. to keep. her wings are burdened with so many secrets. so many sorrows. she can no longer fly from the weight of them. but she continues to listen. to keep. to dream...

there is still much work to be done on llorona, but she wanted to put in an appearance to help me not think about the snow that is falling outside...

namaste'