magic diary cloth update

it would seem that attempting to ply a rigid schedule to my organic living style is not working. no big surprise there. it was an experiment that harvested expected results. in light of this, i will continue posting magic diary cloth updates, except i will allow them to unfold and reveal themselves in a more natural order. that is to say, as they present themselves to me.

this has begun as a very interesting exercise in discovery. of the nature of this particular cloth. and of my artistic working style. . .which may appear to the outside viewer as chaotic. random. perhaps this may be, as well. . .but whatever the format, it is how i work. create. experience.

i am only just getting started on the first letter of my magic diary cloth. there are hours of needle chanting to perform before its whispers will quiet down enough to allow the patient b to speak up and begin its story-speaking. this particular letter is formed by couching twisted blue scraps with hand-dyed red cotton threads. i have only just begun to explore other surface embellishments...

behind all of this is another chant, quietly whispering in the background of mind. more about which will be the topic of another posting. . .

namaste'

magic diary monday... on tuesday

it is easy to get sidetracked. sometimes even without realizing it. work. life. new interests. friends. all conspire to pull us from our intended path on a daily basis. for me, it is usually stepping up and helping co-workers out by covering shifts for them even when it means i'll be working 42 hours in 3 days... hence, my somewhat tardy magic diary monday!

the snow has returned quite unexpectedly today and has been falling gently on the trees outside my studio windows. and so i am quietly working. listening. to my magic diary cloth again today...

this oblique cloth has proven more of a challenge than originally expected. of course, this should have been no grand surprise since starting from nothing, you have infused every stitch, every fiber choice, with intention. stepping in sideways with a foundation cloth created by some unknown, long perished clothmaker draws one down avenues you may never have taken. colors. prints. pairings that would have never found their ways into your own cloth are now front and center, crying for attention. but i am persisting. digging deeper into my fabric and salvage collection. auditioning unexpected fabrics. looking through new eyes. finding new directions....

namaste'

magic diary monday

stepping into anything sideways always involves its own set of complications, and this time is no different.  first, to bring myself to work in a palette i would not ordinarily choose to work in. second, to conform my ideas to someone else's structure, yet transform it into my own vision. finally, to settle on an idea that will work with the palette and structure harmoniously.

after tossing around several ideas, i finally settled on doing one of my favorites: an alphabet cloth. it can be inserted into most any structure and is nondependent upon any color scheme. can be embellished in unlimited ways and is, again, one of my favorites!
almost seems like cheating...

namaste'

magic diary monday

not moving forward. not moving backward. just jumping in sideways. . .

it's all too easy to get yourself bogged down in the minutia of everyday concerns. like a crow lost in the euphoria of finding so many sparklies that he just can't figure out which one to grab first, knowing full well the limitations of his beak!

several months ago, i embarked on jude hill's most amazing whispering series yet, the magic diaries cloth whispering series. last month began part 2 of the series. part 2????  wait! i haven't even begun needle chanting my way through part 1 yet!!! sure, i've been reading along, listening to the sound bytes, watching the vid clips, entertaining ideas, daydreaming about fantastical magic diary cloths... but i've had to limit my participation to...well..none! which is entirely strange for me. i'm an immensely social being and to not interact is...is...as odd as weird exercising poodles (and this is absolutely surreal!).  

so, in an effort to get back on track, yet not be so ferociously behind, i've decided to jump in sideways. i have this idea of taking a vintage quilt...one in which i can find little to admire...and use it as the backdrop for my own spin on the magic diary cloth. i've seen so many amazing things manifesting in the workshop already! so many ideas. directions. but being one who tends to listen to drummers that others rarely hear, i had to come up with something different...yet attempt to maintain the essence of the magic diary cloth. i don't know if i will succeed. or if i can even find myself liking anything that manifests from this hideous old quilt! but i'm willing to try...

first, some ground rules (which, for those of you who know me, will probably be broken soon enough):

1. utilize this unfortunate twin sized thrifted quilt as the foundation and stage for my magic diary cloth.

2. maintain, as best as possible, the integrity of jude's shared ideas, techniques and visions for the magic diary cloth, yet stay true to my own, oft times warped, artistic view.

3. allow the deformed creature that is the salvaged quilt a certain amount of presence in the finished cloth (how much, you may well ask? i have no idea...but my idea is to have at least some of the quilt's personality radiate through the transformation).

4. utilize, as much as possible, salvaged materials to express my ideas through this cloth building experience.

5. participate in the amazing community that jude has founded through the whispering series itself and its forum.

6. document the transformation here with weekly updates each monday. monday. moon day. a touchstone that bespeaks of jude to me and therefore relevant in my thinking on this cloth experience.

that's it for the moment. i am quite certain new ground rules will introduce themselves as i delve deeper. i am also quite certain that there will be pieces that will need to be picked up along the way....

and now, i'm headed into the studio to hack that obnoxious machine stitched binding from the edge of the elephant cloth! it will do little more than the torn burlap sack did for the elephant man....but it will be a start.

namaste'