frenzied feline and a new project

synchronicity is a strange thing, you know. i came across this little frenzied feline while trying to figure out how to describe this past week. he demonstrates exactly how my week has been... chasing about, trying to fit unexpected work shifts into my schedule. trying to stay ahead of everything so i don't get run over. all the while, uncertain how my little paws are actually reaching the pedals!

needless to say, i haven't done a lick of stitching this week. though i have been gathering raw materials for another project. remember that i started remodelling my studio a while back? i came across a little idea that i like so much, i'm thinking of including elements of it throughout my house!

pallets? is that seriously a stack of old pallets? yes. yes it is! i've been gathering pallets like a mad man (and i'm quite certain my neighbors have all decided that i've taken leave of my senses as they've watched me haul these buggers in by the truck load). now, before you begin nodding your noggins and agreeing with my mislead, but well-meaning neighbors, you have to see this:

the wall in this picture is constructed entirely of pallets! keeping in mind that i have been slowly but surely turning my home into a rustic getaway with barn wood, vintage artifacts, plank flooring, and the like... i think this wall treatment will be absolutely perfect to finish off the effect!  of course, it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of work...dismembering pallets, sorting slats, mixing colors, installing and so on. but i'm going to simply approach it as though i'm salvaging fabric and creating a story cloth. though, perhaps, of a much larger nature, and in this case, one slat at a time! so, if you see project updates interspersed between the cloth whispering, you'll understand...and hopefully not send those nice young men in their clean white coats to take me away in a butterfly net!

namaste'

atarashii boro

after seeing some of jude hill's fun boro and strip woven jeans (and shirts and more), i thought i'd poke around the web and see what anyone was doing that had a more masculine look (being male, after all, and frequently lamenting that men really have very little exciting clothing).  the first image to pop up was this fun one from last year's polo line.  of course, the jeans are fantastic, and just what i was looking for...but i couldn't tear my eyes off that amazing flag in the background! maybe it's because independence day is right around the corner (for those of us who live in the u.s.). maybe it's because i've always liked tattered american kitch. i dunno...but i'm thinking i may have to have a wade through my stash this week and see what i can tease out of it that might make a wonderful flag similar to that one (at least in concept).  

but, for the moment, back to boro and/or strip woven jeans...

i found a ton of ideas and fun things to do...even a few tutorials on ripping, fraying, fading, and other destructables that bore a lot of promise for many fun days and nights this summer... at least, toying with the techniques and seeing what i come up with and all of its accompanying variations, derivatives and explorations!

from the denim blog:

"ripped jeans have been worn as a fashion statement since the 1970’s. many chose to deform their jeans in an effort to separate themselves from mainstream culture. ironically, the mainstream eventually embraced ripped jeans.today ripped jeans and patched jeans have become part of the fabric of american culture. both styles are now welcome in places that range from the dorm room to the board room, the art studio to the art opening, and the vegetable garden to the garden gala."

dolce & gabanna has made an art of ragged and patched jeans...not to mention a fortune what with them ranging upwards of $85 a pair and more!

i remember mom throwing jeans out long before they reached this stage of deconstruction, no matter how much we protested!

but i have to say...my most favorite pair by far has been an 8 year (and counting) project from lucy b's flickr stream:

now that's a pair of recycled & reused jeans to aspire to!

one more thought...a crossover piece...an atarashii boro denim flag:

this extraordinary patched american flag was handcrafted from recycled vintage denim by american textile artisan judy augur in 2009, and is a true piece of modern day folk art, measuring 125” x 75”, and backed with sturdy canvas.  it is currently at auction to benefit ralph lauren's pink pony fund. perhaps something a bit smaller would be within this artist's grasp at creating?

in any case, i'm off to answer the louder than usual whisperings of a couple cloths...

namaste'

creativity monster

"embroidery is a very personal art,

its charm lies in the individuality

expressed by the worker."

- w. g. paulson townsend, 1899

this can also be said of any fragment of needlework (or other artistic expression, for that matter).  even when we find ourselves joyously influenced by others we admire and aspire toward, our needles move to a different rhythm, expressing the soul that lies behind their direction.

those who inspire me (jude hill, ann wood, india flint, heike gerbig , those amazingly talented folk listed on the side bar in "some of my favorite haunts", and so many others yet to be listed there) all leave their mark on my creative expression. how could they not? but even though i can see the touch of their essence in my work, it is like recognizing a mother's eyes or a father's chin in a child.  i am thankful and blessed to have such amazing creative "parents" and hope that my own work does them proud!

one of the most difficult aspect of the creative life is learning to trust one's artistic intuition and expression. we look to our teachers. we look to our peers.  we look to our patrons.  everywhere but to ourselves for validation.  something that richard hatton once wrote really helped to open my heart to trusting my own sense of design: 

"we have to trust our own choice after all,

and end with the simple belief that

what pleases us is beautiful. 

indeed, no other rule is of any use to us,

and if we do but honestly please ourselves,

and make forms which genuinely give us pleasure,

we shall find ourselves credited

with the power of designing beautiful things."

- richard hatton

this has been a great struggle for me in the past. i'd like to say it is a monster that i've put to bed. but, being human, i still wrestle with him from time to time. but i return and contemplate hatton's wisdom and am heartened. for those of you who find yourselves rolling around in the grass with this monster, i hope this thought helps you, too!

and now, to dive into that thread basket and commence work on a new monster fragment...

namaste'