small journies

my favorite thing to do

is go where i've never been

even if only in my imagination

in this strange new world where travel is nearly impossible, or at best inadvisable, we have to find new ways to explore. for me, it has manifested in a series of diminutive stitcheries. tiny worlds filled with stars and moons and bears and hares and trees. story fragments of cobble cloth.

it's amazing, the places and things i've seen while sitting in my studio with a steaming cup of coffee! i wonder where i'll go next? who i might meet?

namaste'

ephalumps a'stompin' 'round

"i'm truly surprised

that we seem to get by

without polka dotted elephants,

serving us pie!"

-marc johns

this past month has been a struggle at best. between another lay-off, job search, training, bodhi having health issues, piper growing older by the minute, and the ephalump of depression stomping about in my brain, it's no wonder i've managed so little stitching!  today, however, was an ephalump of another color: no, i still haven't managed to find a polka dotted ephalump to serve me pie, but i did manage a little needle chanting beneath a shady tree this afternoon.  a little romp through a cloth fragment stash and a little playing about with sharp objects.  not sure where i'm going with him from this point.  perhaps i'll work him into a little pocket. a zippered vessel for bits and bobs. a keeping pouch.  i recently salvaged some lovely old metal zippers that i should be able to harvest one from. there seems to be a little story there, somewhere. whispering quietly in the background...

namaste'

like alchemy...

"my work

is like a dialogue

between me and 

unseen powers,

like alchemy.'

-cai gua-qiang

delving into unknown territory today...  first "what if" was to rust dye in layers.  wrapped my salvage fragment around the band from an old whiskey cask to dye a large, summer moon.  once dyed, i dunked the fragment back into the vinegar water and then stretched it out on a plastic sheet and laid the metal tree cut out on it, smoothing the wet cloth gently to remove wrinkles and distortions, then carefully folded the fragment back onto itself to get the second tree image rusted in....all the while, being meticulous in keeping any part of the cloth off of the moon so as not to accidentally transfer the first image back into an unwanted area of the cloth.

i was very happy with my initial results...except that all this carefulness left the image a bit stark for my taste.  what to do? what to do?  okay....here's a thought...grab some of the rust mush from the bottom of the dunk tank and spread it around to create clouds and ground after another dip in the vinegar water!    i'm liking this so much better already.  only thing is...i have no idea how this will turn out.  i've never used rust mush to dye with before.  it's just the rusty flakings from the floorboard of my international that i dumped into the dunk tank to act as a rust starter.  it's black.  i don't know why.  but it is.  i don't know if it'll turn orange and rust like any other rusty metal. or if it will dye the fragment black or grey.  or if it will just sit there stubbornly. sticking its tongue out at me and do nothing to color the cloth.  i shall just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow...  isn't it exciting?!?

namaste'

memento mori

i have struggled with time again this week. perhaps i am simply unused to actually having so much time on my hands and am lulled into complacency? perhaps it has been the dull, drizzly weather that has moved in, heralding the immanent arrival of winter?  whatever the reason, i decided today that i was definitely in need of minding my time better, so i picked up some cloth and thread and set myself to work.

dia de los muertos is quickly approaching so i thought i might start with a calavera. i wanted something with a bit of chaos and thought some free-motion machine embroidery might serve admirably as my foundation. i started with a nice variegated thread of black, ox-blood, and tan. then added a couple of black and white flowers for eyes that i plucked from a salvaged cotton skirt. this all laid down nicely on a salvaged linen background.

this calavera is far from finished. it's time now to start adding color and hand-stitching (i've been thinking a lot lately about combining machine and hand stitches). but first, i must delve deeply into my stash and find some other fabrics to compliment and layer with...and rummage through my thread baskets and drawers...

meanwhile, i was inspired by these cookies today. i may just have to try my hand at some of these!

namaste'

on painted wing

i needed to drink in some color before diving into the growing pile of darkly hued salvage for the new story cloth, box of darkness. to quench that thirst, i pulled out this little creature that began to emerge back here out of some lovely gifted cloth hand-dyed by deb. i had originally inked in a few wispy lines to suggest a wing on the left side. she whispered. i listened and painted in a set of "proper" wings. then stitched and knotted. satisfied whispers ensued. there is much to unfold and manifest before the whispers will soften and begin revealing their stories...but we are both content with this new development for the moment.

namaste'

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'

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'

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'

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'