it's haying season

"i'm a farm boy.

if we need five people to haul in hay,

we don't take one and

just work them to death."
- lincoln davis

yup. it's that time of year again. the farm boys are out haying and these wonderful giant roles of hay are cropping up everywhere!

lincoln and these hay bales got me to thinking. it seems often i look at a project that requires five people and take it on by myself anyway. done it all my life. hauled oversized furniture on my back up and down stairs. tackled projects at work that would have exhausted ten people, all by myself. set about creating things at home that would require several normal people to complete...and yet i seem to think i can do it all by myself.  consequently, i find many unfinished and abandoned projects littering my personal landscape when i look around.

thinking about this, i find myself wondering,"why?" do i look into the face of a daunting project and think, "i can do this!" do i chant in the back of my head a variation of an old snl skit quote, "helpers? i don't need no stinkin' helpers!" or maybe it's just that i've had a lifetime of having to tackle things on my own out of necessity?

my first thought is to resolve to find helpers. but...necessity all too often intervenes and none are to be found when they are needed so i plunge forward and do what i can anyway...

right now, it feels very much like my life has taken a severe turn in this direction! work is pulling me in a thousand directions. attempting to change careers is pulling me in still more. my creative life is taunting me in even more tenuous ways. the remodel in my home is wrenching me is a different direction altogether. i'd need an army to address these properly!! 

so, i sit down. take a deep breath. and take another step into the storm...

namaste'

it's time to make some new friends

truly great friends

are hard to find,

difficult to leave,

and impossible

to forget.

lucky for some of us, we can make new friends whenever we need or want them! (smile)  this little guy has been waiting for new friends for some time now and his whispers have grown into a mantra that is never far from my ears. so, i imagine it is time to start on some new friends for him!

i wonder who will manifest?

namaste'

finding equanimity

"there is no noise in the world.

there is no peace in the himalayas.

both are within you.”

- swami satyananda

there are moments, amidst the chaos, that seem as if i have found equanimity. moments only. but in these moments there is such a stillness. an awareness of what is...at this very moment...without grasping at what was or what will be. these are great treasures!

work still pulls me in a thousand directions. this cannot keep going or i will begin to come apart at the seams. already i frequently look like the ragged edges of many of my fragments of cloth.

tonight, i am claiming a few moments to sit. to meditate. find a moment of equanimity. and, perhaps, to needle chant a while and then to dream.

namaste'

the magic feather project and personal symbols

jude hill is hosting a wonderful charity event call the magic feather project. in her words, "the magic feather project is a collective stitching project focused on creative sharing and giving." it is an exciting adventure and has really rekindled a lot of sentiments in my own work as well as in others'! 

these two feathers pictured above are my first two for the project. the feather on the left is stitched on a 5" square of vintage silk slub changeable moire drapery from my childhood home (mom gifted me with the drapes for my first apartment...i've used them in various homes and finally retired them to my fabric stash). some feathers have journeyed farther...flown harder...soared higher...than others. though worn and tattered, their beauty still graces those who gaze upon them.  this feather is amongst others in this trait. no stripes for this one...though the line is a bit worn and tattered... it rests in the center where two circles come together (a personal symbol for home and hearth).  the feather on the right is a variation of jude's striped feather...but with polka dots...and rests on a 5" square of silk slub drapery retired from my first art studio.  it is flanked by polka dots and tiny "x's". i know there is personal meaning in them, but their whispers are too soft for me to hear right now...

throughout jude's workshops, she talks about personal symbols...and shows us their magic in her work.  i have always been aware of this concept in jude's work. but, for some reason, through this project, the idea and presence of personal symbols have taken on a new importance for me.  i find myself pondering late into the night on my own personal symbols...like the double circle in the first feather block above...and asian bats...coins...skulls...ganesh...leaves...twigs...holey stones...and a host of others.  already, ideas are germinating and new direction in my work is forming.  it will be interesting to begin to pay attention to that which was already there...and to watch those newly forming...as i move forward and release them in my artwork....

for this, and so much more, i am eternally grateful to jude...

namaste'

derailed at every step

it's always strange when the tides of life rise up and abruptly sweep aside one's plans and aspirations...

shortly after beginning the remodel on my studio, two co-workers announced their immediate resignations due to school and other forces at work, and so i've been pitching in and working entirely too many hours... which, of course, has all but precluded any work in the studio. not that this has had all negative attributes, however...

i have been pushed into looking more closely at my work and my aspirations thereto.  i have been shown a myriad of internal sabotaging ideas and thoughts.  fears of success...and failure.  unfounded personal views about myself.  my work.  it's crazy how these sorts of negative ideas can seep up into the fabric of your life, often without your even noticing until it is too late and they have woven themselves into everything that you do. so i am working on eradicating, or at least minimizing, these thoughts and ideas... seeking a more balanced view of myself and my work...

i have also discovered...or rather, realized, that i have little focus in my work at the moment. generally, i do not consider this a problem as i enjoy exploring avenues of creativity whenever they present themselves. but i am beginning to feel like i need to find at least one focus i can anchor the rest of my work upon. a theme. an idea. something.... i'm not entirely certain what this will be. i will be exploring some possibilities here in the coming weeks.  meanwhile, i am applying myself to some of my many works in progress and will be seeking guidance from their quiet whispers...

perhaps the quiet hum of daily thread-chanting will whisper some direction? one can only remain open the possibilities...

to this end, i think i shall be listening more and talking less for a while...though i shall be more present here on my blog. more than likely there will be more pictures and less words? only time will tell...

namaste'

re-organization...re-construction

i've packed things up for a few days or so while i begin the re-organization and re-construction of my studio space. keeping a couple small cloths out for idle moments, but the bulk has been packed away until the studio space is finished. i'm filled with excitement about the possibilities for this small space! snaps to come soon!

say hello to my little friend

meet baxter. a silly little bat who decided it was time to finish becoming. made from a vintage wool mini skirt and a vintage middle eastern shirt. baxter is somewhat shy and still hasn't told me much about himself. but i'll be listening when he's ready...

namaste'

new books to play with

i am always on the lookout for new and old stitch treasuries and this one fits the bill on both accounts.  as it turns out, once it arrived and i began thumbing through it, i began thinking i already had it. low and behold, after a quick dig through my studio library, sure enough, i had the original hardcover edition that came out so many years ago!  fortunately, this one is updated and expanded, so there are new treasures to plumb!

along with enthoven's book came this wonderful little gem! i've played with many of the woven stitches in this one before...but this slim volume has lots of fun things to try for those of you who enjoy texture and depth in your embroidery!  i can hardly wait to start playing with this one as things begin to slow down this summer!

beyond this, i have done little over the past four days but work and relax (read: doing nothing), though my fingers have been itching to get at those cloths that have been whispering oh so incessantly from the studio...

namaste'

happy fourth of july!

been playin' over the holiday weekend...well, playin' and workin'. hope you all have a safe and happy fourth of july, wherever you are!