a snow lion or two...

tattoo the pristine flesh

what is permanent anyway?

this ink only lasts 'til the grave,

skin and ideas decompose

that which we did compose.

-corri alius

the finished lion...

the lion yet to be completed in blue and green.

i have been working entirely too much once again. but yesterday found me relaxing (ha!) in the tattooist's chair for seven hours while he worked on my new sleeve. it is taking much longer than originally expected. yet another argument against expectations. but the results have so far been entirely pleasing! the first is on the back of my right forearm and the unfinished one is on the front of the same forearm. both bracket the ganesh that is on the inside of my forearm (pictured here). snow lions (also sometimes known as fu lions or fu dogs) symbolize fearlessness, unconditional cheerfulness, east, and the earth element. snow lions are traditionally white with turquoise manes...but these longed for the joy of color and i saw no reason to deprive them!

yes. my body is a temple. and what temple should remain so low and mean as to be void of decoration?

i think i shall begin digging through scraps and see if a snow lion might like to manifest beneath tonight's quiet needle chants...

namaste'

reflection on challenge

“life’s challenges are not

supposed to paralyze you,

they’re supposed to help you

discover who you are.”

-bernice johnson reagon

i have no words to add. just something i've been thinking about quite a bit on this cold winter day...

namaste'

allow the unexpected

"our brightest blazes

of gladness

are commonly kindled

by unexpected sparks."

-samuel johnson

while grumbling about snow and the cold and the inconvenience of it all as i was getting ready for an unscheduled shift at work this morning, i was caught unaware by this little fellow. he was only a few feet from me and i hadn't even noticed him until he announced his presence with a resounding "blaaaaaa!"

don't you just love the unexpected ways the universe reminds you to be present when you aren't?

namaste'

p.s. more needle chanting pics to come very soon!

first snow

we finally received our first snow of the season, here in billings. it's rather late, like many things this year. including many of my own projects and aspirations. perhaps i will catch up with the weather soon...

sometimes snow can do a wonderful impersonation of draped cloth.

or even like a manipulated cloth quilt (found on scouttyboy's photostream)

or even like one of jude's woven strip boro cloths (found on ojos_azules's photostream)

or this bit of quilted snow (found on daddynewt's photostream)

so, even though i have had little time to stitch these past few days, i have found many sources for inspiration!

tonight, i think, i may find some much needed needle chanting time...by a nice crackling fire!

namaste'

body bling concept sketches

since i've been asked both in comments and via email (thanks to valerianna for the idea for the term, body bling!), here are the initial snow lion concept sketches for the next phase of my sleeve (you can click on them for larger images). they'll be changing a bit as the male is being redrawn to be moving up toward the female and then i'm having the space around them filled with chrysanthemum blossoms.

i'm still toying with colors...i'm thinking of having the male (2nd pic) done in red with yellow accents and the female (1st pic) in blue with green accents. of course, knowing chris (my amazing tattoo artist), there will be a full pallet (the tibetan skull has 16 colors in it)!

onces these beauties are completed, i'll have to have him go back in and fill some of the blank space around the ceremonial skull with something to close the space up a bit... i'm thinking cherry blossoms. or bamboo. i'm not sure. it's still open for suggestion.

it would seem that i am taking my storytelling into new realms... there is definitely a story being whispered by my body ink. perhaps it will want to be told in cloth as well at some point....

namaste'

feliz dia de los muertos

as dia de los muertos descends and thoughts of ancestors and the temporal nature of life and time come to mind more often, i find my clothwork has begun to reflect these whispered stories. to this end, i have decided to finally begin manifesting a quilt that has long been whispering in the dark hours of the night. this quilt. this dia de los muertos quilt that has haunted my thoughts for over two years now, will no longer rest until it's stories have been whispered and finally told.

i had hoped to be further along on this first block. but this past month has been busy beyond belief! but i am pleased with it's beginnings. i had thought to begin the quilt by starting on the central panel. but, being a large panel, decided that during these busy days, it would be more advantageous to tackle some of the smaller border blocks first. in the coming days, i shall share the sketches of other blocks and panels. but, for now, this one will have to serve to entice your interest as it has mine.

meanwhile, los dias de los muertos is a time for remembering friends, family and ancestors. a lovely tradition that resonates with the center of the belief goes something like this:

people die three deaths. the first death is when our bodies cease to function; when our hearts no longer beat of their own accord, when our gaze no longer has depth or weight, when the space we occupy slowly loses its meaning. the second death comes when the body is lowered into the ground, returned to mother earth, out of sight. the third death, the most definitive death, is when there is no one left alive to remember us.

i've always been intrigued by these thought lines and have found them in most cultures in some form or another. to this end, i have collected skull art and other related expressions from around the world. recently, i've acquired these wonderful camel bone beads from egypt:

...and look forward to creating something wonderful with them...not sure what just yet, but there are a few ideas percolating gently in the back of my mind...

i have also just received these lovely dyed turquoise howlite skull beads, from which i intend to make a wrist mala:

while thoughts of change and the temporal nature of life have been on the forefront of my mind lately, i also went in for the second stage of my sleeve the other day and had this lovely tibetan monk's ceremonial skull cup added to my arm:

after four pain-filled hours, it was finally done! i only wish this photo did the colors in the skull itself the justice it deserves. i have him working on translating the lower front part of the sleeve design now: a couple of tibetan snow lions i designed.  i can hardly wait for the appointment to get them inked!

but for the moment, it's back to needle chanting and thread gathering...and perhaps a shop update or two in the next few days...

namaste'

a few treasures

"heroes take journeys,

confront dragons,

and discover the treasure

of their true selves."

-carol lynn pearson

my journeys of late have been from the arm of my chair, traveling the hidden causeways of the world wide web, and the only dragon that i've confronted is this beautiful bit of vintage silk wool kimono dragon! it journeyed to me all the way from japan and is one of my newest treasures. it has not whispered its intent in my ear as yet, but for the moment is resting from its long journey up on the wall of my studio. i hear the wind blowing...and listen quietly for the dragon to begin its tale...

along with the wondrous dragon came this lovely bit of vintage silk kimono in soft brown check and weave. it has already sought the company of a few other bits of vintage silk kimono in my collection and begun whispering amongst themselves. perhaps, soon, they will share their whispers with me?

and finally, along with the dragon came this beautiful bit of vintage silk kimono filled with birdsong and the fragrance of delicate flowers! this is whispering louder...but my japanese is a bit rusty. i shall have to brush up on it a bit...

and last, for today, came this marvelous miniature steel skeleton key...complete with a passing resemblance to its namesake. this came to me all the way from latvia and hasn't stopped whispering since he arrived! already there is a silver jump ring and chain dancing out of my jeweler's bench to offer him a quiet home around my neck where he can whisper his stories peacefully all day and all night long...

i think he is foretelling the nature of my next post!

meanwhile, i have so many other treasures to share...but they will have to wait a day or two as there are some noisy whisperers calling to me from the studio...

namaste'

knotted experiments

wow! life seems to keep getting in the way... i have several drafted posts that just can't seem to finish manifesting for one reason or another. so i've decided to take a few moments and simply tie knots and wrap fabric strips to do a little judesque experimentation... am tossing bits into the yard to see what happens to them. am eyeballing a few more strips and scraps for similar experimentation...and even, perhaps, applying a bit of shibori technique (would this be shiboreco? ha!), but then allowing the elements and time to be the dyes.  it shall be interested to watch. more on these soon...

in the meantime, i have a few more hours of needle chanting to accomplish, and then some much needed, often neglected, sleep to catch up on... and then a fun trip into town to mail off some fabrics to a dear person in australia and to hopefully pick up a stack or two of packages of fiber treasures that i've been waiting for from india, indonesia and japan!

namaste'

well-worn steps

between saying

and doing

many a pair of

shoes is worn out. 

~italian proverb



i feel like i've been climbing these steps for too many years. it feels good to be doing something again! i've finally got my feathers for jude's magic feather project packaged and ready to ship tomorrow. i'm down to the last few inches of binding on a quilt that has been languishing for longer than i care to admit (even to myself) so i can get it shipped this week, too. i even managed to make the long-awaited chocolate eclairs for my oldies at work:

...and boy were they ever tasty!! now it's time to begin finishing a few other projects...but first, a good night's sleep! haven't had one of those in too long...

namaste'