another bite of the elephant

still just looking....and contemplating. i'm finding myself spending time looking at things i haven't looked at in a long time.  time worn books. baskets of aged trim. parcels from india containing vintage sari that i had forgotten i had. bits and bobs from all over that either had intentions at one time or simply whispered of future possibilities. i'm beginning to feel the creative flow trickle around the rocks of grief...and inaction.

namaste'

just beginning to look again...

am

baby steps, my dears....baby steps. (besides, it's chilling down outside)

namaste'

missing you...

it's been a tough month. first nicky passed and then one week later sachi had to be put down... haven't felt like creating much lately...

namaste'

they're here!

at long last, the pixies have figured out how to use big cartel and have loaded up the first batch of goodies over in the manhandled threads shop.  you'll find rust-dyed suns of various sizes, small cloths and keeper cloths, and even an antique hand-crank singer sewing machine for sale there!

just click on the link at the top of the right side bar. be sure to click on the categories as there are many more treasures listed than what appears on the front page.

more will be flying in soon, including fragment scrap books and a host of other treasures!

namaste'

twang deep...twang darkly

what does a creative mind with a musical bent do with 130 year old coffin-style violin case? re-purpose it into a mountain dulcimer, of course! i have purchased a couple others in the past and turned them into sewing boxes for my slow cloth fragments, but this one had something entirely different in mind... having housed music for so long, this time it wanted to make it's own music!

very little was done to the box itself, aside from removing the side panels on the two curved shoulders at the top to create a surprisingly resonant sound chamber after removing felt linings and dividing walls. add to that a hand-cut, scrolled headed fret board made of oak, stained to compliment, and...twang! instant dulcimer! okay, so maybe it wasn't quite *instant*...but you get the idea. given its dimensions, this unique beauty has a lovely, dark bass timbre. why don't you pour a little of its magic into your ear?

namaste'

good stuff is on its way

the studio has been a buzz with activity these past few days. finishing touches put on various projects. cloth coming out of the rust dye bins. threads being wrapped into hanks. scrap books being assembled. be sure to watch for announcements here as items begin to arrive in the manhandled threads shop over the next few days and into the coming couple of weeks. creative chaos has been whirling around like a crazed tornado filling me with excitement!

namaste'

roots before branches

sometimes i get lost, looking up into the heights of the branches cresting the trees above me. i long to be up there. amongst the clouds. the birds. and i have to remember that those branches cannot sail so high in the winds without first sending sturdy roots deep into the soil beneath my feet.

today i am tending to my roots. feeding my soul. needle chanting foundations. sorting fragments. but still keeping an eye to the branches of tomorrow.

namaste'

at long last!

thank you for the continuing emails asking about my cloth art pieces, over-dyed salvage fragments, and rust-dyed cloth! in response, manhandled threads store is to be re-opened in just a few days! watch for the link to appear at the top of the right side-bar. new items will begin posting by the end of next week (or sooner). there are several rusted moons and suns, along with other rust-dyed fragments, salvage and art cloth scrap books (portfolio collections of cloth), and various art cloth pieces to be posted in the coming weeks!

time has a way about it...

"thirty was so strange for me.

i've really had to come to terms

with the fact that i am now 

a walking and talking adult."

-c.s. lewis

i remember feeling just so. as c.s. lewis did at thirty. i wonder how he felt at forty? at fifty? having just turned forty-eight a few days ago, time has intruded upon my thoughts once again. though this time, in a different manner. i've been thinking lately how i have forgotten how to manage my time. for years i have worked between 70 and 80+ hours a week. this leaves little more than stolen moments to play with between work and sleep. now, for the past month, i've reduced my hours to simply 40 a week. i have so much spare time. but i have forgotten how to utilize it. i have found myself sitting on the couch more often than not. wasting my time doing little to nothing. oddly overwhelmed by the nothingness, really. so, yesterday, i decided i could no longer afford to do this anymore. i began to reclaim control...

i picked up needle and thread and began chanting this abandoned piece once more. adding soft blues and muted oranges by hand to the machine stitched bird. chanting butterfly trails to remind them where they have been. begun digging through small, wooden boxes and satcheled caches of ephemera in search of more to push the boundaries of this little cloth.

oh, i know i am unlikely to stick with this one cloth until it is finished. there are too many others now calling for my attention, and you know how i like to jump around as my creativity directs me. but, for now, this little bird has captured my attention once again.

at least, that is, during the cool morning hours until the sun begins to beat like a south african drum. luring me out into the shady recesses where i have stashed my old farm truck and my fingers begin to itch for the sensation of oil and grit...

namaste'