Saturday, May 06, 2006

The Lost Week

It feels like a week anyway. I am upright for the first time in 24 hours. Some unknown malaise gave me a bad night's sleep Thursday with alternating fever and chills. I also ran up and down the stairs at work more times than my back would tolerate and so I wasted all of Friday in bed. I couldn't read, do handwork or even websurf with my laptop. Changing the channel became too demanding so I dozed and made imaginary pieces in my head where they don't generate a lot of enthusiasm or sweat. I have to thank Frieda for reminding me why I have a button linking to Danny Gregory's blog and this post in particular. I'd like it if he would expound on those "rare, apparent exceptions who don't give a good god-damn what anyone else says" but wouldn't that just be confirming his first notion that "Creative people care so very much what others think of them." It's a great article and it confirms my thinking lately about voicing my opinion in public places. Who cares what I think or have to say? If it wasn't for the fact that I am prone to talking to myself and listening intently, I wouldn't write anything, ever. Here's a true story. Jim told me that once I woke him in the dead of the night because I was laughing in my sleep. He asked me "what was so damn funny?". I said "I told myself a joke" and turned over and went back to sleep. The headache is gone, the fog is lifting and maybe I can get a start on the imaginary pieces I've been working on in my head. So instead of talking or writing about the work, I will be doing for a while.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Picnic in Hell

Picnic In Hell about 50"x70". Well, what if it is commercial? These days selling my work is my prime objective and I hope this will keep me from putting a DONATE button on this site. I made a cool one yesterday that read [Send Me To Art Camp] but then I decided to hold off. When I was attending school in NYC I was fascinated with the social politics of begging and would spend hours sitting and talking with panhandlers trying to figure out how one replaces pride with determination and take up street begging the way others take up carpentry or quiltmaking. Piecing this top took nine loooong innings on Saturday afternoon (Braves 8, Mets 5) and I loved every minute of it. It will keep someone warm and cozy before too long. I have made a vow to honor my frugal nature and NOT buy any new materials in the coming year. It will probably take me at least that long to use up what I have collected in my studio. These are hand dyes and some commercial overdyes and batiks, all cotton. I plan on using up the nine miles of Warm & Natural I bought at MaryJo's last year. I may wind up having to piece the backs of these bigger things but that will be in the spirit of things too.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Woman possessed by fabrics..

....but she showed them a thing or two or three. Slashed, layered and stitched into submission, the fabrics lay defeated. Little did they know she planned to either drag them into the front yard and set them afire OR soak them in acrylic medium and squash them between two sheets of plexiglas or then again, drag them behind the Honda for a few days. I guess I deserved at least this.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Liver...Again?

These are all pictures of the same piece, just different views. Now the question is "What is to be done with these things" or better yet "Can I borrow a few onions? approximately 12"...I am too lazy to go upstairs for the tape measure.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

What Blogging is all about (for me)

Like I said "SHOW ME THE PICTURES!". Dijanne Cevaal's blog Musings of a textile itinerant was the very first textile art blog I discovered on the web and has been the gold standard for me ever since. Her newest piece "Persephone's Rug for the Underworld" is spectacular and we have had the chance to see it all the way from the dye vat. Gorgeous work, Dijanne. And to think I have been shying away from using contrasting thread colors in my quilting. DOH!