Blue Willow Cloth

The role of caregiver is not valued in our culture.  Care giving has been feminized.  Loss cracks the door open a little.  Any loss cracks all the doors open, your grief comes back.  I’ve just gotten better at closing those doors in a respectful way.  

Anthea Black (paraphrased slightly) 

celestial indigo

 

For some who are travelers, the stars are guides.

Le Petit Prince

memory cloth

 

I work with the design wall not only to visualize the design better
but also to see how the fabrics are hanging.

un-doing

There has to be un-doing in art now because there is so much culture weighing us down.
We need to undo, and then re-do,

bracelets

dad in hospital

gift

 

 

even when a gift is not alive it is treated as if it were
whatever we treat as living begins to take on life

gifts that have taken on a life can bestow it in return
a work of art is a gift

and circulates among us as reservoirs of available life

lewis hyde

figurative

The Muslim style in Ethiopia

The most beautiful example belongs to the urban women of the ancient walled city of Harar.  Marriage dresses are long, full smocks of indigo-dyed light cotton sewn up along a central longitudinal seam to form a V shaped neckline.

A piece of imported satin or damask of contrasting colour is sewn on to cover the shoulders, neck, breast, upper back.

All the edges of this applied fabric, and the neckline are outlined with delicate restrained  floral embroidery in satin stitch, which forms identical patterns on the inside of the dress.

It is therefore possible to turn the dress inside out.

A practice carried out at various stages during the wedding ceremony.

John Gillow
african textiles