still

 

 

 

I have had enforced time out of the studio.
Since May - since end of april really, I have been travelling or in england or with the grand children.
My brain has become so tangled.

But when I come back to this quiet place, new ideas are there
for me to consider and begin to replace/ place
into my body of work.

Critical reflection.
new insight.

side a and side b

side a

side b

 

celestial harmony
celestial duality

side a
side b

johannes kepler believed that souls move the planets, then later he used the word force instead of soul

but it shows that there is a co-relation between science and divinity

a medieval concept:  there is a divine force behind the movements of the planets

wonder folder

 

 

my celestial panel

considering it as an ongoing meditation.  a healing cloth for me to go when I need some solitude and handwork

considering exhibiting it as an unfinished folder
a book cover
something that could unfold on a table
and reveal other panels, other samples, other meditations
other stitched pieces kept within it

considering it as not something to look at from a respectful gallery/church distance
but
rather
to touch
to handle
to use
but still
because of the aesthetics of time and labour

there will be wonder

risk your skin, she said

 

 

Or the story of Marsyas the musician who was half man and half beast and who could play as sweetly as any god on his flute and did so until Apollo the sun god himself heard rumours about how good the earthly musician was, came shooting down straight as a ray of light to earth, challenged him to a contest, won the contest and had the musician skinned alive as his prize.

Which isn't necessarily the injustice that it sounds, my mother said.  Cause imagine, the skin of marsyas slipped off as easily as a tomato's will in warm water to allow the red raw sweetness out of the fruit below.  And the sight of such release moved everyone who saw it to a strength of feeling more than any music anywhere played by any musician or god.

So always risk your skin, she said, and never fear losing it, cause it always does some good one way or another when the powers that be deign to take it off us.

page 250, How To Be Both by Ali Smith

what do you hope to do today?

 

 

 

I have no plans other then to just get by.
Stay the course.
Do my work when I can.
Pay attention to what others need and provide it.
This is cottage life for me.

I waste time when I'm here.
I lose my will when I'm here.

big silk

 

 

celestial indigo

 

For some who are travelers, the stars are guides.

Le Petit Prince

at cottage

 

I shortened this by about 12 inches this week.

absence

Poor sisters

How do you put up with the absence
absence of the other
absence of means
absence of ideal
absence of interest.

An absence is a well that must be filled
A hole without water

The lack is more important than the filled

The tide fills the hole with water
then goes out
then comes in
eternally.

Penelope weaves and unweaves
eternally

Louise Bourgeois   (paraphrased a bit)

surfaces based on repetition

 

 

I use cloth and thread to create densely stitched surfaces based on repetition of archetypal shapes.  The complex textures in the finished pieces connects with the  body's haptic sense which gives poetic resonance.

(this is the reverse side of moon cloth from design wall at home studio a week ago.  I am working from both sides on this piece)

I want to express truth

 

I was in my studio for a brief time (one day) and saw all the projects piled on the floor.  I packed this piece up to take to the cottage where I plan to spend August with the grand children.

"People are small.  We can't do more than is humanly possible.  I suppose in my work, I want to strive to make things which are good and to find things that make people happy.  I want to express truth through the things I create."  Makiko Minagawa