handstories

The shape of the last week or so

    There has been a lot of self-reflection, and some being stuck in it.

    And another round of Covid.  Fortunately, it was a mild short-lived case with only one day of fever.  (Noticing that my inner beast looks like a sad, sore, scary tooth. A subconscious connection to my teeth issues?)

    On day three, tired of being tired (following a very good pity-party), I sat down to watch Carla Sonheim's yearlong class videos.  There was doodling, experimenting, and thinking about grids.

    It was a lot of fun.  (Yes, I'm still playing with combining aquamarine, ocher, and black paints.)  I find her workshops inspiring, approachable, and comforting.  They encourage me to try new things and think about making in different ways.

    Which led to this color wheel piece.  (I love color wheels- the idea of them, their usefulness, and how beautiful they are.)  Over and over again, trying something new adds layers to the cloth work.

    Switching things up can create a shift everywhere.

    Circles that were traced. 

    "In Theory"

Perspective

(Deb Lacativa dyed base cloth)

    A couple of weeks ago I stood on a chair reaching too far, too high, for too long, but didn't realize it for a few days when the pain slowly grew and evolved from my back to fingers over a few days.  Most parts have recovered, still waiting on my back.  I just don't bounce like I used to.  Inside or out.

    Something new in the arboretum.

    Sometimes the big picture can't be seen without moving.

    Imagining it in sunshine.

    A conversation across the world with Blue... As he grows into adulthood, it's requiring shifts for both of us.  It's mostly good, hard sometimes, realizing mistakes I made as a parent, and it's comforting to talk about it with him.  He says the nicest things, which reminds me that I didn't do everything wrong.

    Things that seem so simple can have so many layers.

(Threadcrumb moon)

    It depends where you stand.

Blue & yellow and a Blue story

    One morning, I woke up wanting to weave, remembering the fun of being in Jude's Cloth 2 Cloth workshop, everyone weaving together... 

    One of the reasons that I find myself blogging less, is feeling like I have nothing to say.  My life is so quiet now.  There are no interesting stories like there were in my teaching days.  

    Getting lost in the details is a happy place.

    “She Wove Her Sky in Starlight”

    The sun was still coming up when I went for a walk one morning.  Sometimes I stop for the views for a long while and have to remind myself that the goal is to be moving.

    The top yellow fabric led to the rest of this golden cloth.  With pieces from Deb, Jude, and Blandina.  It's still in the works...

    Yesterday, a two-hour phone call with Blue.  It was so swell.  He has grown so much during his adventure in Chile.  Gaining self-awareness, confidence, friends from all over the world, and stories galore. 

    So, I will borrow and share a Blue story...  Recently, his old sneakers finally gave out.  A Chilean friend took him shopping.  When he told the salesman his size, he shook his head with doubt.  Blue is tall and has BIG feet, size 13-14, much bigger the average Chilean shopper.  They went to the stockroom, and they all searched together, looking for anything close.  Just as they were about to give up, they found one pair of sneakers in size 12.5.  They were comfortable enough.  Blue was so happy to have them, and said it felt like a miracle.

    Fast forward to last week:  A group of them went south of Santiago to a friend of a friend's family cabin.  Surrounded by mountains, forests, and lakes, they had a wonderful week of hiking, kayaking, etc...  On their last day, thanks to a friend of a friend, etc... they were taken on a tour bus around the area.  One stop was at a fancy hotel/restaurant where they were treated to a delicious meal.  "You would have loved it, Mom!  It was like a fairy tale... something Snow White would have found in the woods.  You felt like you were inside of a magical tree."

    The next morning, packing up to leave, he couldn't find his new shoes.  He remembered switching them out for his flipflops on the bus the day before.  They were still on that bus.  One friend said he looked like someone had died.

    He flipflopped to the bus stop, mourning his precious shoes.  As they boarded the bus for the ten-hour ride back, the driver asked, "Does anyone here have big feet?"  Blue called out, "Yes!"  The driver pulled out a bag with his shoes!  They had been found on the other bus.  Folks wondered if a basketball player had left them?  Somehow, they had found their way to this driver, Tio Rico (who everyone called "Uncle").  Blue gushed his thanks and shared his shoe search story with him.  Tio Rico laughed and laughed, and at each stop along the way, he would call for Blue to tell the story of "The Miracles of the Giant Shoes"!

    Blue and Tio Rico, and the Giant Shoes!