handstories

Birds

    Begun at the beach.

    Often stitching feels like drawing, but these birds are more of a sketching process. Each stitch shaping the figure. They take time and consideration, along with some erasing (unstitching).  The surprise of them, the not knowing how they will look in the end, is fun. And I really like the couple of dark marks in the reddish cloth (dyed by Deb) and how they give the faint suggestion of birds coming through a portal. 

    And another bird in process, bigger (~8 x 6 in.), inspired by collage lessons in Carla Sonheim’s Creative Lab class.

    Both pieces traveled to the Atheneum down at Pike's Market today.  A friend and I wrote and stitched the day away looking out over Elliot Bay. 

    Much more to do here- around the bird and within.

Some recent things

    “Somewhere”

    “Hill & Moon Share Their Love of the Sky”

    Deb's dyeing made for a perfect sky and the patchwork scrap for the earth came from Jude, and it seems so full of story.

    I dropped the thread onto the piece and liked where it landed. It wasn’t until after I had stitched it that I saw the profile, which I also really liked. Especially the bird for an eye.

    “Unearthed”

    Working with the white muslin has been great. There’s a feeling of spaciousness in it that I’m really loving.

    Tomorrow, there is a regular check up with a new doctor. It’s been eight years.  There's sure to be a list of things that I should do more of and some things that should happen less frequently. Perhaps I will begin the meeting with a directive of her only being allowed to tell me two negative things?  The anxiety about the appointment has me leaning heavily into the "less of" side. I should probably talk to her about anxiety too.  Probably I won't need to say a word. Ha.

    Maybe I should get out some more white cloth?

Friendly Ghosts

    "Floating into Being"

    A happy accident led to a lovely reunion. A couple of weeks ago, I sent a text by speaking rather than typing and hit send before realizing it was going to someone whose name sounded very similar. This someone was a classmate in those painting classes at the local college years ago.  One text led to another, until the two of us, along with a third friend from the classes, were sitting down for lunch this weekend.

    Not having seen either of them for more than five years, it was fascinating to me that my usual social anxieties didn’t kick in (for the most part). I rarely go back in time to meet up with people. It’s usually not about the person from the past, rather more of a fear of running into old, unwelcomed ghosts of myself.

    But this time, there was calm. Near the end of our time together, I told them so, realizing that being with them took me back to those calm, peaceful hours of painting in that classroom. I had forgotten how much I loved being there. 

    "Spells for Well-Being"

    In the Studio...  These two, they are like an old married couple, how they check in with, keep track of, and bicker with each other. And then there are moments like this, when he brought his drawing to show her, and she gave him sincere admiration.  It’s such a gift to be there.

    The Studio has moved to a new location (much further away, challenging my driving anxiety).  A new big room that is all their own, with no need to take down tables, pack everything away, etc. at the end of the day so that another class can come in afterwards. Happily, the artists all seem at peace with this shift.  

    "Into the Unknown"

    Working in the bigness of this (13 1/2 inches square), felt very good.  (With thanks to Jude, Deb, and Tina for their generous sharing in this piece and/or those above.)

    There is also a new book to share.  I will try to put it here in a couple of days.  Typepad was a struggle today. 

Thinking

    As usual, I’m all over the place. Stitching here…

    Practicing birds…

    A few words…

    Another ship…


    And today, thinking about practice and process…

   It may not look like it, but it's a purposeful experiment. 

   Somewhere inside of connection and story.

On the brink with pink

    Recently, I wrote a friend about feeling on the brink, and that I didn’t know why, but making a boat always seems to help. And it did.

Actually, I made two boats.

    Another “I don’t know why…“ is the reason that there is so much pink in recent pieces?  This one was actually started a month or so ago and put aside when I got stuck. There was a lot of heavy stitching in it. I finally got out of my own way, took out the stitches, and replaced them with so many tiny ones- to hold it together and echo the beautiful dyeing by Jude (moon) and Deb (pink fabrics). 

    Another of Jude‘s moons and Deb’s threads- a kind of remembering of how much small spaces can hold.

    July 1st, a third boat... without words. 


    Today’s.  I wanted a pink house from the get-go, and one thing led to another. There were a lot of thoughts about process.  Wondering if it was a kind of doodling- adding something here, there… But I think it’s more connected to writing for me. Starting with a “Once upon a time…” followed by the “and's…”

    Whatever it is, it feels good today.

Gatherings

    Moon’s graduation weekend was very swell- time with Moon and girlfriend, an unplanned visit with Deb, and a day in Vancouver, BC.

    This one made a while, looking at a fancy box of matches.

    When does the group of something become a collection?  I tried finding the collective noun for matchboxes.  Nothing.  Matches are a book or a box.  Boxes are a stack.  So maybe a stack of books?  A book of stacks?  A stack of boxes?

    Tried flowers.

    Went back to boats.

    And this was interesting to do. Using Jude's stacked stitches I filled in a mosaic printed cloth from Maiwa’s with shades of green, Deb’s threads, and a few tiny scraps. Tension is an issue for me. It was good to practice, practice, practice.

    “Magic Mountain”

    And then to relax, a small simple peace wish made with of more of Jude’s techniques- Seemingly Seams and Glue stitch. Both feel like magic tricks.

    It was left in a neighborhood Free Little Art Gallery while out for a walk this morning. I wonder where it will go next?

Sailing

    I’ve decided that I can paint whatever I want, whenever I want.  So simple, yet so hard for some of us.

    "On Her Way..."

    So, I’m drawing, stitching, and looking at photos, figurines, paintings of boats… boats, and more boats.

    And I’m even allowing myself to keep my eyes open.  Doing the blind paintings was a way of just being in the moment and also of not judging myself. If my eyes are closed, of course it’s not going to be perfect.  For the last few drawings, I've kept my eyes on the reference mostly, but peeked at the paper now and then. Trying to work quickly and loosely, to remember the childhood joy of drawing.

    I gave dyeing with black beans a whirl. Easy peasy- dried beans and cold water.  Left the cloth in overnight.  Depending on the fabric, it came out shades of purple to gray (that bright purple piece started out pink).  

    “Going… Without knowing or caring”

    I used some of it for the lower sky here (below Deb's dazzling dyeing).

    While doing this one a memory came…  Growing up I drew all of the time, but then the teenage years made way for other things – theater, writing, basketball… (a few boys, too, including K.!).  One birthday, 16th I think, my brother gave me a gift. We weren’t close anymore, avoided each other or spoke in snarls.  As I opened up a small sketchbook and set of colored pencils, he said, “You don’t draw anymore.”  I was so touched that he had noticed and cared. I still have that little book somewhere.

    Rhode Island sister is coming to town tomorrow.  Looking forward to our time together, and some sea. And probably another boat...

In the pink all around

    I was happy just looking at these cloths together for a while.  Jude's moon and Deb's pinks.  I have often wondered about curator or artist in my making.  Thinking about it more, there is an artistry in gathering, and I love putting cloths together, combining their stories into one.

    Blue's autumn views from his new apartment in Santiago, that he shares with his new roommate from the UK, near the apartment of his new girlfriend from South Africa (Now we really wonder when we'll see him again!).

    It's great to hear him sound so happy and much more settled and self-assured as he begins his second year in Chile.  We've both grown up so much.

    Dearest friend is on an adventure in France and sending fun photos of flowers, cafes, the countryside, and sewing pins in a castle gift shop.

    Another spring evening.

    We only had cloudy skies for the eclipse.  I watched the news instead.  They shared beautiful footage as it happened across the continent- Mexico, Texas, Indiana, Cleveland, Niagara Falls, and finally, Maine.  Watching the excitement of the people and the beauty of the diamonds, beads, and pink flares had me in tears.  What it must have been like to be there!  Three of our neighbors went to watch in Texas and Indiana.  It will be great to hear their sun and moon stories when they get back.

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.

Arcs

    Recent stitching- a series in rainbows.  (Inspired by and created with the dyeing talents of Deb and Tina.)

 

 

    New ideas- abstracted rainbows, black thread.  These pieces felt like drawing more than usual.

    On Instagram, someone asked if I would ever be able to go back to my usual palette after working with in such vivid colors?  I really enjoyed playing with these brights, being braver with bold, and there was already a piece in dark blues going by the time I saw the comment.  I am going to do more with these ideas.  They feel like an expansion rather than a shift.

    I don't have a lot of words for here or in regular life.  Things are ok, swell mostly.  Life felt really good for weeks, and then there was a head-first dive into a downward spiral last week.  Sometimes I do myself in.  It's an old habit, but at least I recognize it now.  This is progress.  Onward...