Just remembering what I was doing in pictures before what I'm doing now...

My lungs are clearer than they've been in a very long time! My doctor released me yesterday from being house bound and I thought I'd return to The Basement Workshop today but the temps have dropped below freezing and after yesterday's running around I found myself good for nothing but sleep when I returned home. 

 I'm in dire need of a hair cut but as always when it begins to grow out I entertain the thought of doing something different with my hair other than my signature cropped close to the scalp afro.  But I've turned into such a really LOW maintenance chick that the thought of keeping any sort of regular appointments with a braider or beautician makes me go NO WAY! But I really could do a little better.  Wish barbers made housecalls.

Remember the art journal I had lost?  Well I found it buried under some things at the Studio. This is a page from it for materials to be used in the above piece.  Looking at it now, it feels like it will be a "safe" piece...no risk taking here. 

Today will be filled with reading.  Yesterday I picked up the latest SDA journal, Studio, and Legacy magazines. I've started another book by Zades Mda, Ways of Dying with the same protagonist, Toloki, the professional mourner, but this one takes place in his home country of South Africa.  Also I'm continuing to scribble and work with colour in the design writing that I began while in the hospital...all this should keep me out of any trouble for a day or two...

Hurry up Spring!

Cion, a novel by Zakes Mda

 I finished this last night and because of quilts being one of the central themes in the novel, I'm recommending it as a STRANGELY ENTERTAINING read.  You can read my thoughts on the book at my book blog, My Eyes Have Seen the Coming of the Word.  The top 3 posts discuss the book. 

Zakes Mda teaches at Ohio University right in Athens and cleverly interweaves the history, quilting and otherwise, into the novel.  Please let me know if you read it by leaving a comment at either blog or via email. 

Peace,

As I typed this Martha Stewart demo'ed how to make felted soaps.

One of my favorite tunes that Cheryl Lynne Skinner use to sing when she performed locally had a line that said "i'm sitting in the house with everything on my mind, looking at the clock and can't even, can't even, tell the time". 

dig the gold by Liquitex!  

Amazingly, I'm calm and cool and relaxed even though I've not left my domain since coming home from the hospital.  I'm even letting the fingernails grow...(a little idiosyncracy about me, I clip them short because I do not like the whites of my nails to show and have never been a fan of long nails even when I had regular manicures done at salons...nail techs found me odd that way.  But this obsession with clipping them short as I do started about 3 years ago when I was going through some BS with my daugther and I just never stopped.  I also found short nails to be better for handling paints and dyes so it just made sense to continue.)

 beginning a new "design writing"

If I'm honest with myself, it will be March before I return to either The Basement Workshop or The Beauty of Holyness Studio.  The comments in the previous post boosted my spirits.  The idea to start "design writing" came intuitively without any preconceived ideas of where the lines and values would go.  I just kept changing up pens and writing anything from what I heard on tv, what the doctor said to me, something I recalled, or a slew of emotions.  The idea Mai-Britt offered to make copies and experiment with colouring them was like "a duh, why didn't I think of that" moment.  Thanks Mai-Britt for the idea.  I haven't been in Photoshop in so long that I didn't feel up to taking in sharp turns in my brain by trying to recall how to do layers, but when I do feel up to I think I'll try working them with colour that way. 

  

i got carried away

Deborah's idea to start a study made me go "wow! i'm going to do an entire journal, page after page design writing"  I dig this!  Then Acey suggested seeing them stitched and I thought "ummm, did she mean stitched paper quilts...thats cool, I've never done one...or did she mean print them on fabric, ummmm saw a quick layout in my head...then I thought a paper and cloth quilt!"  I dig this also.  The art of holiness and the holiness of art is that it is regenerative on soooo many levels, one being that it draws community, and out of community, one finds their tribe.  So thank you to all who commented, one love!

doodling faces to mimick Ethiopia artists.

The answer to the question, "what are you writing these days?"

The paper is a heavy textured cotton like paper that I just love to close my eyes over rub. The writing is done using Faber-Castell Artist pens that glide beautifully over the dimpled paper.  The journal size is about 14x11 inches. The writing I started while in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs.  I have at least 2 weeks to be house-bound, at which, gives me time to finish it.  I thought about adding colour but I love the stark contrast of the black and white.
 

I really hate to loose something...

its not a doll, toy, watch, or even my lover man...but my current art journal with my assignments.  yeah, i can replace it, but thats not the point.

You mean "lose" right?

  signed...an old proofreaders  persnicketyness persnickety proofreader. 

Now if the persnickety proofreader was just as good at channeling lost items...umm????

oh-hum

oh, well, let me try again tomorrow...if you see the red ex, click on it anyway to see if you can see the actual image...i mean its a hot mess but for it not to even want to show itself???

Maybe I should give a name to my curriculum...????

I'll start my 3 week in my self-directed curriculum this coming week.  Here is a peak at last week's activities:

Mindful Meandering

 

Visual Language

Machine Embroidery

I worked on a little machine felting and with the temperatures rising into the 50's I wondered if I should put the wool away and anticipate spring.  Mellwood has an artists' gallery that was formed by tenants who have formed a seperate non-profit council.  Annual membership is 40 and 20% goes back to the council.  I'm going to roll this around in my head for a bit but I'm thinking it would ease my dilemna of whether I want to aim to sell from my studio space.  

 

back of scarf

front 

 
  
  

Spirit of the People

It took me two days before I could sit and watch the coverage of Haiti.  I took it in by listening to the tv while my hands were either stitching, cooking, typing, ironing. For the first 2 days of the tragedy I had to read the news online.  Sometimes the visual viewing is too much too soon and confuses my spirit...its like I have to seperate the words from the images in order for my mind to begin to merge the reality of the moment.  Digesting collective tragedies opens up the door for all tragedies that have preceded and that will come and time seems ever more circular and convoluted. 

Even though I was in both the studio and the workshop and kept myself occupied, my spirit was detached. Has this been your experience also?  I was helped by spending some time with my Mama yesterday at a NCNW (National Council of Negro Women) Breakfast in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.  There is some type of healing balm when folk gather together in good spirit. 

Learning Curves

Finding Your Own Visual Language (Dunnewold, Benn, Morgan) Monday

Image Transfer (McElroy) Tuesday

Digital Essentials (Hansen) Wednesday morning

Secrets of Digital Quilting (Smith and Smith) Wednesday Afternoon

Digital Expressions (Tuttle) Friday morning

Once a week I'll review my activities on my main page.  The books selected will rotate as I finish a current one.  My goal is to really engage with the excercises and evaluate the techniques for my personal development as an artist.  Give me a holler if you're working through any of the same books...we can compare notes and support each other.

Art Alert!!!!

Machine Needle felted by Linda Kempshall <clickable

There are 3 additional pieces in her gallery also.  If it was'nt for a little bit of common sense I would head over to the Mellwood Studio and hold up for the weekend ;)  Just seeing this piece and thinking about the process and the texture gives me butterflies.

Kicking off the year!

Well la ti da, looka here, looka here...this cold fluffy stuff that is so pretty to look at but whose reality is a bit harsh finally found us...the frigid temps wasn't enough, it had to go and snow! Its only a few inches but, still, ya know how I feel about the season that shall not be named. 

But I was not daunted! No, beloved, I managed to keep myself distracted and warm and worked my plan in spite of it all! 

FME Exercises (Shinn) 

VL (Dunnewold, Benn, Morgan)

 
MM (Fritz)  

What I've committed to doing this time around with my outlined curriculum (see previous post) is to stick with the exercises, ride them out so to speak, go a little further with them, versus rushing through them in order to get to the "fun" part.  For example, take the expanded shape exercises (middle image above). Instead of doing 10-20 of them and then moving to the next exercise, I'm going to overlap the exercises and continue to do the previous exercises while moving to the next one.  This will add some "depth" to what I do instead of moving through fast.  Afterall, the purchase of books is a serious investment and it doesn't make sense to keep adding to my shelves without really getting the benefit from them.  I'm even abandoning my approach to keep my books in pristine condition.  Why? For What?  No, this time I'm highlighting, making notes in the margins...really pushing myself to engage with the efforts that each author has made. 

Other happenings this week was finding 4 painted whole cloths that was my first intended series.  I didn't even remember doing them until I saw them and one of them just might become the background for the Audubon piece.  How sweet it is to look at something with new eyes, eh!? 

And another fresh discovery for this week is observing very little dye wash-out with acid dyes on silk which leads me to the conclusion that most of the dye adhers to the cloth.  Here are the scarves waiting for a 2nd layer of something...I'm thinking of some hand writing, any ideas for me?

Looking at these colours, I must have Spring on my mind :)

 Peace,