you say you want a resolution?

Well, you know. . .

I don't usually go in for this sort of thing but this year one kinda crept up on me:

Remember your value.

It came to me in a dream.

Really.

I'm not entirely sure what it means, but it has a nice, ringing air of the resolute about it. So I'll give it a go and see what evolves.

Wishing you laughter, prosperity, imagination, health, and wonder.
Not necessarily in that order.

under consideration

A second offering in the Prayers on the River series -- a triptych-y thing-y. I'm wondering about the balance of the components.


"boats" with candle flames only

 

"boats" with flowers only



"boats" with flames and flowers

I'm thinking flames and flowers, but not so many flowers (or not so densely gathered there at the bottom) and maybe not quite so brightly colored. More pink, less orange.

(Note: It's not a trapezoid, that's a demonstration of my Citizen Kane-like skills with camera angles. Welles is, after all, considered a genius . . .)

at work

So I've been working in my studio. Trying to get accustomed to saying that so I don't feel so pretentious whilst saying, or even thinking, it. A new series, Prayers on the River, inspired by aarti, the Hindu prayer ceremony that concludes with celebrants placing flowers and candles in little boats and setting them afloat on the Ganges River. I have two more panel ideas and a triptych-like thing in my head, and then I'll see where it goes next. Not my most original or innovative offering, but a beginning of something.

Prayers on the River (1)
11 inches x 18 inches (width x height)
commercial prints and batik, machine stitched,
metallic and variegated threads, agate chips

Meanwhile, Beau is confused and searching for a comfortable place to hang out in the studio. He's going to be very disappointed when this rack goes away. I'll have to find something for him.

wordy wednesday

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

away

Off to see the family in Delaware tomorrow (Tuesday) with hopes of avoiding at least a little of the holiday traffic.


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

wordy wednesday

Now It Is Clear
--W. S. Merwin

 Now it is clear to me that no leaves are mine
no roots are mine
that wherever I go I will be a spine of smoke in the forest
and the forest will know it
we will both know it
and that birds vanish because of something
that I remember
flying through me as though I were a great wind
as the stones settle into the ground
the trees into themselves
staring as though I were a great wind
which is what I pray for
it is clear to me that I cannot return
but that some of us will meet once more
even here
like our own statues
and some of us still later without names
and some of us will burn with the speed
of endless departures
and be found and lost no more

ta-da

I have been waiting a while to say this: So I was down in the studio tonight . . . and I pulled out the Moby Dick box and unearthed a panel I started ages ago and -- made some progress. Hurrah for me.

Chapters 26 & 27: Knights and Squires 

The studio will evolve for a while At the moment, my enticing wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling closet is the holdall for stuff that lives in the living room. There was termite damage there as well, so I'm shifting things room by room and having the floors repaired. Nevertheless, it was possible to Do Something in The Studio.

^I did set up the Bernina that I bought -- also ages ago -- and have been afraid to use. But then I couldn't find the manual, so I took it down again and set out my stalwart little Janome.

^The big rack o'fabric will eventually be relocated in the b-i-g new closet.

^Temporary cutting table to see how it works it in that spot. It's kind of a small room, so getting things placed efficiently is going to take some experimenting.

 ^Pressing matters. I think I want to get a buffet/cabinet kind of thing with drawers and convert it to a cutting/pressing station. Helloooo, Ikea. Meanwhile, this will do.

^The b-i-g closet. Usually, it's the little things that make me this happy.

And -- a note to fans of Stella. She's been spending more time in the house now that it's getting chilly, so I expect projects will soon be underway. Her summer schedule of three days out, snack and overnight at home, then three days out again didn't allow for much in-house productivity. Or conversation.

The artist with her 2010 piece, Nip Socks in Pantry (I)
[temporary installation]