 Every year at this time I find myself looking backwards. And forwards. Today I was doing some cleaning in my art room, and I found these 12-month-old-tiles below. Bittersweet, indeed. In mid-December 2019, I was just back from a wonderful weekend with a good friend at Kripalu, drawing tangles with Martha Huggins (on the left) and Molly Hollibaugh (right) of the Zentangle® family. If this year had been normal, I'm sure I'd have done the same. But we all know it was not a normal year. So here is a short review of some of the work we did in December 2019, with the fond hope that we will be able to do something similar in 2021. Looking at these tiles brought back so many good memories for me.
 Four Bijou (2") gray tiles; in these 3 photographs you can see the fun of turning them in a variety of ways.  Mandala on a gray Zendala tile. This was made by folding the tile 4x to create a folded "string" to tangle on. I remember being distressed that we were folding our tiles, but now, a year later, I can barely see the folds. And although I'm not a Christmas celebrator, I just happened to get some non-Christmas presents this year (the timing just worked out that they arrived at Christmastime). Here are two that I'm thrilled by but haven't had time to try out yet.  This is a commemorative but perfectly functional Oxford Punchneedle, called The Peacock. Amy (Oxford) had only 1300 of these made from laminated wood, to commemorate her 25th year in business. It's a #13 Fine size and I cannot wait to try it out. Check out the bag, made of fabric to match the needle. I love it! I gifted this to myself from myself.  And out of the blue, an outrageously kind friend I haven't seen in way too long just up & sent me these fabulous watercolor markers. Unbelievable. "They were on sale and I thought of you," was her comment. WOW. Cannot wait to try these out, hopefully in a day or two. A friend is a gift you give yourself. Robert Louis Stevenson  I mean. Right? I spotted this bumper sticker on the back of a car a couple of blocks away from my house as I was out on a walk this afternoon. At first I walked past it, but I was laughing so loud I had to circle back to take the photograph. There were a few other things on the car that suggested to me that the owner might be an amateur or even a pro astronomer. Some type of scientist.
I want this on a t-shirt. They do make them, of course. I found them on amazon. What a year. This was the scene as I took a walk this morning. I do not live on a mountain, but this reminded me of one of my favorite instrumentals, Foggy Mountain Breakdown.   Such a lovely morning, and then in the afternoon, there was the sun and relative warmth. Meanwhile, a good friend send me a greeting card I well remember from buying some of these myself in the 1980s. I haven't seen them in years and loved getting this. There was a whole series of these cards, based on flowers and vegetables. Here is the lovely Eggplant Deva, painted by Azra Simonetti circa 1986.   Some days have their own sweetness. This was one. Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called "the present."  A mosaic formed by putting six 3-Z (triangular) tiles together. I've been so busy attending to another major commitment that I completely forgot this follow-up to my last post. Here I've added another three tiles and put them together into a hexagon. (I'm actually writing this on December 11th, having completely forgotten that the draft was sitting here since the 5th, waiting to be posted.) That's the way life is going at the moment. Scattered. It makes me aware of the fact that we can only really attend to one thing at a time, while everything else fades into the background. “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”  A trifecta of 3-Z tiles (white) with nothing on them but Micron 01, Micron PN, and graphite. Tangles include Cockles and Mussels, Joku and Ginli.  Here I tangled over the space for a stamp on a white envelope, using black Micron and greenish colored pencil. If you look hard you can just make out the words, "Additional Postage Required" underneath the drawing. Out my back window, immensely tall trees are swaying in a wind passing through the back yard. I'm thinking about the way the light makes the sky at this moment--just before sunset--look like stainless steel. Exactly the color of stainless steel. Clouds have blocked the setting sun and as I watch, the tone of the clouds shifts slightly more towards blue.
I never tire of watching the changing sky, or the way the gray and brown tree branches dance across it, finding their own rhythm in the evening wind. This light is moving us gradually from day to night. It subtly alters the cloud colors in each passing moment. Just like thoughts change, and just the way life changes from moment to moment. I want to be fully present for this moment. Just this moment. When I finished typing and looked up, I could see a horizontal band of luscious rose-tinted light crossing the sky below the stainless steel and blue clouds. And below that, a band of gold-white from the last rays of the sun. Exquisite, this moment. |
ABOUT ME I'm a textile artist (traditional rug hooking, punch needle rug hooking, and other textile arts), a long-time meditator, a certified meditation teacher and coach, and focused on learning about the interplay of art, creativity, and mindfulness every day. 
Certified, 2021
Certified Unified Mindfulness Coach Level I, 2024
Certified Zentangle® Teacher, 2013
Certified by AmyOxford.com at The Oxford Rug Hooking School, 2016
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