Half-mandalas. Isn't that what fans are, after all? I was lucky enough to go to two workshops for CZTs (Certified Zentangle® Teachers) in Connecticut the other day, and we spent the morning with Diane Yaciuk, CZT, learning how to create tangled fans. I was fascinated. So fascinated, I never got to tangle my own fan. That's why this post is about other people's work. Diane is a marbled paper addict and expert. Check out her work on Facebook HERE. Somewhere along the line, she became interested in Zentangle and fans, and she began the workshop with a little history and a lot of examples to inspire us. Not only was the workshop itself completely absorbing, but Diane also told us the story behind the paper used in the fans. It's made in Vietnam, in a rural village with no other source of income, and the tradition is in danger of dying out. Some of the papers (see the black paper at the top below) take 100+ steps to create. You cannot believe how luscious these papers are. They have no chemicals or sizing. They are thick and sturdy. Some have tooth and some are very smooth. Diane is starting to sell the papers in order to help the town. You can read all about this HERE (don't miss the videos and fascinating history) and other tabs on that site will lead you to other things Diane's involved in (including her fabulous scarves). The paper story is very compelling. We each got to go home with one of each of the papers. I can't wait to experiment with mine. Photo of some of the paper samples below. And underneath that are more photos of in-progress fans that I took as participants in the workshop began to tangle on their own fans. Prepare to drool! After a brief introduction and some good instructions, participants started to work on their own fans. I had permission to take these photos, and was so busy wandering around that I never got my own fan started. But I hope to begin working on it soon. Thanks to all those who allowed me to take photos...especially as I cannot credit most of you because I can't remember who was working on what! Oy. IN PROGRESS. ...Well actually, this is the start of the linework for my own fan! Finally. That is Kathy Barringer's wonderful tangle "Antique" at the top of the fan, and Chase Messineo's tangle "Ziggle" right underneath (that tangle isn't finished). Plus random linework at the bottom. The finished fan (I added color and more FineTec) is more toward the end of this post. ...and...TA-DA! THE FINISHED FANS ARE BELOW. DRUM ROLL, PLEASE... © 2017 to Ann E. Grasso, CZT. This spectacular finished fan is by Ann Grasso. I forgot to mention that one of the goodies in our kits was a jar of FineTec paint. Ann is obviously familiar with these paints and has used them with spectacular results here. I drool every time I look at this. Thanks to Ann for this photograph and permission to post this. Aren't those finished pieces wonderful? I need to get busy on doing my own. Every summer I reach for a fan when it gets hot and humid. Now I'm curious about their history as well as their practical uses. Time to do some research. Check back on this post occasionally. I may be updating it, as I am on the trail of getting permission to post other fans as they are finished. Thank you Diane, for one inspiring and very fine workshop. Next post: The afternoon was equally impressive. I'll keep that topic under wraps for a bit. I hope to have it up in a couple of days. Today's example is a frankly amazing mandala made by Cari Camarra, CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher). But she didn't draw this. It's not a tangle. It turns out, Cari's a papercutting artist and has been cutting snowflakes and mandalas for years. On Saturday evening while her family was watching tv, she folded some paper and made some cuts. Below is the still-folded, freshly cut piece, and then under that is the staggeringly lovely mandala: I loved this. But Cari gave us all a huge chuckle when she 'fessed up about the paper she used. As it turns out, it's the unused end of a roll from her doctor's office's examining table. You could hear the gasps and then the laughs. She assured us it was pristine and had "no butt-imprints on it" before she worked with it. (I think I remember her saying that she worked in a doctor's office and asked them for a whole roll of brand new examining-table-paper about 20 years ago, and is still using that same roll.) You can find out more about Cari's work HERE (her website) and HERE (her Facebook Page). Thanks to Cari for letting me share this. Now, where did I put my scissors...? *************
You may well ask, "Where are the first 5 posts in this series, since this is called number 6?" Um...I've only numbered one other--the first one. But if you look in the right-hand column on this page and scroll down to "Categories," you'll find a category called "Other People's Work." I've actually done several other posts on the topic and forgotten to number them. We've all heard of Sylvia Plath, famous for her extraordinary poetry, fascinating life, and tragic suicide. But who knew she was also a visual artist? I certainly didn't. Check out this fascinating article from one of my favorite websites called Brain Pickings. Plath was a visual artist as well as a phenomenal poet. I wish I could post some of those photographs here, but I haven't asked permission, so instead I will direct you to the site of the article where you can see them in all their glory. Meanwhile, my damaged hand is continuing to respond to intense exercise. It hurts like hell most of the time but it's finally beginning to act like a hand again. (At least it isn't my dominant hand--and for that piece of luck, I am eternally grateful.) I've been able to tangle a bit more. Here's a recent piece and how it evolved. The first stage, lines in progress: Next, here is the piece with the line work done, but without any shading: And below is the finished piece on the actual journal page, after shading: This was so much fun to draw, as it was simply line after line after line, each one drawn slowly and deliberately. A meditation in motion.
This weekend is the annual Franklin County Fair, a local tradition that's been going strong since 1843. (HERE is a great article from 2013 about the fair. Lots of photos.) So off I went to the Fair, early this morning. Easy to park. Tons of kids with parents, and everyone looking really happy. I took photos: Some rather wonderful quilts: And of course, since it's an agricultural fair, there were plenty of fruit and vegetable exhibits: It was somewhat ironic to see all the amazing winning fruit and vegetable displays, and then to walk outside and look at the food vendors and realize every item of food being offered to fair-goers was a heart-attack-on-a-plate item like fried dough, french fries, caramel apples, cotton candy, etc. But that too is traditional at county fairs. I passed on the food! I would have loved some of the apples from the photo above, but alas, it was a prize-winning display-only, and none were for sale. I bought two lovely things: . This stuff felt just luscious on my hands, and was faintly scented in the most subtle way. I have a hunch I will want more, once the cold weather sets in. And a little did a lot. I thought I would try this stuff for my poor sore damaged hand (from the broken wrist). When I bought it I was thinking, "What a sucker I am. Waste of good money. This will never make a difference." But ya know...I think it does. I am kind of amazed. Time will tell. It's formulated for arthritis. Note the name: "Hot & Flexy." I was warned to be sure to wash my hands before touching my eyes after using it, because of the ingredients. Good idea. Next came ogling some of the many critters on display: the cows, bunnies, goats, butterflies, sheep, turtles, fish, donkeys and a few of these guys: S/he (?) had just woken up and gotten up off the floor from a comfy night's sleep, hence the wood shavings all over the torso. I could relate, given how disheveled I often look in the mornings. Ok, maybe I don't wake up covered in wood shavings but you get the idea. I mentally congratulated all the winners and left, after first walking the midway with all its rides; that must be spectacular when it's lit up at night, and great fun. Coming home, I made sure to finish doing my hand exercises. Recovering from this injury has been a much bigger challenge than I thought. But in the last 4 days I'm noticing some major improvements. Two things that made me feel like a winner today: 1) I unpacked three boxes, something I haven't been able to do since I broke my wrist in June. I am beyond thrilled to see some of my favorite authors once more: David Grayson, May Sarton, Henry Beston and an assortment of others. Rumi and Kabir are at the far right. I feel surrounded by friends again, when I look at this shelf in my living room. And 2), the final major accomplishment: three months after the wrist injury, I was able to hook my bra for the first time with both hands. (I'm putting this at the very end because I figure no one will read this far) For three months I've had to hook it using one hand only, placing it flat on the bed, and then wrestling it on over my head. Awful! A few days ago I tried putting it on normally--and couldn't. I just didn't have the hand flexibility still. I tried every day this week. And then today--SUCCESS!
And that's how I know that things really are improving. Hallelujah. I've been in caught in a maelstrom of activity: First spending time with my Woolies, then driving out of state to attend an amazing workshop, then home to officially close on the condo. I am now a home owner. Gulp. I've been packing like a crazy woman, loading up the car, and driving across the state and back several times. I'm completely immersed in the early stages of the mess of moving. But I'm getting ahead of myself... First there was the Wooly Bully meeting the Friday before Martin Luther King weekend. Here are some shots of the rugs we've been working on: Then on Saturday of Martin Luther King day weekend, I drove to Vermont to take a paste-paper journal workshop with Nancy Shepherd. It was not an good time for me to be doing this, given the messy transition I'm in, but I had signed up for it several months in advance--before I knew what the future held. More importantly, I had been wanting to take this workshop for about 20 years (seriously), after my friend Georg made many such journals and gave me several. Here is a photo of all the journals produced by the students over this three-day workshop: H Below are all the paste papers I made on the first day of the workshop. They are laid out on newspaper to dry. I wish I'd had a chance to photograph everyone's papers, but I was only able to snap my own. Here are the front covers of the journals I made, and their bindings: I have to say I was thrilled beyond belief to learn how to do this. My only wish is that had the time now to practice with all the other papers I created. But that will have to wait until after I move and unpack--so the earliest that I'll be getting back to this will be summer. Phooey. Not only that, but I don't have room to store the new papers because I'm packing everything up; I had to store all of them in my hosts' house in Vermont. This would be a good time to say a hearty thank-you to my two kind and talented hosts, Sadelle and Ann. Not only did they put me up (or more accurately, "put up with me" !!) but they went way above and beyond with great conversation and excellent home cooking. "Num num num," as Cookie Monster would say. And then there were the Sweetie-Pie Doggie, the Cat Who Must Be Obeyed, and the Shy Timid Kitty, who were really lovely. Thank you Sadelle and Ann for making this possible. But wait, there's more... Coming back from Vermont, I drove to the condo for a pre-purchase walk-through, then drove back to Boston. The following day I signed all the final papers to officially buy it. 24 hours later, I left Boston and drove back to the condo and stayed for two nights. Then back here for a couple of days, then out there again for two more nights. Taking stuff with me each trip...lots of packing, hauling, moving. I'm exhausted and feel like a ping-pong ball. I'm sure it will all be worth it, but this is not easy. Here are some views: Oh, and in between all this, two wonderful signs somehow sneaked into this post. The first is my favorite sign from the women's march: Next I saw this sign (below) in front of my friend Elizabeth's store, and promptly went online HERE and ordered my own copy to download. That's my (current) story, and I'm sticking to it.
All I can say is, thank goodness for meditation. I need a vacation. I've been alluding to a secret "Big Project" for awhile now, something that's been forcing me to postpone my own work. It's no longer a secret: I'm moving. I'll be relocating soon--just haven't set the firm date yet. Since I've lived here for decades, you can imagine the level of sorting, packing, and disruption this will cause. It will be quite a while before I'm able to take time to implement any creative ideas of my own. So I thought I'd show you some wonderful work other people are doing. I'm intending this post to be the first of a series. Let's begin with Jon Cummings of Cambridge, MA and Newfoundland, Canada. Among his many other talents, Jon created these mad, wonderful sculptures from found objects. Click on any photo to view the complete piece (only partial thumbnail photos are below) and see its title and price. Some pieces are not for sale. If you'd like to contact Jon, you can do so at: 617-448-3079 How did I discover Jon? First, his wife is a member of my rug hooking group, the Wooly Bullies. In fact, it was Jon who suggested the name for the group 15 years ago. Yes, we are named after that incredibly stupid song of yesteryear by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs. In case you need to hear the song, here it is. Second, Jon used to share studio space at Joy Street Studios in Somerville, MA, with a close friend of mine. When he cleaned out his studio, he left some of his work behind since he didn't have room to store it. He put some of his pieces on the walls of my friend's woodworking shop. I love the results from the way Jon has taken found objects and put them together to form these crazy sculptures! And because I'm not kidding when I say his work is "up" on the walls of my friend's shop, let me note that it's WAY WAY up on the walls, so I had to shoot these photos from underneath. That accounts for the angle AND for the dust--they're up so high they haven't been dusted recently. They aren't shown to their best advantage, but we do what we can, right? And now a few thoughts on sculpture...
I say that the art of sculpture is eight times as great as any other art based on drawing, because a statue has eight views and they must all be equally good. (Benvenuto Cellini) Sculpture occupies real space like we do... you walk around it and relate to it almost as another person or another object. (Chuck Close) When you slow down enough to sculpt, you discover all kinds of things you never noticed before. (Karen Jobe) A great sculpture can roll down a hill without breaking. (Michelangelo) I would like to carve my novel in a piece of wood. (Georges Simenon) , I have indeed been absent from writing for a long while. It's nothing bad, nor have I abandoned my blog. Instead, life has been overly-full with good things, including two major projects. I'll write about one of them today. I just returned from a less-than-24 hour trip to Cornwall, VT, where I stayed overnight at the Oxford Rug Hooking School and completed the requirements to become a Certified Teacher Punch Needle Rug Hooking. (!! Hurrah !!) And as if that weren't wonderful enough, just look at the weather and views I had while I was there (even though I hardly had time to be outside). There was earthy eye candy everywhere. Here are some samples, a photo journey for your enjoyment: Amy Oxford's school is a bit of heaven on earth, one of my favorite places to go and well worth the four-hour drive for me. (Although TWO four-hour drives in 24 hours just about did me in.)
And then there is Amy herself, one of the kindest and most generous people I know. A fabulous artist, teacher and businesswoman. And there is also Heidi the dye wizard, working her magic on both creative and administrative aspects of the school--and just as nice. (Heidi also can repair absolutely anything.) It is sheer pleasure to be in residence there. I am ready to collapse for the evening and try to take in the fact that I'm now certified...a fact which just makes me think, "But I have so much more to learn!" My one regret is that I couldn't stay longer. Anyone who has been to the school and is reading this will know exactly what I mean. As for the other project I'm involved in: that one is bigger, longer-term, and more disruptive, and may prevent me from writing much for a while. It's all good. But it's also all-consuming. To quote the old Beatles' move, Help: "I can say no more." I saw a friend yesterday who had been sending me images she'd created on her iPad. I just loved them so she told me what app she had been using, a free one. I immediately downloaded it. And I had also acquired a new stylus, the Adonit Pro. (I have an old iPad so I cannot use the fabulous new Apple Pencil because it only works on the most recent iPad models. I won't be getting one of those for awhile.) Here in order were my first four attempts with this new app. I think I'm in love, and addicted already. Oh, the ideas for rugs and other textiles! Endless possibilities here!
"Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout." --Morihei Ueshiba What a lovely day today was. The Red Buddha on the left is a photo I took of a large installation on the wall of an unlit back hall of a local restaurant--apparently supervising things while in the dark and unseen. I discovered it on my way to the restroom. The dramatic red color is due to the fact that the only light is a red exit sign just over the Buddha's head. This Buddha is about four feet tall, apparently made from cement. I couldn't help wondering what it was doing mysteriously installed in the darkness, nearly invisible. Perhaps some things we'll just never understand. I was at the restaurant with two very dear friends who, as it happened, hadn't seen each other in over a quarter century. I've seen both of them but they hadn't seen each other. In the interim they've both had and raised children up to adulthood. We three had a lovely lunch. After lunch we took an Uber to the Fogg Art Museum and entered the Dreamtime. We went to the truly wonderful exhibit by Aboriginal Artists which is currently on display. All the work shown was inspired and gorgeous, three large rooms of dreamy paintings, carvings, and other objects. Below are three of my favorites with their credits and commentary. I urge you to go and see this exhibit before it closes in early September. Check the URL above for more information and more pictures. Originally I had planned this trip with one friend; my other friend suddenly contacted me last night to say that she was coming into town and did I have time today...? So we swept her into our plans, which meant that two people who hadn't seen each other in decades had the pleasure and fun of reconnecting. And I had the pleasure and fun of being with both of them, and watching them catch up. Friends. I am so lucky to have them. Thank you both for a wonderful day. “Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.”
― Elie Wiesel Honestly, some days it hardly feels like it was worth it to get out of bed. Today was one of those, creatively. All I can see at the moment is what is wrong with this rug. Not only did I get nothing done on it, but I spent part of the day ripping out what I've already done, and then allowing myself to fall into a funk. Not helpful. I broke my own rule which is: Just show up and do the work. So, that's my declared intention for tomorrow. I'll get up, meditate, and then work on the rug. I will ignore the funk, and do the work. It's the only way that art gets done. “The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case.” I could have titled this post:
What I noticed today, as I really dig in to this new piece, is the initial curiosity, restlessness, and insecurity of beginnings. Oh sure, I liked my design on paper, where it looked so neat and tidy. But in actually starting to produce the design in wool on monks cloth, I feel all the questions and doubts rushing forward. Will I have enough yarn? I don't know. Did I choose the right colors? I don't know. Will the new techniques I want to use actually work? I don't know. Will unfamiliar yarns/fabrics/techniques add to or subtract from the effect? I don't know. Can I really mix those two fibers in the needle? I don't know. Does everyone create this level of utter chaos when working on something new? I don't know. Can I tolerate the mess everywhere, while I get this underway? I don't know. Am I doing this right? I don't know. ...and on and on. I found myself taking frequent breaks from the work. Reading a book to distract myself. Going onto Facebook. Knitting. Running errands. Taking a nap. Avoid, avoid, avoid. It is very hard to tolerate this level of "I-don't-know-ness." I notice it every time I start something new. And yet...there is something exciting about it as well. The novelty, the experimentation, the not-knowing if something is going to work, and when it doesn't work, the part where I figure out what will work. I hope. Truth is, I don't know. This is the last installment in the series on my experience at the week-long certification workshop at the Oxford Rug Hooking School in Cornwall Vermont last week. I'll start with some pictures again--these are from Chris H, with his permission. They are photos he took on a brief walk he took up the dirt road just to the side of Amy's property. (I did not take a walk all week--unusual--and I lived to regret it, but that's another story. Note to self: Always take at least one walk a day...) It really was that beautiful there, and it was that way all week. Sunny, warm but not too hot, low humidity, Kind of staggeringly beautiful. Amy is a genius as an instructor. She had the entire week so well-planned...we introduced ourselves, talked about what makes a good instructor, and set goals. And then we set about meeting our goals for the week. Amy modeled the type of teacher we all hope to be. She was completely organized, but not rigid. She was great at time management, without making us feel we were on a "regimen." She told us what we'd be learning for each day--and then we actually learned it. And she had great handouts, clear and useful. The kind of handouts we can use with our own students. At one point, the wonderful Diane Burgess came in for an entire morning to teach traditional rug hooking to those of us who had never tried our hands at that. Diane specializes in teaching traditional hooking to newbies. Amy even managed to squeeze in a thorough lesson on photographing rugs, something I think we all needed to learn. (She's not mad here--the sun was so extraordinarily bright that she is squinting) Every day she gave us tip after tip, provided lots of time to punch and to teach, taught new techniques, and then ended with a hilarious graduation ceremony. I managed to photograph most of us at graduation, but unfortunately couldn't photograph myself and because Kathleen came right after me, I couldn't get her photo either. Here are the graduation pictures. Note the kazoo in Amy's mouth as we go through the process! Since we didn't have caps and gowns, we pitched balls of novelty yarn in the air to finalize the celebration. And speaking of yarns: Chris dyed up these colors before coming to the workshop and they caused a sensation. I think all of us used some of his yarns in our work last week, and I also think all of us took home one of the colors. Here are the colors he gifted us with. I got to go home with the blue one, and just today used more of it to finish one of my homework assignments. Chris raises sheep at his home, and spins; he also has the fleece commercially spun into rug yarn, but the hand-dyed yarns he dyed that are pictured above were, I think, from KnitPicks; they weren't from his own sheep. Thanks, Chris, for letting us all take one of these home. After graduation Amy gave us each a tiny charm, as well as our diplomas. I loved the charm and am already using it on my keychain. When I left on Saturday, I left with inspiration, with a good-sized manual for techniques, with the work I'd completed during the week, with plenty of resources, with plenty of homework ahead of me to complete the certification, and with the confidence that I could continue to improve and to pass on this technique as needed. I forgot to mention that part of the homework is to complete a rug of our own design within the next four months. We had all sketched out our designs in advance, and one of my very favorite parts of the workshop was when we shared them with each other. I think we were all stunned by the level of creativity shown. I was impressed and inspired by what I saw and can't wait to see the completed rugs. Because we had worked so hard, had bonded, and had so much fun, we were all pretty emotional as we were leaving. I saw tears (and had a few myself) and although we were all eager to get home after such a long time away, there was substantial foot-dragging as we said goodbye. My thanks to Amy, our incredible teacher, and to the school manager (and dyer extraordinaire) Heidi, who kept everything organized and running smoothly while we were there. Final thoughts on all the inspirational, dear, creative people I met last week: "When I find myself fading, I close my eyes and realize my friends are my energy." (Anonymous) Thanks to all of you for making this such a wonderful experience. ...This is the third post in the continuing saga of my remarkable week in Cornwall, VT at the Oxford Rug Hooking School last week, with fellow students Bob, Chris, Jude, Kathleen, Patty, and Phyllis. (That's Chris's mug on the right.) In the last post I featured some pieces that Jude, Bob, and Kathleen brought along for show-and-tell. I will pick up today with Chris and Phyllis. But first, Chris posted these lovely photos on his Facebook page, and he was kind enough to give me permission to show them here. The first two show the sign for the school and the building: And now let's resume the show-and-tell, starting with Phyllis: In the next post, I will finish up with additional photos and a short description of the experience. There is just no way to do it justice. A good teacher is a powerful and precious thing--as are good companions on the way. We were very lucky.
The Oxford Teacher Certification Workshop lasted seven days this month, and was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. It was also one of the most challenging things I've ever done. For the first three days I wasn't sure I would survive it. We tucked 60 hours of learning into 6.5 days, working from 9 in the morning until 9 at night, and often later. When I hit the bed after class ended each day, I would try to read, but was soon fast asleep. It wasn't until Wednesday that I knew I could actually keep up the pace. (And in fact, it was easier after Wednesday. I got used to it.) Am I making it sound bad? Far from it! It was rigorous--even tough--but it was superbly presented--I and my fellow 6 students were having the time of our lives and learning so much. Amy Oxford is one of the kindest, most generous, smart, and funny teachers I've ever been fortunate to have. You cannot imagine a more gracious and supportive person. At the same time, she knows exactly how to get the job done and how to keep students motivated and working hard. But somehow, the way she does it, you never feel driven. You just want to produce. It's a form of magic, I swear. Here are additional photos from the week--enjoy! There will be more. (Click on photos to biggify and to see captions) I will stop here for the day. But consider: this was only the show-and-tell. Much more show-and-tell and much more of the workshop to come.
Yes, I am now an Oxford graduate. Oxford Rug Hooking School, that is. I'm pretty chuffed about having made it through the extraordinary week along with my wonderful classmates Kathleen, Patty, Bob, Jude, Phyllis, and Chris. But the fact that we've graduated from the certification training doesn't mean that we are certified...yet. Oh no! We still have a load of homework to do, and all of it will be very good training. I'll be posting a bit more over the next few days about the experience, which was intense. Vermont was at its most beautiful while we were there--perfect weather with long sunny days, no humidity, not too hot. Great for working hard. We did. Here are some shots of the environment: Through my very dirty car windshield, here's the view of the road over one of the passes through the Green Mountains on the way to Cornwall, VT. I think Vermont put on one of her best shows this past week. What a gorgeous place. View from bedroom window. The road is Route 30. That tree appeared to be reaching out to give us a hug all week. A partial view of the side yard, taken from the kitchen. On the left you can see the patio table and chairs; on the middle-right you can see the picnic tables. There were three gardens to view and lovely landscapes of the mountains. We ate a lot of meals out here while watching rabbits and chipmunks galore. Oh, and the birds... I'll be posting more about the event...however, since coming home I've been dealing with:
"It's always something." Now things seem to be calming down, so no more excuses; time to get back to work. To be continued...
Beginning a new creative venture can be messy. Very messy. The photo above is my preliminary collection of some of the materials needed for a teacher certification workshop I'll be taking soon at Amy O's Oxford Rug Hooking School. I'm going to try to capture some of what I experience there, and the first part of the experience is this getting-ready-part. Definitely messy! And this is even before I pack a suitcase with all the regular things I'll need, like clothing and toiletries, for a week away. Frames, bags of tools, bags of yarn and wools, plus Amy's book and a few rugs for show and tell...and there's more to come. Packing the car for this event will be epic. I am very excited and more than a bit daunted. But I know Amy and I know her thorough, funny, and patient teaching, so I know I'll come out the other side very happy and creatively raring to go. Did I mention how excited I am? I expect the messy pile above to spread, as I continue gathering all that's required. "In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order."
--Carl Gustav Jung It's spring, right? Time to fall in love? So, ok...I'm in love. I don't know if what I'm in love with is the rug itself, or just the process of working on it. I kind of suspect it's the latter. The rug will certainly get quite a few tweaks before it's done. I am really enjoying the work.
Sometimes it's hard to sleep at night, I'm having so much fun. "Be the weirdo who dares to enjoy." (Elizabeth Gilbert) "In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag." (W. H. Auden) Can you feel the Wheel of the Year ramping up and spinning faster as we head toward the end of 2015? I'm not a holiday celebrator any more--Solstice is the closest I come, and I celebrated that for years with others. Now I just celebrate it quietly, in my heart, and wish well to everyone else. So my holidays are generally peaceful but... I do find it hard to watch friends (and complete strangers) getting more and more stressed by the pressure and commercialization of this time of year. It is hard to see people who are so caught up in the madness that they cannot enjoy any one moment of it. To all I say: Peace. Just, Peace. So last night and today I was noodling around, doing some tangling, trying out a new-to-me tangle called Oybay by CZT Antonine Koval. Here was my first try: That was done in my Tangle-a-Day calendar by Carole Ohl...I'm still finishing the 2013 one! I'm a little behind. But that's ok; I"m nearly done. So then I got busy with the Rainbow Lead Pencil and did some shading and embellishing: Just having fun. I've gotten all serious about the Tarot Rug Project posts, and have neglected some of the other parts of my creative life. I needed to give myself a little reminder not to ignore them. Don't miss the terrific blog post by Lindsay Price that goes with this illustration: http://12most.com/2014/04/07/12-pervasive-lies-creativity/ NOTE: Skip to the bottom of this post for answers to basic questions about the show--where to see it, how long it will be at each venue, how to bring it to your town, and more. To view the rest of the series of posts, go HERE. Once again I am posting the classic image from a "clone" of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (the Universal Waite deck, which uses the exact same drawings but has recolored them slightly). What is magic, anyway? Art is a form of magic. Hard work is a form of magic. Loving kindness is a form of magic. Prayer is a form of magic. Meditation is a form of magic. Right speech is a form of magic. Deep listening is a form of magic. Learning something new is a form of magic. The Ten Thousand Things... Magic is far more common than we acknowledge. “It's all a matter of paying attention, being awake in the present moment, and not expecting a huge payoff. The magic in this world seems to work in whispers and small kindnesses.” ― Charles de Lint However--hold onto your hats, folks. Here is Mariah Krauss’s rug, her version of The Magician tarot card... Well. Ok, then! Where to begin with this one? !!! First, Mariah Krauss’s artistic biography can be found HERE. I urge you to follow that link. In addition to her bio, you will see two of her previous rugs, both of which have caused a sensation. Mariah is definitely a genre-bending designer and artist. She is a Rug Magician. Without spoiling the story behind this rug, which she tells in the show catalog* (and it is a fascinating and moving story to hear), I can say that the above photograph is superbly done. It is very challenging to photograph a piece with so much black and so much dimension. Anne-Marie Littenberg, a textile artist herself, photographed the entire show and made all our pieces look wonderful. I will include more information on A-M in the next post. But to see this rug in person adds a whole other layer which cannot be contained in any kind of two-dimensional flat image. Mariah used a proddy technique on the black background and the depth of its texture contrasts with the tight, very low traditionally-hooked loops she used in the high-chroma sections (and the black sleeves and cap). It is unbelievably effective. Her Magician appears to be sunken into the darkest part of the night, and generating his own Light--he is the a portrait of absolute clarity, focus, and radiance, surrounded by a thick fog. The intense coloration of his face, hands, and sphere draws our eyes into the action with him. When I had dinner after the Show Opening with some of the organizers, artists, and their families, one group reported that they had shut off the lights in the gallery for a few moments and that the figure actually glowed in the dark. I bet you can believe that, looking at this photograph. [*To read the story behind Mariah's design, consult the show catalog—see details of how to obtain the catalog in the FAQ at the end of this post.] WHAT DOES THE CARD MEAN?
The word “magic” has so many definitions. We hear it overused in advertisements. We long for it when all else fails. And some people only think of magic as the work of the devil. But I believe the only true magic is based on love. Love in its highest form is always magical. Is there anyone among us who has not seen genuine love work magic? (I include “tough love” here, when that is appropriate.) Because of the richness of the symbols in all tarot cards, there are many layers of meaning for each card and therefore, much depends on where the card falls in relation to other cards when they are used together. However, if you go back and look at the Universal Waite Deck image I’ve shown above, you can see that the Magician stands before a table on which are placed the four elements—fire (the wand), water (the cup), air (the sword), and earth (the pentacle or disk). The Magician’s hands are in a position indicating that Wisdom (a.k.a. Love) is being drawn from above and directed down to earth. The Magician has all the tools needed to achieve the goal behind the focused intention. This card calls us to look at how we use our free will in daily life. What is our focus? What exactly are we grounding? One of the meanings the card brings to us is to ask us to examine our motivations. What is the actual motivation behind our goals? A true Magician is guiding the most powerful universal force—love—and grounding it in the earth. Magic motivated by love will always succeed. Even in the most troubling, broken-hearted times. Does that mean we will get what we want? Not necessarily. As we all know, what we want is often not what we need. Magic often works itself out in strange ways, through what appears to be coincidence. And the results can be very unexpected. And magic has its own timing; results may not come "on schedule". Love exists outside of time. Does that this mean that people never try to use magic for perverse ends? No, alas. Some certainly do, imposing their will on others inappropriately. Lying, misdirection, narcissistic, cruel words or deeds may appear to succeed, but evil (defined as the absence of love as a motivation for action) boomerangs, and will eventually destroy the perpetrator. Small wonder that some people view magicians as professional con artists and tricksters. This card can have that meaning, depending on context. And yet, true magic is everywhere. “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” ― W.B. Yeats So when considering this card, ask yourself, “What is my goal, and what is the motivation behind it? Where is my focus, and why? What tools do I have available to me?” If you are acting from love, then go ahead. If not: think twice. [As usual, there are many other related meanings to this card, but space constraints mean I must leave it here.] What do you think about Mariah’s rug? Please leave your comments on the blog for her to read. NEXT INSTALLMENT will contain: Additional Frequently Asked Questions and Answers. For example, who took these fabulous photographs? Why are there 23 rugs in this exhibit? Why do we keep showing images from the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, and who are those guys anyway (Rider, Waite, and Smith) ? ANSWERS TO THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SHOW ARE BELOW: HOW DO I GET A CATALOG?
IF I WANT TO BRING THE SHOW TO MY TOWN, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
WHERE WILL THE SHOW GO NEXT?
NOTE: Skip to the bottom of this post for answers to basic questions about the show--where to see it, how long it will be at each venue, how to bring it to your town, and more. To start at the beginning of this series of posts, go HERE. Any tarot deck tells the story of the Fool's Journey. It is the story of every person; the tarot tells our story--a very human story. What is tarot? Objectively, it's just 78 pieces of cardboard covered with images that have been drawn and redrawn by humans for centuries. Pretty simple, right? But more about that in another post. Let's start by looking at a well-known image of The Fool tarot card, which carries the number Zero. Zero... Everything. All of it. Nothing. None of it. The story of the tarot is the story of the Fool's Journey. Of our own journey through our lives. The Fool will travel through 21 stages, growing and learning with each stage. The journey is too rich and complex to cover in a short blog--many books have been written on the subject (as well as an awful lot of wrong-headed trash). Perhaps in a future post I'll list some of the better ones. The Fool is an innocent, and sets out on the Journey with no expectations, no plan. Much as we do as infants. The Fool is a great example of what is known in Buddhism as Beginner's Mind. "When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have." - Stephen Hawking The Fool simply acts in response to each moment, knowing that whatever happens will result in learning and growth. And somehow, Fools are protected. They are even considered sacred, like the famous Jesters in history who could get away with imitating anyone, even a King or Queen. HOW DID THIS TAROT RUG PROJECT BEGIN? Our two guiding Journey-ers and heroines for the Tarot Rug Project are Michele Micarelli and Loretta Scena, who conceived of, recruited the artists for, organized, and grounded the project at its formal opening in Vermont this month. Can we get a huzzah for these smart, inspired, fabulous rug artists? Here they are: That is Loretta on the left and Michele on the right. Michele and Loretta are both highly respected artists, designers, and teachers. They also work in other media. To see some of their extraordinary pieces, go HERE for Michele's website and HERE for Loretta's website. Enjoy the eye candy! Gratitude also goes to their families, without whom Loretta and Michele wouldn't have been able to get the staggering amount of work it took to organize and mount this exhibit done. Another heroine in this journey is Rae Harrell, who found the venue I wrote about in yesterday's post, the amazing location in Vermont for the Opening. Here's Rae: Rae is an artist in several media and you can view her work HERE. As with Loretta and Michele, she is a well-known rug artist, designer, maker, and teacher. and now...BACK TO THE FOOL'S JOURNEY Let’s get to the first rug in the exhibit--The Fool, number Zero. Here is Diane Philips’ interpretation of the card in her rug, side by side with the original Rider-Waite-Smith image. To learn more about Diane, go HERE for a terrific article on her work by Rug Hooking Magazine. I've been lucky enough to take a class with her and see many of her rugs in person; she's a funny, smart, wonderful woman and an incredible artist. Here is a quote that applies to the Fool: “A ship is safe in harbor, but that is not what a ship is for.” — Thomas Aquinas And isn't that true for all of us? Since I don't want to spoil what Diane wrote in the catalog of the exhibit (you can find out how to get a catalog below, and note that the proceeds go to help the rugs travel to different venues), I'll just say she has captured the innocence, playfulness, and wisdom of the Fool. I love the addition of our entire planet, which her Fool seems to be blessing or protecting. And that dog! Can we guess that it's Diane's dog, or one that she loves or has loved? We now begin our own journey through these tarot rugs, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do. I don't believe tarot is very effective for fortune-telling, and the many abuses of tarot by fortune tellers is something we all know about. My preference is to use tarot as a way to stimulate our inner wisdom. In this case, that is Fool's Wisdom, or Beginner's Mind. As you look at Diane's rug, and at the original card, ask yourself:
What do you notice about Diane's interpretation--what strikes you? Please leave a comment for her and others to read. A final word in this post, before I get to some Frequently Asked Questions: Loretta is collecting stories by the artists who worked on these rugs. There were some very intriguing life experiences that artists had as they created their rugs, each relating to the particular card that the artist had been assigned. If you are one of the artists and you have an anecdote about something that happened to you as you designed and created your rug, related to the symbolism in the card, please email your story to Loretta (her email is in the FAQ below) so that she can compile them. She may get a book or at least a wonderful article out of these stories. We heard some good ones at the Opening! FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: HOW DO I GET A CATALOG?
IF I WANT TO BRING THE SHOW TO MY TOWN, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
UPCOMING DATES/LOCATIONS: October-November, 2017 River House Rugs Petit Riviere, Nova Scotia, Canada (with Michele) April-September 2017 The Hooked Rug Museum of North America Hubbards, Nova Scotia February 1- February 28 2017 The Barron Art Center Woodbridge, New Jersey October 29-November 30 The Athens Cultural Center Athens, New York October 19-23 2016 Green Mountain Guild Rug Show Essex Junction, Vermont August 15-20 2016 Rug Hooking Week at Sauder Village Archbold, Ohio September 1-24 2016 Dorchester Center for the Arts Cambridge, Maryland ...that's it so far. More dates/locations to be added! NEXT POST IN THE SERIES: THE MAGICIAN.
This is the first post in a series about the Tarot Rug Show--possibly quite a long series, as there is a lot to say and many photos to show. I'll try to keep individual posts picture-heavy. I've written about the origins of the show here. It opened last Friday at the All Souls Interfaith Gallery (ASIG) in Shelburne, Vermont, and will be there through January 22nd or so. But before I get into that, I have a surprise to show. I drove up Friday (4 hours, ugh) and stayed in an Airbnb I had selected because it was near the show location. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this on the upper landing of the condo, just outside my room: Not only was the accommodation itself an inexpensive delight, but a hand-hooked rug greeted me. As it turns out, this little cutie was designed and hooked by the hostess's mother, to commemorate the family's cats Oscar (Peterson) and Miles (Davis), named after the two jazz greats. Oscar and Miles were very much alive when this rug was designed, but are now sadly long gone, as are their namesakes. I so loved the original design and whimsical nature of the rug! Both Miles and Oscar look well-fed and assertive, staring out at us as only cats can do. I love the padula-posy borders and the wonderful backgrounds. Everything about this rug makes me smile. My Airbnb hostess was named Lydia, and Lydia's mom only hooked two rugs--this one and one other which is not of her own design. I didn't see the other rug, alas, but I'm sorry Lydia's mom is no longer hooking. Apparently she's now into watercolor. I hope she begins hooking rugs again, and I hope Lydia brings her to the tarot rug show, as I think anyone would enjoy it--but someone who knows how to hook rugs will enjoy it even more. (And of course, if you know anything about tarot, you will also find it thought-provoking!) You do not need to know anything at all about either rug hooking or tarot to love this show--but more about that starting with the next post in this series. Before I begin to show the rugs (I can probably only show a few a day, and there are 22 of them, so that's why this will take a while), I just want to say something about the venue. Namely: it's EXQUISITE. Here are some views from inside: And here are some photos to give you some sense of the gallery space. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to see the individual rugs here--I'll be posting the rugs individually over the next several days, so you will have a chance to see each one close up. Just take a moment to get a sense of the space they are in. Talk about spectacular: Please remember that photos of the individual rugs are going to be posted here slowly over the next few days, but here's a little temptation for you. You will soon be able to see each one much more clearly. My goal today is to give readers just a taste of the gallery itself, not of the rugs.
Oh, and why aren't there any people looking at the rugs? Because I took these photos "off-hours" before the show actually opened. In addition to the lovely, elegant interior, the grounds of the venue are beautiful beyond belief, with that amazing view all the way down to Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains. The property was apparently originally part of Shelburne Farms, which was gifted in a parcel of 1500 acres to a daughter of the Webb family upon her marriage (ok, let's hear it for the power of wealth and the Webb Family in Shelburne--Electra Havemeyer Webb created the Shelburne Museum just down the road, but that's another story entirely). This smaller parcel of several acres houses ASIG and was originally built as a home by members of the Webb family. I believe ASIG has owned it now since the early 90s, though I could be wrong. It is truly a dramatically lovely site; not only the land, but the buildings are elegant and meticulously maintained. The Sanctuary is absolutely stunning, even more dramatic than the photos of the gallery above, which are from another building entirely. I am kicking myself for not having photographed the interior of the Sanctuary. Why didn't I do that? because I was giving tarot readings to viewers of the show during the entire opening. And the following day (an all-day rug hooking event was held in the Sanctuary the day after the opening) I was giving readings to any participants who asked for one. And nearly everyone wanted a reading, so I'm betting I gave close to 30 readings during the two events. Rug hookers are just the loveliest people in the world. NEXT INSTALLMENT: More information about the two organizers, the curious story of what occurred during the creation of the tarot rugs, and the start of showing the individual rugs in closeup views. Above is a mandala of some of the yarn I have dyed so far (original photo altered by the Waterlogue app on my iPhone). I had to leave out 4 skeins to get the rest in the photo! Below is the actual photo of the dyed yarn without retouching. I wound the skeins into yarn cakes ready to be used in punching the rug, and they remind me of little colored moons or mandalas. Since it's been a particularly gorgeous full moon this week, I thought a "mandala of yarn-moon cakes" would be appropriate. I wasn't able to do any dyeing today--just too tired. Ran minor errands, took a long nap, read a trash novel, and couldn't wake up enough to gather all of the yarns in one place until just before sunset. That turned out to be good light for photographing such different values. It's beginning to dawn on me that I won't be able to decide on the colors of the inner motifs in the rug until I am actually hooking it. I am going to have to trust in trial and error. If that is true, then I need to focus only on dyeing background (the various dark purples), since that is the part I'm certain about, and then begin hooking. Accident is design / And design is accident / In a cloud of unknowing. (TS Eliot) Half of art is accident, but there is no accident without free experiment. (Ralph Steadman) Beginning in December, an exhibition of art rugs will be opening in Shelburne, Vermont (USA). The exhibit's title is: "23 Artists Hook the Major Arcana." The theme was conceived by two inspired rug artists, Michele Micarelli and Loretta Scena. I hope you click on their links and look at their previous work. (These ain't your grandma's hooked rugs, that's for sure.) The exhibit combines two of my favorite things: rug hooking and the tarot. I have a rug in the show; it's likely going to be the plainest rug there, because it's the last rug (the last tarot card) in the Major Arcana, The World, and I wanted my design to integrate and summarize the rest of the exhibit. Alas, I do not have a picture of my rug yet. When I do, I'll happily post it, but I did put up a few "sneak preview" partial photos here and here, before I was able to talk about the show (when it was still hush-hush). The show is opening at this gallery. After it finishes its run, it will travel to other locations and venues for as long as there is interest. (if you are reading this before it opens December 4, 2015 or after it closes January 22, 2016, you will have to SCROLL DOWN to see the information about the show and the photograph of one of the extraordinary rugs.) And they will be extraordinary. I have seen two of them (one is on the gallery site) and am already drooling with anticipation until I can see the rest of them. AND NOW, ON A TOTALLY DIFFERENT TOPIC: Here's a quick picture relating to what I hope to be doing tomorrow. Yup, more yarn soaking...with luck, more dyeing will happen in the morning. More test colors for the Moon & Clouds rug. I want to create a lighter version of two of the colors I produced last week, and experiment with new colors. It's true that I dyed all the background for my tarot rug as recently as last autumn (see the links above for photos of that), but that was the first dyeing I'd had a chance to do for decades. Now that I'm back in the dyepots, the bug has really struck and I can't wait to play with color again. I'm hoping to create a veritable explosion of color as I move forward. COLOR QUOTES:
"Purplish brown? Let's agree it is a color so bad we all flee it it has no good use so let's name it Puce from the sound we make when we see it." (Darby Bannard) A quote about Georgia O'Keeffe's work: "...The last mad throb of red just as it turns green; the ultimate shriek of orange calling all the blues of heaven for relief and support... each color almost regains the fun it must have felt within itself on forming the first rainbow." (Charles Demuth) Let me begin by saying, I do not have a kitchen that's well set up for dyeing yarn or wool. (Anyone who knows me can also confirm that I do not have a kitchen well set up for cooking, either. But since I do not know how to cook, that's not a problem. I can go for years without touching a stove.) It's tricky to do dyeing here (Ya think? Look at the mess above). I have a lot of dyeing to do for the Moon and Clouds rug I'll be starting soon. I've been thinking about this rug for a while. Moon and Clouds is a runner-type rug, a McAdoo rug pattern that I haven't yet seen anyone else make. It's one of the only remaining patterns I have--after I finish it, I'll be working with my own rug designs from here on out. [I will make one exception for the final pattern I own, a fabulous one called "Russian Oriental"; it's gorgeous and intimidating, but I am slowly inching towards being ready to hook it. Maybe I'll get that done in the next couple of years.] Moon & Clouds is 3 feet by 6 feet and will use about 14 pounds of yarn. I have nowhere in my house to put this rug. Several people have suggested I will need to buy a house in order to use the rug. Hmmmm. On Friday I started testing background colors; I have an mental image of what I want for the background but am still playing with what I'll use for the motifs. I decided to try a purple recipe I learned from Heidi Whipple of the Oxford Rug School. I wasn't sure I could replicate her color, but look at this for a result! Not bad! The yarn I am trying to match can be seen in the two strands that are laid across the skeins. And next to that photo is the same yarn made into "yarn cakes" after it was completely dry. Yes, those are the same skeins in each picture, just differently wound, and the photos were taken in different lights. But both photos are of the same yarn. Wish I were a better photographer and knew how to eliminate the lighting differences. Encouraged by all that, I went to town on Saturday and produced the test skeins on the right (the "yarn cakes" in the photos are the same yarn cakes that you see above). What a day. I spent five hours dyeing, with a couple of breaks, and by the end was really happy with my results. I'm still not entirely certain if I will end up using any of these colors--or some combination of all of the dark purples as the background color of the rug--but I am so happy to be playing with color and dyes after all this time. If you want to see a closer view of some of the colors and brief captions for each, click any of the photos below. It has been years since I tried to do any serious dyeing of wool or yarn. When I was working full-time it was impossible. Perhaps if I'd had the room for a permanent dye kitchen (or a differently configured regular kitchen) I would have made the time, but since any type of serious dyeing requires completely deconstructing and protecting a small space normally used for preparing food, that wasn't realistic. Now that I have more time, I can afford to do all the set-up and take-down that dyeing requires in the space that I have.
I have more color test skeins to make, and then once I've decided on the colors I will have a lot more dyeing to do. 14 lbs of 4 oz. skeins = 56 skeins to dye for this rug. Plus a few extras to be safe. I will be busy. THE INITIAL RANT: I've never been much of a tchotchke fan. (If you aren't familiar with the word, click on it for a short definition.) Why? Imagine you have mentioned to a friend that you like a particular image--say, an image of an apple--and suddenly the friend is giving you magnets with apples on them, aprons with apples on them, ashtrays in the shape of apples, stickers and stamps of apples, little clay apples, little plastic apples, playing cards with apples on the back...you get the idea. You are inundated with "cutesie" apple tchotchkes and you feel obligated--because you like your friend--to display them, but you hate having them all over the house. All because you liked one specific image of an apple, and had the misfortune to mention that. Has this ever happened to you? All you want to do is figure out a reasonable way to yell, "S-T-O-P! Thanks, but I'm all set with that." WHY I'M BRINGING IT UP: ...because I've been very worried that, in trying to give a "Happy New Office Location" gift to a dear friend, I would be guilty of the same thing that I am complaining about above. Here's why: In visiting her home, I noticed a picture of an elephant in her home office, and commented on it. She mentioned immediately that she loves elephants. Ok...I confess that a couple of times since then I have sent her video links to amazing stories about the intelligence of elephants; but bearing in mind that I don't want to overdo it, I've tried to be selective. (I also like elephants, for their intelligence, but am not that interested in pictures of them. Or elephant tchotchkes.) Recently the friend moved into a new office location that she's very excited about. I wanted to give her a celebratory gift. I thought and thought about what to get her. She had mentioned that, when she originally went to look at the space, the current tenant happened to have a picture of an elephant in the office. That seemed like an odd "coincidence" to my friend, and that plus the wonderful space and all the attendant great amenities caused her to sign the lease. My ears perked up. Should I, maybe, draw her an elephant? But what about the one in her home office--mightn't she just bring that in to her new rented space? And would I be guilty of Tchotchke Syndrome? I really agonized over this. Bottom line: I did draw her an elephant, and here it is. She seems to like it. She named him Jimmy, and he's now in her new space. (Boring technical details about the drawing are after the photo). Not the greatest photo, but it's the best I can do. Ok, so here are the technical details:
I promise to join a TA (Tchotchke Anonymous) group as soon as I find one and start attending meetings. PS, This post is indeed the follow-up to the teaser I embedded in the post I wrote last week.
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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. Categories
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March 2024
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