Wednesday, August 24, 2011

anticipation


It arrived yesterday, much anticipated. It is thick, beautiful and ambitious. India Flint's second skin is a book about choosing and caring for the clothes and textiles we wear and use. So far I have only read the few first pages (ok I did a quick glance through, just to soak in the beauty), but I am expecting a reading experience rich in history, culture, and gentle reminders about how to live life more gently. This will be a book to savor, page by page.



I finished all my work for the show in Suffolk in the nick of time. So late that I never got any photos of the sunflower series, except for the mediocre snapshot below. The group shows I do with fiber transformed are theme shows, a great concept where all participants create pieces that are inspired by a specific subject or a photograph. But literal work is always difficult for me, even in circumstances like this when the subject should be viewed broadly. Anyway, I was unsure about these flower shapes at first, but when finished, stretched, and grouped together they work better.


I am looking forward to fall, with more time to work and to explore the many ideas that are brewing. One exciting project involves the magnificent oak tree growing in the back of our house - and its leaves. Stay tuned.


Friday, August 12, 2011

on the fast track

There has been no time to slowly ease into a routine of work, boys, and household chores. Instead I am frantically preparing for a group show with my friends from fiber transformed. The pieces are all about sunflowers, swans, wool, and eco dyed cloth (details to come). It is due in just over a week for installation at Suffolk Art Gallery. Way too soon.

Most of the work is accomplished in my new studio at Chroma Projects. I love being in this place surrounded by my own art, far from other distractions (no computer, no dirty dishes, no eager dogs). I still need to tweak the division between the printing and dyeing that I do at home, and the sewing and production happening here. It will all fall in place with time...


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

happy returns

Three weeks seems like a short time. But much happened in this tiny time span. First off I had a birthday - a momentous and frightening one. Fifty years seems like a really long time. To relieve any possible angst, my mom and my sisters brought me to Kivik, a small Swedish coastal resort town offering sweeping ocean views, back massages, fresh berries, and the coolest weeping beech tree, ever. Thank you.

We dyed cloth with Swedish delights from my mom's garden - peach, maples, currant, walnut, among other things, with bright and beautiful results.

And then there was the three day trip with just my 15 year old son and I, filled to the brim with visits to military museums, history museums, art museums, and a few gourmet meals in between. So much fun!

Other small but equally wonderful things happened during these brief weeks. Morning runs along the water with my sister. Intense card playing with my nephew. Yarn shopping. Visit to my fathers grave with fresh flowers (top photo). Wine sipping and movie watching. Some more yarn shopping...

It is good to be back in my new homeland, to reunite with my lovely husband, house, dogs, garden, family, and the work I love. But it is always hard to leave the old homeland behind. Still one of the coolest places on earth in my estimation. Until next time...
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