BLOG ACTION DAY – MANY I's BECOME WE

                         

" Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much"  

                                              - Helen Keller

 

Today is world-wide blog action day and participants have been asked to write a post on the  “ power of we”.  I am sure there will be several intellectual and very in depth blog posts written on this subject and I will give you a link where you can follow up and read many of these at the bottom of this post.   However, my post is a simple one written from the viewpoint of a lone artist who has learned first hand the power of WE.

 

Long before the inception of the internet, people and communities have always found a way to pull together.  The call to arms for barn raisings, search parties, charitable fund raisers along with disaster aid and community social gatherings were most often communicated by word of mouth or telephone committee. Today with technical advancements, computers and cell phones have become the vehicles

for news and communication.  Social media like Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo groups etc. have brought awareness to disasters as they've happened, saved lives and brought home lost children, brought fractured families together, helped to overthrow corrupt governments,  circulated petitions to liberate prisoners of conscience and united people from all over the world to come together and do good.

As I sit at my computer, a textile artist, whose work is created in the solitude of my studio, how
can I , as an individual, discuss the “ power of WE” ? 
Being connected via the internet, I have not only seen what a group of individuals can do when they band together but I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of being a part of those groups.

Fiberart for a Cause, created and led by artist Virginia Spiegel, with contributions from various fiber and quilt artists has raised over $ 220,000. for the American Cancer Society.  All of this orchestrated, managed and advertised predominantly via the internet by a small group of women. And their work is not done, as yet another Fiberart for a Cause event is scheduled for February 12 & 13, 2013.

The Art Bra movement spearheaded by Victoria Adams Brown brought together a small core group of fiber artists, who through their originality and ingenuity, created gorgeous calendars, held exhibitions, travelling shows and auctions, raising thousands of dollars for mammogram screening,  research, equipment,  transportation and educational programs that promoted breast cancer awareness. This small movement kicked off a number of women's stitching groups to follow suit in creating art bras in their local communities for fund raising and awareness. Everyone involved in the original Art Bra group was brought together by a love of stitching and a common thread of knowing someone in our lives who had fought breast cancer.  Regular internet postings and e-mails helped to bond us and was of the utmost importance in co-ordinating this massive undertaking.

Luana and Paul Rubin of e-Quilter, philanthropists & co-ordinators, draw on the kind hearts and generosity of their textile customers and world wide contacts to make and donate quilts to comfort people where world wide disasters have resulted in homelessness and despair.  

My Embroiderers’ Guild, again through our mutual love of stitching and textiles has raised funds for women’s community houses, funding and materials for women’s consortiums in other countries and other charitable commitments over the years.

  

Online stitching and quilt groups have clubbed together to help fellow stitchers world wide in times of trouble and natural disasters –  offering warmth and comfort in a variety of ways,  replacing their lost or destroyed stashes and sewing room items, making quilts for their families to keep warm and funds to help them get by while they rebuild their lives.

There are quilters, knitters and stitchers who have connected with the armed forces to send comfort packages, warm hats, gloves and quilts for our troops fighting and defending, overseas.  In turn, some of these soldiers have reciprocated the good will by co-ordinating and distributing drop boxes sent from North America to their bases, filled with fabrics and threads so that women in their surrounding areas can clothe their families and make work to earn an income to help support them.

Never underestimate the power of a small group of dedicated individuals united by a mutual love or passion for a genre or shared interests and a strong communication network.  Miracles have and will continue to happen as a result.  I believe the human spirit is strong and goodwill will prevail in the world as long as we all do our small part in continuing to communicate reasonably and rationally, putting our strengths together for the common good.

" Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has ."  -  Margaret Mead


http://blogactionday.org/live-coverage-of-blog-action-day-october-15-2012/

 

Philosophy Friday - Thanksgiving thoughts

                  " Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel "
                                                                                                           - anon

                                                                                             -  photo credit DM Hoover

 

As we celebrate our Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend  - there are so many things I am grateful for.

•  To be able to live in a wonderful democratic country and for the freedoms and lifestyle we enjoy.
• To have the love and support of a close family and loyal fabulous friends
• To have the comforts of food and shelter
• To maintain my independence
• The joy of being able to continue doing the work I love
• The promise of better health
• The beauty and miracles of nature
• Textiles & beads and the pleasures and comfort they bring
• Music for lifting my spirits and feeding my soul
• The internet for connecting me to the world
• ......and so much more.......

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canucks here and abroad and to the men and women of our Canadian armed forces serving overseas, a special thank you for all you do for us - keep safe and come home soon.

 

 

                                                         


                                  

 

                                                                
   



                                                   

Philosophy Friday - Ten Ways to Build Creative Momentum

" You must train your intuition - you must trust the small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide."

                        - Ingrid Bergman

How often do we start a project with great enthusiasm only to find after our initial breakthroughs we tend to get bogged down or lose momentum.  It happens more frequently than we would like but its been my experience that there are ways to try and overcome these obstacles:

1.  Don't let insecurities and perfectionism stop you or slow you down. The pursuit of perfectionism can cramp your style, rob you of your energy and can become obsessive. You would never create anything if you waited for perfection.  Put those thoughts of " it might not be good enough" out of your mind and give yourself the freedom and confidence to run with your ideas.

2.  Give yourself time and space to work on things.  Not everything comes in an " aha " moment.  Sometimes you just need to give yourself the gift of time and allow yourself to mull over aspects of the work in a less pressured manner.

3.  Assess your work - make notes or jots which document your progress - the positives and the negatives so far - what your initial goals or aims were - how that has remained the same or evolved.
Change is good -  it is a reasonable and natural progression in the creative process. Don't become a prisoner of your original idea.

4. Try some mind mapping or " word clouds" as that often gives you food for thought and allows your mind to " go with the flow".

5. If you can, skip parts that are slowing you down.  Set them aside for later if possible and move forward. Re-evaluate at a later time.

6.  Don't always look for other's approval and don't focus on being judged.  That is one of the quickest ways to slow down the flow of your work.

7. Give yourself a break and just let yourself " be" .  Don't censor your ideas or be overly critical of them - let them flower and be playful.

8.  Listen to your gut.  It rarely lets you down. Instincts are an " inner knowing" or a " subconscious comon sense" and can be a powerful motivator.  Learn to have faith in yourself and trust those inner feelings.

9.  Engage different parts of your brain.  Sometimes taking a break from the intense pressure of a one track mindset and doing something completely different can break the log jam.  Read a magazine on a  topic that is not your main interest.    Participate in a conversation with someone whose ideas and
lifestyle are contradictory to yours. Be open to diversity and other thought patterns that may enlighten you or stimulate other ideas you may not have considered or overlooked.

10.  Don't be afraid to eliminate anything that is not pulling it's weight.  Sometimes it only takes one small change or the elimination of one particular part of the work for the entire piece to suddenly all pull together.

A taste for Japanese Textiles

                                                                        

I have for some time had an interest in Japanese textiles and clothing.  It all started out when I was given my Gran's silk kimono that she used to wear when applying makeup for the theatre. It was retrieved from the rubble when her home was decimated in the blitz during WW11.  Needless to say it  incurred a great deal of damage and I have, over time, been attempting to reclaim it in some form.  I have been seeking out and researching kimonos and silk fabrics from the late 1800's/early 1900's as a result.

My pursuit has taken me to many areas and in particular,  I have had the pleasure of dealing with a company, Ichiroya, in Osaka Japan, owned and operated by a mother and daughter team. I search their site weekly for the one elusive fabric I require for my project and I am often sidetracked by the beauty of their incredible stock of kimonos, uchikake, furisodes, obis, fabrics and accessories.  On a recent foray into their inventory, I was struck by an amazing vintage men's haori and purchased it as a gift for my son, who is a lover of all things Japanese. 
                                                                 
                                                                                                                   
A haori is a light weight coat worn over a kimono.  It is not meant to be worn closed and is not belted. It is technically a kimono-like jacket, hip or thigh length, which adds formality to an outfit.
My purchase is a two toned dark brown silk of exquisite texture - the kind of soft silk that one could get lost in. It has a most interesting woven patttern on the back with a Noh mask of an old man and a Noh book, probably a script.

                   
                                          Rear View of Haori with Noh mask and book

Noh is a classical form of Japanese musical drama performed since the 14th century.  Many characters in the plays are masked, with men playing both male and female roles. 

           
                                                         Close up of mask and script

You will note that there is a large fold right down the middle of the back and although it looks
pronounced, in fact, it is something that should steam out easily enough with a bit of patience and care.

                        

                                        
 As is the case with most masculine haoris, the front is rather plain with little or no decoration. 

Now you may wonder how one can hang up these gorgeous specimens with the huge sleeves.  Certainly no ordinary clothes hanger would suffice.  But yes, there are special kimono hangers and
I've pictured one here for you.

                                                           Kimono hanger closed

 

                                                           Kimono Hanger Extended

                 

I still haven't found the silk I am looking for but in spite of my ongoing quest, I am loving the diversions along the way (-:

In a future post, I will discuss Boro textiles and show you a piece from my collection.

               

Philosophy Friday - Fashion and Art

It is the season for fashion weeks in North America and Europe and to honour this occasion, we offer a fashionable quote from one of the very best to give one food for thought:

" Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. "
                                                                                          - Coco Chanel


AND so with our art - wouldn't you agree?

                                                                               

TRINITY - The story behind the blog background photo

 

 

                                                                       " TRINITY "


The background photo selected for my blog is one that has significant meaning for me.  It is a piece of work that has been ongoing for a couple of years and was finally completed recently.  It is aptly named " Trinity" as it embraces three generations of women in my family whose roots were firmly entrenched in theatre, fibrearts and the fashion industry.  The three women?  My beautiful grandmother, the actress Miss Kitty Carey , my equally gorgeous mother, dancer Miss Joan Clarke and myself, the end product of the triad, Mis(s)-behaving (-:

I'm going to show some closer details of the stitching with explanations of the techniques along with a little history of the photographs themselves.  It probably goes without saying, but I will, that this piece is entirely hand stitched. It is quite dense in that it is only 14" square.  The background or base fabric for the piece is black dupioni silk, as is the finished border. The front is backed with fused flannel to give some stability to the heavy beading and embellishments. Once the stitching was completed then a dupioni back was added and finely quilted through all three layers. The back layer was cut larger so that when the quilting was completed, I could then fold over the edges to make a finishedborder on the front.
                                                                       





          

                                    












Left front                                                                                                         Right front

                          
                              Gran's official calling card printed on to linen and embellished.
                              Below card - Silk ribbon flower of twisted layered stitches and
                              beaded stems with some moss stitched buds.
                              Frame to left -  edges are finished with simple chain stitches with bead
                              embellishment in centres.

                                       
                

                                        

                            Photo transfer taken from original Gaiety Theatre program in our archives.  Gran worked this theatre first on the boards and later in the costume dept. Hence I have surrounded it with needles and thread - actual brass needles and Kreinik gold cord.  Little flowers are satin stitched and beaded - border of pic is laced and accentuated with french knots.

                             
                             Daring and ahead of her time, Miss Kitty Carey, my Gran, in her Peter Pan costume circa 1905. The photo is edged in a closed blanket stitch and the left side is a build up of a meandering silk ribbon base with overlays of silk threads l looped through the ribbon with finer ribbon then looped through the  silk threads giving it dimension.  Overtop of that is feather                stitching, french & colonial knots topped with tiny glass stars.



 These are the only images of the three of us together as my Gran was killed in the blitz WW11 in London, England.  I never had the pleasure of her touch or had the joy of sharing our love of textiles and stitching together.  I was told by her sister, I have definitely inherited her genes, to the point I apparently even hold my needles and stitch in the same quirky manner that she did. However, I know for a fact that I do not have her  gift of genius in going up the high street with pad and pencil, sketching a dress in a posh shop window, coming home and making it up from scratch as she did for my Mum. In fact, my mother was so well dressed as a young woman, she was fondly referred to as The Duchess of Bedford Park by some of the lads in the neighbourhood. A title we have never let her live down!
The top right picture is of my mother at a very young age dressed in full regalia working at the Windmill Theatre in London.  The picture of myself to the left of her, is edged in wrapped and laced silk thread and fine ribbon.  Silk ribbon flowers finish off the top left corner. It was taken in my photographic studio.





  The bottom picture to the right is of the George Dance Duchess of Dantzic company.  Gran is second from the left. The edging on this photo is wheat ear stitch,  needled with two strands of hand dyed threads and adorned with a bead in the centre of each loop. It gives a lovely feathery effect. Right above that is a wonderful antique carved bone button with a windmill charm stitched in the centre, representing the Windmill Theatre. The brass bows were added as both my mother and grandmother had a " thing" for bows. Alas, I do not.


                                   


 In the picture left, Joanie is wearing an exquisite ruffled silk dress made by my Gran.  I understand it was  very pale lilac in colour with a thin sliver of silver silk ribbon on the ruffle edges. Joan said it made the most beautiful gentle rustling sounds when she danced and she felt like a fairy queen in it. Her toe shoes were a deeper purple in colour. Her photo is edged with bugle beads alternated with # 8 seed beads.
To her left is myself during modelling days wearing a white feathered hat.  The photo is edged in herringbone stitch with a tiny bead in the heart of each outside crossover.  The Coq d'Or is one of the clubs where I worked, often with the loveable rascal of rock, Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins,  to pay for my photographic studies.
                                                               
                                                
                                                                                              
       The next photo is of Miss Kitty Carey ( Gran) in her role of Catherine Upscher in the Duchess of Dantzic, a comic opera about Napoleon 1 and a laundress, who becomes a duchess by marriage.

Again I have created a dimensional silk ribbon piece in the same vein as previously described
but enhanced with montee rhinestones.Around the rest of the photo edges, I made colonial knots in Rajmahal art silk threads which give a rose like effect. The border for the Box Office Square is larger bugle beads with a seed bead between each one and then a couched effect created by running a thick silk stitch over each bugle.


                                                                                                               
The picture to the right is a close up of the dimensional beaded pieces
at the top of the overall work. These are started with a  wandering layer of manipulated black dupioni tacked to the base fabric.  Then a random  layer of larger seed and bugle beads intermingled with bulky french and colonial knots in silk ribbon and ribbon floss are stitched on top of that. Layers are built up with loop stitches and bridges criss-crossing one another, adding or taking away more beads as you go depending on how jumbled you wish the layers to appear. Larger beads are wedged in between loops which assist in holding them upright.
To the right of the beaded layer is photo edging consisting of alternate coloured threads laced in opposite directions resulting in a rather circular effect and topped off with a seed bead within each circle.




To close things off, I give you the formal and elegant, Miss Kitty Carey, surrounded by silk pansies and soft loopy laced stitched edging.

                                                  


I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of " Trinity" and getting to know a little about the wonderful ladies who have influenced me and my stitching and textile endeavours over the years. I welcome any questions or comments regarding any of the techniques involved or about the creating of this piece of work.

Philosophy Friday - Control Freak or......

 Some things are out of your control. – No matter what happens, no matter the outcome, you’re going to be just fine. Let the things you can’t control, happen. Allow the universe to bless you in surprising and joyful ways. What if, instead of pushing so hard to make life happen, you decided to let go a little and allow life to happen to you? What if, instead of trying to always be in control, you sometimes surrendered control to something bigger than yourself? What if, instead of working so hard to figure out every last answer, you allowed yourself to be guided to the solution in perfect timing?  What if........

                                                                  

Philosophy Friday - The Intoxication of Words

" Every day, we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture and if possible, speak a few sensible words"

                                    ........  Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe      
                                               
                                                          
Last night the DA and I had the pleasure of hearing many sensible and glorious words from the golden tongue of one of the most eloquent men on this planet - none other than Christopher Plummer himself. We took in his delightful play " A Word or Two", currently enjoying a limited run at the Stratford Shakespearian Festival in Stratford, Ontario.

The play, written by Mr. Plummer, is autobiographical in nature and explains his lifelong obsession with words beginning with his early years in Montreal and fond memories of his beloved Mother and family times.  He spoke affectionately of the family after dinner reading sessions, where he learned to love Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland,  Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows and J.M.Barrie's Peter Pan. He continues on a sentimental journey through his teens, touching on his loves and his early years in the theatre,  right up to the present day.  At 82 years of age, his voice remains powerful, his self deprecating humour intact and his virility and physical authority on the stage still captivating his audience and keeping them spellbound after all these years.

                                                                 
Regaling stories of his colourful life,  beautifully presented in the form of poetry and prose that has moved him, he slips with ease from English into French and then suddenly his strong resonant voice slurs into a lovely Southern drawl.
His stories touch on sitting in a bar as a young man listening to a rather inebriated Richard Burton and Dylan Thomas ( a man he describes as having a voice like a " Beethoven symphony".) debating the merits of literature and life.  Times spent with Archibald MacLeish, the multi-talented artist best known for his poetry and Steven Leacock, whom Mr. Plummer refers to as a " comforting, crinkly old don ".

With a receptive, audience who " got it", in that they recognized, had read and understood many of the passages Mr. Plummer quoted,  you could see his sheer delight in their response. Mr. Plummer has a fear that great language is in danger of extinction but I believe that after an evening with this gentleman, most of us came away with a renewed joy of the magic of language, eager to open a book and re-acquaint ourselves with old friends or to introduce our youth of today to the exciting world of literature and the power of words.

Textile related? Definitely! In the past year, I have been working on a project involving words and lyrics. Last night's peformance jogged my memory, giving me cause to once again turn to some authors and poets I had overlooked and it opened my mind to some new interpretations.  Thank you Mr. Plummer - you magnificent wordsmith!






The stage setting for " A Word orTwo" with the amazing stack of  books reaching for the sky.
 Set design by
 Robert Brill.                                                   

Philosophy Friday - Music for the Heart & Soul

" Music is a therapy.  It is a communication far more powerful than words, far more immediate, far more efficient"
                        - Yehudi Menuhin

    
                                                       

                           
                              
                                               
It was my Mother's dream for me to become a music teacher.  As a ballet dancer, music was very important to her and it seems she thought that profession was a noble one and would give me a quality of life and a reliable income. However, as much as I enjoyed music and studied with the Sisters of St. Joseph where I learned to be disciplined ( attaining my performer's certification)  and to understand all the intricacies of higher theory, it was not my intent to pursue a musical career.  I wanted to chase MY dreams of photography and the textile arts. Without going into a great deal of extraneous detail, as I became of age, I put music on the back burner. I still was in love with rock, soul and jazz but overall, I felt saturated with the medium;  defiant to a point where I deliberately cut myself adrift from it. I sold my piano,  immersed myself in the photographic arts, studying to be a photographic artist and retoucher, while still maintaining my ties to the fashion world and textiles.

                                                                                                                       
 Then I took up with a man who absolutely adored music.  He could not be in the house, garage, garden or a vehicle without music being played constantly and LOUD.  Our musical tastes clashed and I thought I would go mad. Sound wars ensued - with him revving up Van Morrison ( whom I had an aversion to then- now not so)  to pain levels and I would retreat to my workshop and crank up James Brown Live at the Apollo ( whom he disliked intensely).  Bob Dylan, however, was common and hallowed ground (-:    Thirty three years hence, our tastes have melded somewhat ( although I still cannot stand those " little gurly" groups with the high pitched shrill voices) and we now share  CD's and excitedly discuss new musical discoveries.

In the last year, music has become more important to me and I have sought solace in it many times.  It has become almost a source of healing for me.  I see once again the joy in my Mother's eyes, when she hears her favourite passages from Coppelia, Swan Lake and Giselle - it brings a peaceful serenity to her face that I no longer see daily.  It lifts her heart, stirs her soul and for a brief time, she is that tiny graceful dancer pirouetting in her mind's eye once again. 

For myself, currently fighting a debilitating health issue, music provides me with great comfort and pleasure. Maybe it's because I have been given the gift of time to truly appreciate and savour some of the finer things in life once again. With my new mindset, I find it has become a habit to have music playing aloud in the studio, something I found distracting in the past.  The recent gift of a superb pair of headphones allows me to rock to tunes, stitching and reading long into the night without disturbing the slumber of others in the house.
                                             
This summer I have taken a sabbatical from committed projects and outside diversions, while I delight in researching new work, reading literature and listening to a variety of music.  I find I am recharging, gaining strength and creatively, my head is in a much better place for studio work in September.  All those piano lessons were not " in vain" as my poor Mum has decried but in fact, that concrete foundation has enriched my renewed love of music and the bountiful pleasures I am deriving from it.

The Amazing Work of Joy Munshower

 I have, for some time, been seeking the perfect octopus lampwork bead to nestle into a highly stitched and embellished undersea cranny for the Sea panel of the on-going tryptich.
 I have my favourite lampwork artists, whose sites I continually pour over and much to my delight, Joy Munshower has begun creating sea creatures.  I have purchased some beautiful pieces from Joy in the past ( pictures below) so I know full well the quality and detail of her exquisite work.  With a solid background in tile, stone and sculpture, Joy has an uncanny gift for understanding the human and animal form. I could sense as she began creating more and more intricate sea creatures that an octopus would appear and to my delight, several put in an appearance.  A large purple fellow, who is in fact a " dread" bead spoke to me in volumes and after winging his way from California, is now safely ensconced in the  " Tickle Trunk" awaiting his fate .
The bead is a deep eggplant purple on a streaky teal blue watery base and is 1 3/4" high, x 2" long and 1" wide with a 1/2" mandrel size. Large indeed, but the perfect size to add dimension to an already textural stitched base.

I am in awe of Joy's work.  Her attention to detail and her vast knowledge of colour and form, in my opinion, are second to none.  To create such realistic pieces using a torch and molten glass is truly a gift.  Not only is Joy an incredible artist, she is one of the most ethical and generous people I have had the pleasure of working with.  I look forward to seeing her further lampwork developments and know I will definitely be adding more of her work to my collections.

Many of us have been immersed in the Summer Olympics this past couple of weeks and have seen some very sculpted athletic bodies.  Joy has created the beads below based on her impression of these types of athletic forms.


" Mars - Male Deity" - glass, red flint

Joy loved this piece so much she was going to keep it for herself
but I convinced her otherwise (-:

"Moss Agate Goddess" - glass, moss agate ( black, brown w.green)
An athletic goddess, curvy but buff.  Joy said she envisioned
Serena Williams when sculpting this bead.











"Copper Cutie" - glass, copper green
Strong but fit and a little softer with more feminine curves in the right places.  Joy has used a dark metallic pewter lustre which nicely accentuates the hollows.




I am also in possession of the most intricate "Kryptonite Phallus" bead Joy has sculpted.  You can only imagine it's perfection after seeing her work pictured above. It is a delightful creation that simply enchants!