It's good to be home for a little while

Dan and I returned late this afternoon from our whirlwind holiday tour: 3 days with family and 2 days in Philadelphia for Dan's birthday. The family visits were all great. For the first time in close to 20 years Dan's mom had all of her children and grandchildren under the same roof at the same time. There's a good bit of family history behind that, and it appears that's where it's going to stay--behind. So, it was a good and meaningful Christmas.

Yesterday we celebrated Dan's birthday with a trip to the Barnes Foundation just outside Philadelphia, then had his-and-his mani-pedi's before heading off to dinner at Alma de Cuba. It was a lovely indulgent day. The Barnes has a great collections of Mattise and Cezanne, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I can't say that I share Dr. Barnes' obsession with Renoir. In fact, I could probably live entirely without Renoir, but it's all just a matter of taste.

As promised, here are pictures of the two pieces that I was screening on Christmas Eve. I wished that the colors had remained so wonderfully saturated after steaming. I'm hoping for a some time to work on them tomorrow and I hope to post in-process and after pics. I think my loss of color occurred because I screened insufficiently strong dye paste over areas where I had deconstructed dry screens with clear release paste, which acted as a resist. I've done this with more success before, but in those cases I must have used much more concentrated dye paste. Live and learn.

Both of these pictures were shot on the print table, before the pieces were dried, steamed, and washed, The piece on the left lost the most color. Many of the circles remain, but the colors are very muted. The piece on the right retained most of its color because I was screening over wax resist, but nothing else was on the fabric.

Merry Christmas

I'm feeling much better. It's Christmas morning and I'm taking a 5 minute break for a quick update. We've had a couple of busy days. Neighbors dropped by on Friday night for drinks. Saturday night we had our annual holiday dinner with two other couples. This year I skipped the traditional standing rib roast, which I don't particularly care for, in favor of filet mignon with a Pinot Noir reduction--very nice, fast, and easy. Sunday we had dinner with my parents.

Yesterday I devoted almost the entire day to printing. It was great. I did two yards of cotton. Once is a deconstructed printing of circles. I have pictures of how great it looked before I washed it. I ended up with something entirely different. Most of the wonderfully strong colors are now pale pastels. I'm disappointed to have lost something that I loved on the print table, but what I got looks like it will be a great foundation on which to built something else. The other piece is overlapping blocks of color printed on top of soy wax applied with my new tjap. It's pretty and happy, but it also needs more layers. The camera's packed away, so pictures will have to wait until later this week.

Last night we went to church and didn't get home until midnight. In recent years the Christmas Eve service has become Christmas for me. It's a time that's completely out of sync with the rest of the secular season. It's entirely focused on the reality and the meaning of Christmas for Christians: the belief that God's love for humankind is so great that it manifested itself in human form at its most vulnerable, as an infant.

This morning we're off to New York to be with Dan's family for more celebration.

Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope that however you celebrate the coming of light into the world during this dark time of year it is marked by family, friends, laughter, and love.

...and now it's my turn

Everyone else is sick and now it's my turn. I'm not really miserable. It's more like that run-down, can't-think, feeling that things just aren't right. I can't stand this in between sort of thing where I can't really do anything but my mind's just active enough to want to do something.

The holiday entertaining goes into full swing starting at 7:30 tonight. We have engagements or plans of some sort just about straight through New Year's Day. Some of it will be time spent in New York with Dan's mom, brothers, and families, which will be very nice, but also a lot of stimulation for me right now when what I really need is down time. We're stopping over in Philadelphia for a couple days on the way home to be by ourselves and celebrate Dan's birthday.

I've got to hurry up and get well. There's lots to do and being sick isn't on the list!

Cool new toy, now I just need time to play

Just received a box of supplies from Dharma Trading, which included a little indulgent gift to myself: a new tjap from Indonesia. With all of the holiday mayhem I have no idea when I'm going to get to use it.

The prayer flag piece (see Dec 6) is faced and just needs a label and rod pocket to be officially done. I'm not posting any more pictures of it until I can actually make time to take a decent one. I've also got to come up with a proper name so I can stop calling it "the flag thing."

Have I discovered a blogging "don't"?

The blogging thing works for me, more or less. I even like the idea that sometimes people read what I write and even comment on it. What I don't like is the fact that it reveals my imperfection as an editor of my own writing. As with my private journal, I find it interesting to read what I've written days, months, or even years after the fact. It can be a great stepping off point for refection. That is, unless I find that I've published grammatical errors and typos for all the world to see!

So, since I'm not a great proofreader, I suppose I need to:

• Not read my own stuff; or
• Forgive myself for not being perfect; or
• Be prepared to make occasional corrections.

Just what I needed: another growth opportunity.

I didn't know you could do that

I love my thermofax machine. (For a very short description of what that is and what one does with it see this site by Karen Stiehl Osborn). This is just about the best thing that's happened to screen printing in years. It's so much easier than preparing and burning photo silkscreens.

As noted on Karen's page, I've always been told that the screen material needs to go through the machine with a photocopy because it's the carbon on the surface that causes the plastic screen backing material to burn away. That's all well and good if you've got a photocopier or laser printer in your studio, which I do not. On a lark I tried running a test piece of paper painted with black tempera paint (Pearl Paint) through the thermofax. And, what do you know, it worked great. Charcoal works too. The charcoal seems obvious--it's carbon. The tempera paint was a surprise. I don't know if there is carbon in the black paint, if something else is making it work, or if other colors would work. I'm just happy it works!

I made the screen below by making a quick gesture drawing with tempera paint in a dental syringe. The printed fabric is built on top of the result. The fabric is a bit too cute for most of my purposes, but it was fun to paint. I think it might turn into the lining for a scarf.

Pre-holiday madness

I'm ahead of schedule this year. In other words, I've already had my pre-holiday meltdown over the fact Dan and I have bought into the whole "Christmas machine". This year we're actually trying to do something about it (the machine and the meltdown). We're trying to scale back the gift-giving, and the insanity of holiday baking has been axed in favor of NOT gaining 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. We decided to do our annual end-of-year/holiday letter and send it along with holiday cards. God bless Dan: we wrote the letter together, he bought the cards and stuffed and licked fully 90% of the envelopes. (Why can't they make envelope adhesive taste like something good--something like single malt scotch).

The crazy organizing spree has wound down. The clutter is definitely feeling a little lighter. The sewing room's even clean enough to work. I'm trying to balance my time between printing and sewing. When I concentrate too much on one I miss the other. Though to be honest I could probably print cloth until drop.

The piece that I kept overdying earlier over the summer has turned into this, as shown in my post from September 16.

It sat for a while, but has finally turned into a piece about prayer flags, inspired by a community craft project at a church retreat. (Wikipedia page on Prayer Flags). The photo below shows a corner of the piece, which I'm still quilting. The "flags" are all raw edge pieces stitched only along the top. If you click the picture you can see some of the quilting detail and get a better look at the flag construction.

I'm pleased with the way this is turning out. I'm also surprised and delighted that I've got two pieces in work now that I think are worth showing. It's a first for me to have one; let alone two.

Therapeutic cleaning or a manic fit?

I never really know where a cleaning fit comes from. Over the years I've come to recognize that they're often linked to a need to control or organize some part of my life in order to balance out the feeling that another part is out of control, or perhaps just beyond my control. I took a "vacation" day on Friday because I have unused leave that I need to burn up. (That's a topic for another post.) I thought I would get in some good studio time, but I needed to tidy up just a little bit first because my work space was a mess. The sequence of events that followed is too circuitous to retrace, but somehow it led to cleaning out the attic, shredding old financial records, rearranging the storage in the studio/office (such as it is), and beginning to load our entire collection of CDs into iTunes. So far I've filled two large trash barrels and the recycling bin. This is a good thing. Sometimes these cleaning jags amount to little more than putting things away, but don't really lighten the load of accumulated stuff.

As I've been cleaning I've been continuing my meditation on lines. While we were in Philadelphia I took pictures of things that were catching my eye. It was all linear.

I've always loved street grates. As a kid I remember being afraid to walk on them because I thought I would fall in. Now, they're just enticing patterns. The shot of the buildings is intriguing too. My photo collection is full of numerous similar frames. The color of the buildings, the strong angles, the clarity of the sky, the value range, and the irony of the sign for "Parking" of which you can only see "Park". This street was hardly a park.

I've been doodling the middle of the two frames all week. I started out with careful sketches, moved on to things with lots of crosshatching, and finally ended up with rapid gesture drawings. These feel really good. I'm going to try exploring that a bit more.

Philadelphia Craft Show weekend

It was a whirlwind trip, but every second of it was fabulous.

We started out at the Snyderman-Works Gallery for the Nancy Crow exhibit called, "Crossroads: Constructions, Markings and Structures". I'm not sure what to say. It was energizing. I really need to go back and visit it several more times, but I'm going to have to rely on the catalog for that. Many of the pieces are similar to the linear designs that appear in her recent book and to the striking piece featured on the gallery postcard (below).

Other pieces, which I was told are newer, were black and white (or muted tone) geometric line work. They're wonderful compositions (some whole cloth) that clearly evoke traditional pieced patterns but have the spontaneity of something from a sketchbook page. The show also includes a number of other screen printed and monoprinted pieces. I don't feel a strong desire to copy or reinterpret any of Nancy's work, but the graphic quality, the strong linear design, the color choices, and the amazing command of value were inspirational. I've got some new ideas.

So, with a head full of all of this (and after a 2+ hour car trip) we needed a little lunch before venturing into the craft show. Dan and I have been going to the Baltimore ACC show for a few years and have also become regulars at the Smithsonian craft show. This was our first Philadelphia Museum of Art show. We both came away impressed with the quality and the variety of the work. It was a great show. Not too big or too small, and most important of all PLENTY OF FIBER. We got to see a few old friends and meet some interesting new folks.

As usual the Darwall booth was a feast for the eyes--all color and texture. Through our friendship I've been able to pay close attention to his work for a number of years. It's fascinating to watch it change and evolve.

Karen Henderson was showing some of her amazing weaving. If you've ever been to Peters Valley and made the dusty drive on Thunder Mountain Road out to the fiber studio, then you would instantly recognize the colors of the woods and the wetlands in Karen's work. They're simultaneously peaceful and fascinating.

I was also impressed by Marcia Derse's booth. She was showing lovely small quilted pieces made from her own hand dyed cloth. On the pieces that I spent the most time with I noted that she leaves her edges raw, rather than bound or faced. She also presents the finished piece attached with Velcro to a natural wood frame. With a little overhang the piece appears to float on the wall. I love the look. I've never seen this approach to finishing before. Perhaps others are doing it, but it was my first exposure.

There was also excellent pottery. For me the highlight was Akira Satake's slab-built vessels. He said he forms the slab, allows it to partially dry, applies white porcelain slip to one side, let's that dry, then manipulates the slab. The way he described it he lifts it over his head and smacks it on the table to fracture the slip. After that comes the formation of the vessel, more glaze, etc. The result is striking. It's organic. It reminds me of birch trees or, in some cases, the pattern left in the sand by receding waves. Here's a picture. Yes, it sitting on our dining room table. I should have my credit card propped next to it! It was not a purchase that either of us intended to make, but it was one that I knew I would regret not making. It's just phenomenal. In the photo you can see Hilary inspecting the new addition to the decor.

I've got snap shots of bit and pieces of the city that I'll save for another posting. I came home thinking about lines--the lines in Nancy Crow quilts, the lines in Akira Satake's pots, the lines in the street grades, the lines in the iron work of the fire escape outside our hotel room window. There's something bubbling there--drawing lines with dye, screening lines, stitching lines, tearing cloth, strip quilting, lines that don't line up......

A dry spell

A dry spell. That's all I can think to call those times when I stop writing. I go through these same cycles with my private journal. Once, after writing almost daily for over a year I just stopped. Sometimes it's because I get too close to something and would rather run away than face it. Other times it's because I just need a break. I tolerate these spells, and yet I'm always painfully aware of them when they're happening.

So, why haven't I written a word for precisely a month and a day? I'm just not sure. This time I think it's mostly because I've been so busy with work and other things. It's been all I can do to sneak in time to sew or print. Writing has taken a backseat. Now I'm starting to get the feeling that the writer in me is tired of sitting in the back of the bus.

For these last few weeks busy has included course work for my last year of a 4-year extension course called EfM--Education for Ministry. It's adult learning at it's best: lots of reading and discussion, but no tests or papers. In 4 years you cover a survey of the core seminary curriculum, without the preaching, field education, and the like. The first year of the program is Old Testament (mostly Torah and the prophets, with a bit of wisdom literature). Year 2 is New Testament. Years 3 & 4 are church history and contemporary theology respectively. It's a nice overview, but how much of Hegel and Kierkegarrd can you really pick up by reading one cursory chapter on each. Anyway, a night of reading and a night of class effectively kills 2 nights out of the week from now until early June.

I also somehow managed to accept the "opportunity" to co-chair the Rector Search Committee at my church. Our Rector left over the summer. Now that we have an interim in place, this Committee is conducting a search for a new permanent Rector. It's sort of like an executive search only many more people are involved, it takes 12-18 months, and it's a lot of volunteer work. And I said yes to this because...?

Just so you don't think life is all work, I must confess that I've been having some fun. Dan and I spend last weekend in New Jersey. Friday/Saturday we were with Dan's brother, our sister-in-law (Omie) and our niece and nephew. It was Omie's birthday so in addition to the family celebration, she and I slipped away for a couple of hours in Clinton. We went to see Kerr Grabowski's show at the Hunterdon Museum. It was fantastic. The show was called "Art To Wear". It should have been called "Art to Die For"--or may dye for. I'm always amazed to see work that I instantly recognize, something that bears the mark of the maker in a way that's unmistakable without being cliche or repetitive. In this case you look at the work and say, "This is Kerr's".

I desperately need a new camera that takes something besides fuzzy pictures, but you can still see even in these mediocre shots that the show was amazing.

The weekend ended on a delightful note. Sunday, on the way home Dan & I stopped to visit Rayna Gillman & Marty and shared a delightful little brunch. "Come by; I'll get some bagels" turned into a banquet. She was such a wonderful host, and we had great fun sharing art and telling stories. I'm smiling as I write this. It really was a great visit.

This weekend is equally full of promise. We leave early tomorrow morning for a whirlwind visit to Philadelphia. Dan is being so indulgent. We going to see the Nancy Crow show at the Snyderman gallery, then heading off to the convention center for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. It only occurred to me after we'd made the plans to check the lineup of artists and I was thrill to see that we get to visit with our friends Randy Darwall and Brian Murphy. It should be a blast.