Monday, January 31, 2011

Moon Flower and a little Tess Gallagher

Here is another art quilt - I have two yoga quilts and hope to do one more for a nice three in a row for the show. This one is the Moon Flower pose - it goes with Sunflower pose and both are supposed to be very good for banishing depression as well as good for warming up. The background is a rambling, funky Spokane out the 4th floor huge windows. It's not exact but more what I think I'm seeing upside down... twisted and in another 'zone'. Think I might like it better than the 'real' view. :) I'm about to write all over this one...

I thought I'd do something different and share some of my favorite things with you this year. One of my favorite things I always come back to is poetry. I used to write tons of it and at one time was going to major in creative writing with poetry emphasis... but other things went on and I went down many paths before choosing again. Anyway, enjoy!
Oh, this book of poems is one of my all time favorites. She came to my college in her hometown of Port Angeles, WA right before this one was being published. She read a few poems and I was gone. Absolutely besotted with her reading and style of writing. Her husband had recently passed away - Raymond Carver - and there are a lot of grief-riddled pieces in this one but still, the beauty of her work sometimes overwhelms me. Here are a few samples:
I Stop Writing The Poem
to fold the clothes. No matter who lives or who dies, I'm still a woman.
I'll always have plenty to do.
I bring the arms of his shirt
together. Nothing can stop
our tenderness. I'll get back
to the poem. I'll get back to being
a woman. But for now
there's a shirt, a giant shirt
in my hands, and somewhere a small girl
standing next to her mother
watching to see how it's done.
Trace, In Unison
Terrible, the rain. All night, rain
that I love. So the weight of his leg
falls again like a huge tender wing
across my hipbone. Its continuing - the rain,
as he does not. Except as that caress
most inhabited. Ellipsis of
eucalyptus. His arms, his beautiful
careless breathing. Inscription
contralto where his lips graze
the bow of my neck. Muslin half-light.
Musk of kerosene in the hall, fixative
to ceaselessly this rain, in which
there is nothing to do but be happy, be
free, as if someone sadly accused
came in with their coat soaked through
and said, "But I only wanted
to weep and love," and we rolled toward
the voice like one body and said
with our eyes closed, "Then weep, then
love." Buds of jasmine threaded through
her hair so they opened after dark,
brightening the room. that morning
rain as it would fall, still
falling, and where we had lain,
an arctic light steady
in the mind's releasing.
~Tess Gallagher, 1992

Friday, January 21, 2011

Beautiful Felons

Hello and happy Friday! I'm so glad the weekend is here. Meet a group of 13 beautiful felons... I wanted to make some smaller art quilts for my upcoming show... it's nice to have a variety of sizes in my opinion. These ladies were so much fun to draw! There are a few ideas I've been playing with surrounding these women... but haven't decided yet - so they may not be felons just yet. I really would like to do even more, but the clock is ticking faster and faster.
Messenger swallows bringing good yarn to coastal villages... I love the idea of messenger birds and have wanted to play with the subject for quite awhile. This one is already painted and has some writing/journaling on it. I'll be working through the weekend on these things and maybe a few more larger ones. I hope y'all have a nice and relaxing weekend!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Sketchbook Wednesday


Here are a few ideas I have churning today. They've both made it onto fabric for more art quilts. The March show is coming up faster and faster. (well, a late Feb deadline is what's on my mind!)
I'm really having fun with this style of art making. Not many rules and drawing loose... it is very freeing. Oddly, I haven't carved a woodblock for a long time now. This is the longest stretch, I think (although I did do some mastercarve stuff recently). After this project, it's going to be woodcuts galore!
Speaking of woodcuts, I'm honored to be included in an art blog, Apt3 Design... amongst many wonderful printmakers. The writer is Tina, a student at Portland State University - my art school Alma Mater. Check it out here .

Saturday, January 8, 2011

A New Year's Day Miracle...

Minutes after he returned home...


A complete miracle happened around 9am on new year's day. Knightley found his way home... by himself!!! We still can't believe it. I was sitting, drinking my tea - Mr. Darcy was barking up a storm on the deck. I was conveniently ignoring him ( surely the neighbors were coughing in their coffee) when he began to howl. He NEVER howls. ??? Weird. 5 min later, the phone rang - and after a few grumblings, I got up... missed the call. The message was from Mr. K next door, thought he saw Knightley walking in the street by himself. I ran to the door and saw him in the driveway... flung open the door and called him in (in between squeals which soon turned to sobs). He was looking wild-eyed and wired - he was being skittish for a bit, but as soon as he saw Mr. Darcy - he ran in the house.
We are still baffled by this miracle... according to the humane society, 90% of dogs who are lost are never found. We had a few leads and 'sightings' from the lost corgi posters - but none panned out. We did get a few calls from a retirement apt complex - some ladies saw his photo in the paper and knew it was the dog they'd been trying to coax in, feed and keep him warm. But, he was too skittish. They left a box with a blanket outside and food for him. It had been 0 degrees F. for a few nights and the rest in the low teens and single digits. (Spokane is covered in snow)... We can't believe he survived these temps and found his way home too. He was so tired when he came back... was asleep on the kitchen floor about a 30 minutes later. He was warm, had food and was home!
Prayers were answered and we are so thankful. There you have it - a corgi miracle. It was a great start to the new year.