Enuff and then some!

Flying time on a tether. A new concept
in getting nowhere fast. A new toy for me.
What a concept!

Enuff!!! playing around trying to figure out how to make windows live writer work. It doesn’t work for me so I am back to producing performance art on my blog! What is-is and what will be is!

Too Little-Too Late

Too little/ Too late is ready to be cut off the loom.  It is finally finished in the last two days. It’s the second part of a triptych. The big piece. It should have been done two weeks ago, but life intervened with a wicked, wicked, wicked cold and completely stalled life. Parts of it are still revisiting me after 5 pm everyday-sore throat and cough, but at least I am functioning.

The first two parts of the 

triptychh

 Hopefully I can start working on the new piece and getting the studio re- arranged the way I want it. Some progress today I bought a handheld phone that can be by the loom yesterday-very small step, but important. Tomorrow Spencer has promised to help move some furniture and rugs.

one more basket to vege in.

Maybe it was a cold maybe not. It still involved ear aches, goopy, grainy, swollen eyes, earaches, sore throat, and coughing and lots of blowing my nose. I have basically slept for 2 weeks and vegged in bed hoping for a miracle of healing. Just to be told that time generally heals colds better than anything one can do to speed it up. No other choices. Have you ever noticed that the person saying this is not the person in bed with the symptoms, but usually someone….with ponderous pretensions of knowing all?  I was going to say some snotty noised kid, but decided that might be misconstrued as a very bad pun or some such word play, brought on  by the whole situation-not really funny-just stupid. Urban dictionary:" snot nosed-1) A person that lacks experience or is ignorant of any real world knowledge."

Always one more day

  Anyway,  this is all really just too boring that everything involving me came to a complete halt. The rest of the world and time traveled on. Etc, etc, et al.

Etymology

From Latin, abbreviation of et (“and”) + alii (“others”) and its forms and derivatives.Pronunciation IPA: /etˈɑl/ Abbreviation et al. 1.    And others; to complete a list, especially of people, as authors of a published work.Usage notes-Formerly, this was preferred by some over etc. for lists of people in all contexts. At present the two abbreviations are used synonymously in many contexts for completing lists.Synonyms etc.

3 weeks of growth-not good

 Okay, okay  time to quit feeling sorry for myself and get on and over it. It’s catch up time again.

Somethings think it's spring
Bee on Blooming Rosemary

As I have looked at the finished piece yesterday and today, it’s been interesting experience trying to duplicate a sunset that is dirty and polluted. Usually I am going for vibrant colours like the 2 Konas that were just juried into the  ATA Passages 2 exhibit.  In the end I greyed the colour out and used fairly opposite chene to muddy the colour. The next question was shine or sheen vs. dull. When dealing with rayon’s and embroidery floss there is a great deal of drama or lack of drama that can be controlled by manipulating sheen, shine and lack of or dullness.   In the process it seems to have greyed down the intense yellows and oranges in the sun just being near them. BUT, greys are always  vampires when it comes to colour. 

Rosemary messing with levels

I have been having a great time playing with my Camera. Lynn Harts article on Photography on the ATA page is one of the best articles  and explanations that I have read in years. I have been having playing with my camera-lights, darks, value changes etc.  Taking pictures in the almost dark for different effects of texture. 

Rosemary the other end of levels

 I am really nuts about the symbol of bio hazards. I like their shape. They look like a stylized flower. A thing of beauty with deadly often everlasting effects.  

For some reason I had problems with the puzzle grid. I started with 5 and ended with 7 an appropriate magic number-coincidental loss of place or…(?) LOL

Night light rabbit band
by invitation only

Another thing, The black oily water and the bloody rusty red that was so important became more of a harkening back to the 7 plagues in Revelation 16:3. Not that I believe in Revelations, but there was a time when I could recite word for word the book of Revelations, Daniel, Isaiah and a few other books-it was great for getting extra credit in my religion classes and Path finder badges.  I had this quotation running through my head and it took me forever to remember where it was from  I was focusing on the pictures of the gulf and kept cycling words like a mantra-over and over. Talk about child hood indoctrination. I was beginning to feel like Shaw in the Manchurian Candidate.

 Chene has gotten so lazy in the last two weeks he doesn’t want to get off the bed or the chair I am on. He’s decided he likes being lazy. He was really upset when he had to go down by the river in the rain for his session with the trainer.  I was off the hook and taking photographs of the hand signals which I can never remember Which Mike the dog trainer pointed out I should have used my IPOD Video thingy. Hand signals are a series of movements not static-Duh on my part!!! I took 30 million pictures when a video stream would have been quicker and less work. Of course, I hadn’t worked out with Chene so neither of us did as well as we should have in all of that time. Well, Chene did great with the trainer just not with me.  It won’t be long until he can function on command without a lead. 

guarding the blankie

daffies at night-note moss at side on door matt

Today he keeps anticipating and trying to chase geese in the sky and waiting for the attack of the killer geese in the sky. He’s basically played dead dog, been carried out doors, and chased the cats off of the bed and the window sill for two weeks. He’s been crawling under his blankie when he sees his leash.  Not one of Spencer’s favourite things to dig him out so he can go outdoors in the morning and evening.

Frog Prince still waiting!

     I think I read everything in the house and some things twice. Spencer had to keep going to book stores and kept bringing me books I had already read. In desperation he purchased a kindle for me. I have maintained for years that I would never use one. One of my favourite Star Trek scenes is Captain Kirk explaining why he prefers books to computers in Star Trek 4.  So, yes, I am doing a complete about face and it hurts to think what a hypocrite and pragmatist I can be. What happened to all my Luddite thought patterns. I seem to be turning into a fair weather Luddite. Well,  so much for that and enough sniveling--Romance vs. availability, practicality, lack of reading material, boredom, etc vs. instant availability. I sold out to the dark side.  It’s no longer all about the feel, smell and the experience of turning the pages. I have now read 5 books on kindle. Books that I have been looking for forever downloaded in less than 2 minutes.  I am complete sold on my kindle. Granted several of the books I have read in the last week are too embarrassing to mention the titles, but 2 were not-again books that I had really wanted to read and had not been able to find. Google Genesis and a kindle are incredible.  It’s so easy on my hands. I’ can actually use it with one hand while using my iPod/iPhone with the other hand. 
I am hopelessly hooked.

ALmost 3 feet of viking knitting
one of those things when you can't thing
of something better to do!

    As a good dead friend- Pat Poggi  once said turn lemons into lemonade and if that doesn’t work stick them in your bra where they can do some good.

Once upon a time I did silk bowls. Unearthed
from studio detritus removal site to be moved
to a new location and there re- entombed.

And now what. No longer
needed or wanted, but to
good to throw out.
So now what?

    Since I have been drug screaming into the nether world- I have spent hours thinking this might be away for a small publishing concern such as FFP to be able to produce more books with less long term waiting for the horrendous amount of books we need to buy at a time to sale in order to make a profit. Or is it like a dream and it will all turn into pet rocks and chia pets leaving one out on the proverbial limb without a paddle and up the creek with or without a saw...or a canoe.  That’s not quite right, but I know what I mean.  Publishing one book in a small niche market can tie up working capital for years. The surprising part is that people are willing to buy books on kindle in black and white-only and don’t feel the need for a hard copy or colour. BW and is great for the niche market FFP wants to fill for the most part.  The kindle can easily be placed by a loom while one works or downloaded into another computer and printed out for hard copy. The search functions are pretty incredible and the thought process leading there far reaching.

Thyme at night!

            It’s a beautiful day, but tax season. Spencer’s working and I want to get out in the sun and do something.  Tomorrow is his day off. The big question- will the blue sky stay around until tomorrow or…?  

Chene's Portrait that I am thinking
about weaving. Great Drama. BAck to studying
Goya's cats for creating hachures and hatches.

Mystery shot. Found it filed under Alaska, but I don't think so. I am thinking about doing this as a sky study into greys whites and blues. A couple weeks ago someone asked me if I had ever done a tapestry of a dog. Well I am thinking it's time to do one of Chene. SO I have picked out the most dramatic shot and one that fits his personality when he's not pretending to be a clown.

Guess that's all for now. I am done. even if I am a week late from the 15th which is one of my new resolutions. busted the first month out. Doesn't bode well for the rest of the year. Asi es la vida...

If the cats are turned sideways all the shading and hair are hatches, hachures and ecentric hatches.

kathe

Endings and beginnings new goals, new resolutions

Too little- Too late

Back to this for a day or two

Two days of work and the 2^nd piece in my time trilogy is done-Two Little Too Late. That’s the name of the piece not my attitude. It didn't happen today too busy working on the blog and FFP books with Pat so it's another days. It's all of that end of the year stuff that always seems to be one more thing.   It will be great to start the new year with a new piece. 

 My goal is to finish it by Tuesday-now Wednesday- and start the third part of the trilogy and have it done by the end of the month so I can enter both in a juried show. 

blue sky all day a rare treat in
 Oregon in the winter

The third part is smaller, but in many ways will be harder for me to design, because of the nature of the images.  Designing and weaving broken things is something I have never done before. The proper perspective of the unifying broken  nautilus/earthstar is going to be difficult study in  perspective. An acid eaten destroyed flower is going to be hard. I have a tendency to want to flatten and stylize images because I like flat or no true backgrounds-just the images.
     I think it might be a genetic memory thing-if there is such a thing. I am also trying to design a bracelet that incorporates a small tapestry with silver spiders. It’s really hard for me to balance the images of the tapestry design with the silver and not make one dominate the other.  I am beginning to think I need to incorporate the top of the hand space into the bracelet and have a finger ring chain hold the whole thing in place so that I am dealing with more than a bracelet. I can see I need to do some real sketching on paper to make this happen. I need to start working on my focusing statement and 20 things I know about the piece to clarify the image in my mind.

Waiting

For the last two weeks I have been waiting, thinking, evaluating, making lists in my head and waiting for the new year. I love new years! I love list and setting goals. I have always been fascinated with new beginnings and leaving the old behind-sort of like a day of atonement for the soul and a new beginning all rolled in to one- an assessment of what  has worked and  what doesn’t work. I can be amazingly pragmatic when it comes to goals.

Yachat  Christmas day

Resolutions and all that Stuff!

 Last year was pretty much a great year even though it started out ominously with my maybe  or maybe  not  health problems and  being extremely ill-or not depending on which Doctor I listened to. It turned out for the most part to be not. On the other hand the optimist/cynic that I am, perhaps-gr, it was a good thing. It made me realize how finite things can be and how many things I still want to accomplish and my  need to create and redefine my  direction.  

Waiting for the rain to stop!

I pretty much managed to come very close to finishing all of my last year’s resolutions. Several have had to be refined/redefined and several are ongoing, and often difficult for me to do because of the involvement of others who haven’t always understood the need or why the need. 

 Writing my blog- I am not sure if it is actually helping my shyness or just that I enjoy the discipline of writing the blog-either way I win. So continute the every two week writing. Schedule blog writing on the 1^st and the 15^th of every month.

Finish the Between blog for resumes, work, workshops etc. and set it up to function as my web page. Stop waiting-Because my other web page is a dead issue.  I need one I can handle  for myself with my limited technical expertise.

Change the name of my studio from Morningstar to Between Tapestry et al  so it reflects me  and my reality and not my Grandmothers.

That is all that it has grown
since before Xmas. Doesn't it know
it's suppose to be blooming for my next cartoon?

Another is/was  weaving at least half day- five days a week- Don’t much care which days, just that I do 5 days a week.  Learn to say this is my weaving time. I’ll call or write you back later in my FFP time=leave a message. FFP is in the morning.

Weave one hour a day that is solely devoted to samples and mock ups. I hate weaving samplers, but would find small samples an easier  to travel with and pack. The biggest resolve not to give away mockup’s as gifts as I have done in the past.

Grampa reading Xmas books!

Finish moving the studio upstairs and ffp downstairs. Getting FFP out of my tapestry  space and down stairs. With the computer and FFP staring me in the face it’s difficult to discipline myself to ignore the computer and the e-mail it generates each day and the tapestry questions that I get from people who read my books. I love answering the questions don’t get me wrong, but once I start one thing leads to another and my weaving time is gone.  Finish designing my space and buying the furniture that I need to implement my goals. It will be easier for Pat too.  I find it amazing with her knee that she even attempts the steps to the second floor.

Waiting for me and missing the rainbow

Write at least 1-2 hours a day on new projects that deal with tapestry.  Learning to remember that my focus  in writing is tapestry and all that it entails.

Schedule a given morning for silver and do it. Right now I am waiting on a shipment of silverwire. I started this resolution by buying 3 ounces of silver wire at the inflated price of 31.00/36.00 Dollars an ounce! I wish I had brought last summer at 21.00 an ounce! Finish the box for miracles! And move on!!! Stop waiting for new skills and changing the design every time I learn a new silver skill!! Finish it and move on! even flea market silver is becoming to expensive to buy on spec. 

Terminally cute!

 Being consistent with training Chene and practicing with Chene. Making sure that I stay on tract. It’s easy to forget those 12-17 minutes a day of repetitive commands until we both have it right.  Sometimes that is the hardest goal. Realize that sometimes it’s teaching others that there is a correct way to give commands and over talking it doesn’t work. He’s a dog not a toy that his cuteness engenders in people-a  very smart energetic dog!   Both Chene and I enjoy walking lazily down by the river both doing our own thing. At other times he’d rather cuddle then work so would I.. Relying on his cute looks to get him what he wants and me wanting just a couple of more minutes of work and then the training time is gone.  By summer he should be ready for agility and I can take him anywhere and he instantly obeys the proper hand signals and commands. So his and my trainer says.

Catching the curl

Still waiting

Finally caught the blow hole in the photo!!!

AND the big resolution-one which requires an attitude adjustment on my part and nt realizing I am it. Knowing that my Father needs not only help but my advocacy for him in dealing with others, doctors, caregivers  and family members. My attitude has had to change from will you please to-- you have to do this now and why should we do this! Doctors seem to hate that they can’t fix everything and keep coming up with Hail Mary! plays and last resorts without considering what they may cost and cost the patient. Children always seem to  think they know better than their parents even if the parent is 86 or maybe because they are 86. I am grateful that Marge taught me all of this before she died by example.  Things hoped for and/ or  promised may not  always be worth it in the end or possible. They are what they are Hail Mary’s and away for the care giver to assuage their guilt in not being able to do anything.  Dignity and respect are important commodities that we often strip away from the elderly as they age. I watch Doctors and nurses talking over my father and ignoring him as if he is nothing and can’t possibly have an opinion that is worth listening too. Determined that if his views differ from theirs that  they have to be right and do it their way, therefore, I should step in and make him do it their way.  (that's a terrible run on, but so appropriate)  Aging is an interesting conundrum for everyone involved-especially if it involves a conflict of philosophy(s) and not inflicting one’s own philosophy and point of view onto the views of someone else. The “I know better then you” and  what you have ever wanted is hard to step around and or balance sometimes when dealing with the aged. It’s a fine line between protecting and a benevolent (?) dictatorship. So, I'll try and do it better.

And, of course, I have a few  very personal goals that will never be anywhere, but in my journal.

finally caught the top of the wave!

What I learned from the last years resolutions. Some times it seems like the whole world is conspiring  against me from keeping  my goal(s). When that happens I try and journal and figure out why and what and how important the thing keeping me from weaving and goals are. Journals are a good thing! Sometimes it’s knowing  what to let go of in a finite life span.  Redoing my studio which is/was one of my goals has made me realize a lot of things and helped me rid myself of a lot of stuff that I will never do and will never again be part of my life-painting, basket weaving,  and floor loom weaving. So let it go.  I don’t need to and I don’t have to do that stuff to be a  good tapestry weaver.  It’s made realize that the most important things in my studio  are tapestry weaving, working with silver to incorporate it into my tapestries and boxes,  teaching, writing and, punch embroidery, print making and maybe a few more perfleches of silk paper.  It felt so good to give the stuff away and remove it from the studio.  Getting rid of old attitudes at the same time, such as I don’t have to be the one who always shares and makes concessions to reach the end goals. I don’t need to paint my Marquette. Even after all these years I still heard the  faint whisper of my art instructors from the 70’s and early 80’s. I don't have to be able to do every textile technique other then tapestry perfectly.  I am learning to define what my personal goals are-again. If one lives long enough everything goes around and comes around again especially a changing life.  I am no longer willing to should have, could have, would have in defining the directions I want to go.

.

My next step is to write the steps that it will take to accomplish these goals and schedule the steps.  I do the same goal setting that I teach in my classes in real life and it still works. 

The last is from Joesph Campbell  "find your bliss and joy, hang on to it and just go for it". I would love to have a chance to have more time to visit with Joesph in the same setting looking over the hills in San Francisco as the sun went down in the early 80's. Several evenings we talked for hours. The geeky between and the man that understood and was fascinated by betweens. Yes, I know he's been dead for several dozen or more years!

Life is good!

cheers and all. 

kathe