into indigo...

in which our plucky heroine had a blue Wednesday...

Last week was the final week of the Mood Indigo exhibit at SAAM in Seattle. I have some dear friends who live not far from there, and an excursion was planned.

A three hour ride on Bolt took me across state lines and between cities. The transit tunnels in downtown Seattle are deep underground. I took one bus from where Bolt dropped us off in the International District to where I could catch the electric bus to my friends abode. After taking the elevator up one level, after wandering about for a bit, I found this escalator up to the surface, and arrived, blinking in the daylight, in front of Benaroya Hall...

The composition of the photo really pleases me, as well as gives a real sense of the dizzying effect of the steep moving escalators.

:::

It was impossible to see and photograph all the amazing textile art in the show, and still have any time to actually take in some of the beauty. And for various reasons, M and I had only about an hour and a half there, before the museum closed for the night. I am very grateful to have had a chance to see this particular show, and hope to get back to the museum again at some point...

dynamic asymmetry on an African garment


resist dyed Japanese bed cover


wonder what other dyes were used, besides indigo


embroidered border on Chinese wall hanging


detail of embroidery on silk


embroidered Chinese roundel


weft dyed futon cover

.
farmer jacket in shibori and sashiko

.
furoshiki decorated in sashiko


Korean carrying cloth pieced from many small bits of indigo fabric


Japanese rabbits, doing things


this spherical Japanese bunny reminds me of "the rabbit in the moon"

.
shibori herringbone, plus a closer look...


love the combination of stripey sleeves with figured body


Uzbek multicolored ikat...


padded tie-quilted bedding

This "sacred shawl" was in some ways the most impressive object I saw in the entire show; the level of detail in the weaving took my breath away... this is only two small sections (from Sumatra, Indonesia, from the Batak culture)

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine attempts to pick up some assorted pieces...

I am feeling sort of fragmented myself, as this dang unrelenting ankle bursitis/tendonitis is making my everyday life a challenge, not to mention that being in constant pain is rather draining. It has been about seven weeks with little improvement, despite self-care, strengthening exercises, and physical therapy...

:::

This is so awesome... my pal Luz Clara went to France, and she thought of me, and brought me this tiny tin of blue watercolor paint... paint made from WOAD!!! It will be a treat to try using this, and am feeling encouraged to attempt some original calligraphy and illumination artwork, just to do justice to this special material.

:::

Tuesday and Wednesday this week I had Jury Duty, which in this case entailed getting up hella early (like before sunrise) to be downtown at the courthouse by 7AM. There was much sitting around in a large room, watching a video about why doing our civic duty was important, and a lot more sitting around. A few small groups of people were actually called to participate as jurors. On both days we were sent home in the middle of the day, on Tuesday because of demonstrations nearby that were closing down the transit system, and on Wednesday because there were no more jury trials on the docket that day.

Tuesday there was time, once home, to get a first coat of primer on the west wall of the workroom, where the paint former owners applies has been flaking off the shakes. Managed to get this done just in the nick of time, with enough hours for the paint to dry prior to the subsequent arrival of intense rain. Yay me!

:::

Well that was good, just found the missing iron chook door weight, on the roof of the chicken house!?! all I can think is that I must have seen it falling off, put it up there prior to leaving in September, and then promptly forgot all about it... Any other explanation is just too weird... the iron weight has now been painted with matte black Rustoleum, and will be reattached to the chook door when there is a break in the weather.

This is what the iron weight looks like, it is about a foot long,
and was made for me as a gift from my dear friends at White Hart Forge.
:::

So a number of years ago I saw this very clever idea somewhere online: a reflective cycling vest (daytime/nighttime) made from narrow strips, in a kind of loose macrame, (front view & side view) that could be wadded up small enough to fit in a pocket, and simply fit loosely over whatever you were wearing. What I saw was created by a company called dargelos, but before I ever managed to do more than track down a few images, years passed and they stopped even having an online shop.

Today while I was at what is left of RCT, considering purchasing supplies to make a new raincoat, I noticed that they had some 1/2" wide double-sided reflective trim strips... The material is quite spendy at $5 yard, but I was determined to acquire some, hopefully enough for an experimental safety vest. I will first create a flat image showing where to connect the strips, then measure how many yards are needed; am considering cutting the strips 1/4" wide for further compactness and less expense. I don't often ride my bike at night, but additional reflectivity would be an improvement! 

and just because - nighttime/daytime...

:::

October SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter #16	primed shakes	-
2	rune enamel	repainted chookhouse forged iron weight	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	-	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-
13	-	-	-
14	-	-	-

:::

A few random bits since my return

in which our plucky heroine returns to the electronic world...

been gone a month from here, with most of September spent on a long visit with family on the Right Coast over 3000 miles from Acorn Cottage. Takes a bit to get back into my everyday life, of chores and work and artistry... Here are a few random bits, now that I am back again - will post the travel photos later this week.

:::

An unexpected phone call let me know that Bill was in Portland, and wanted to drop off a box here for me. What a delightful treat it was to receive this new Sidhefire Arts pottery mug as a gift from my dear friend Ariadne! The wee tiny bas-relief medallion on the mug belly looks quite familiar - a surprising rendition of the running horse that is the main charge on my heraldry. Tea this winter will be extra special...

This gift warms my heart as surely as hot tea warms my middle - the best part of presents is using them and knowing that dear friends were thinking of me when I was far away Here's hoping that there will be many gatherings of friends this winter, and that our conviviality will chase away the outer cold with warm hearts, abundant creativity, and conversation...

:::

Just a few links, to remember, to try, and to be inspired by...
This "milk jug photo studio" idea is a genius concept, and one that I will be trying out. I have been making tiny lunges towards a revised website, and will need better photos of my assorted metalwork and enameling.
Myrna always has a creative take on approaching sewing, and her recent post about applying the philosophy of William Morris to studio decluttering is exactly what I need to do here at Acorn Cottage.
Sometimes, a bit of cheerful whimsey is desperately needed, and this corgi video just makes me smile...

:::

Charter #16, completed... A Sable Gauntlet award*. I had a lot of fun with painting this design, in looking at the two originals I found in this style, and doing my best to add suitable details...

A closer look at one of the horsemen... I was particularly fascinated with the textile patterning in the original manuscripts. If you look at the original period manuscript images** online, it is possible to zoom in and see individual brushstrokes. By looking there, I was inspired to try and paint similar designs on the coat and saddleblanket.

here are some of the details in the 14thC original illumination:

* The Sable Gauntlet charter was designed by HL Tomyris aka Turi Henderson
** original images of Mamluk horsemen can be seen here, and here

:::

The day after I returned from my trip, I heard an unusual bird sound in the front yard, and walked outside, camera in hand, to take a closer look...

a bit closer look and I saw that there was a pair of Northern Flickers in one of the ornamental plum trees.

The two birds were on either side of part of the upper trunk of the tree, and behaving in a way I'd not seen before.

Apparently it is "display behavior" that consists of head-bobbing and weaving from side to side, accompanied by a "wick-a, wick-a" call. On this page, if you scroll down there are an assortment of recordings of flicker sounds, including the "wick-a" sounds...

October SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter #16	-	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	-	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-
13	-	-	-
14	-	-	-

:::