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Camellias (poached) from an abandoned house across the street. 

Happy Weekend!

Winter Cleanse

 

(woodcut by Pilar McCraken, vintage dress for dreaming of the summer)

This is an impulsive time of year. Something about February forces a mental leap to the warm summer days many months off. This is about the time I would call up my friends' who own a big farm on the RI coast to reserve a spot in the fields for June-August. Seems like all you can do is PLAN for your future self during this month, or re-arrange the house, the studio, filling spaces with color and hot house flowers.

OR cleanse proper in some steamy place like Breitenbush...which a friend and I were lucky enough to do this past weekend. Certainly a West Coast perk which I recommend to anyone living close by. Go! Its incredibly beautiful and such a treat this time of year.

Werkssssss

Patterning, patterning. The glorious ELNA is out and stitching away. I'm slowly figuring out the right shapes and angles for spring/summer dresses and tunics. RULE 1: garments need to be easy to make and easy to wear. No closures, zippers or complicated tailoring.
SIMPLICITY REIGNS in this studio.

shifting actively and otherwise

A long weekend, split between highly impulsive activities (encouraged by bottles of nice wine and the company of wonderful friends) and exceptionally slow, measured and rather contemplative activities (aided by 6 hours of listening to Puccini opera+RAIN).
Above are a half dozen of my almond prints, each just slightly varied in color, shade, hue. Lots of options, and somehow not one looks completely right. Moving on.

The hooshed* interior of my refrigerator....in honor to Mildred's Lane, which Abby posted about earlier this week. I have been trying to eat more interesting/thoughtful meals, (slightly discouraged at cooking for just myself) making play out of the drudgery seemed appropriate. Possibly the best thing I took away from Mildred's Lane was the idea that in everything--- every action and every experience lies the possibility of transformation---something mundane is pushed into the realm of art through a subtle shift in thought or action. That's mostly what I spent my weekend thinking about.

*"Hoosh!" A word, sometimes a command we must have heard a million times this summer, which was understood to mean "to gussy up" or "tidy up" with a keen eye for aesthetics. When groceries where brought back to the house, the rule was that whatever could be liberated from its original container should be transferred to something more attractive. Plastic was shunned (as much as possible) and tupperware simply did not exist. The juggling of leftovers into crystal goblets, ceramic crocks--all covered with bits of linen or ill-fitting lids. I could go on and on about the beauty and frustration of having to to this constantly. Left a lasting impression.
And here I am, still practicing the art of hoosh........sometimes efficiency loses the battle.

Winter Needs

I dress in black mostly, peppered with shades of grey.
Since living in Portland my hair (on its own) has turned almost to black and I'm half sure my eyes are going from blue to grey. Strange.
So I'm actively combating this trend.
I slip into the print lab and start mixing up colors that look like this. A remedy or defense in the not-so- secret fight against winter darkness.
In the summer, I only love white and this transparent jade color. If I find myself by the coast, my hair is sure to turn light again. Until then....

simplicity

Another print in the works....the annual print portfolio at PNCA. This year's theme is 'Tarot'....hence the small size.

The term starts tomorrow
How to deconstruct the practice of drawing.
That is one thing that has been on my mind this weekend.

No smart comments dear friends.....

From Far Away

This beautiful thing came to my doorstep the other day from a fellow textile designer/screenprinter.  I LOVE Karen's work, sophisticated yet fun, clean and simple.
Check out her blog and shop to see more of her work- and lovely photography.