Welcome March! It happens so fast, all of a sudden spring is
bursting.
Of course as I write it is raining and soggy again but isn't that the way of March? Unsettled, unpredictable, a little grumpy. Kind of like me these days. Change stirs deep and
emerges in uncomfortable but often glorious fits and starts.
Here, I hope, are a few more starts than fits to get you thinking about your own seasonal shifting. Please enjoy.
Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they're deciding, make even more art.
– Andy Warhol
Replace "art" with any desire of your soul.
2.
Following threads of self.
Embroidery and I go way back. I don't have fancy skills but I taught myself the basics as a child and I can hold my own with simple things.
Way, way back, like when I
was in junior high I think, I started gathering embroidery floss. Small hanks of DMC are still inexpensive but back then it was really cheap, like 10 for a dollar cheap. I could grab a handful and barely make a dent in my babysitting money. I felt indulgent and abundant picking out bunches of colors and tucking them away knowing someday they would be perfect for what I needed. It has proven true. This decently stuffed bag has been a craft companion for decades.
I still gather color in this way when I find a sale or thrift story bounty, adding it to one of those clear bags with snaps that a pillow case came in long ago. When the mood strikes or the art calls for it I pull out my bag of color and know I have have what I need to stitch away. My tiny stitched bags are the latest recipient of this bounty.
3.
More
threads.
I collect old stitching and needle work books, mostly from library books sales. I pulled this one off my shelf (this edition printed in 1959, originally 1949)
and it is taking me on a journey.
I mean, look at the dear goats I can stitch! So happy I have that stash of
thread.
4.
I did some googling to find out more about the author. From the Smithsonian American Art Museum website: "Self-taught embroiderer Mariska Karasz arrived in the United States from her native Hungary at the age of sixteen. The influence of Hungary's rich folk-art tradition is reflected in her early work. As her
interest in fiber art developed, Karasz began to incorporate silk, line, cotton, wool, thread, hemp, horsehair, and wood into her fiber hangings. Her materials were carefully chosen for their texture, color, and any unusual quality, such as an inconsistent dye in the yarn."
Images below are from www.mariskakarasz.com
Love this
self-portrait.
Self-portrait 2, ca 1947 Embroidery on linen, 22 x 15 1/2
inches
I adore a beautiful, old sampler, and an alphabet one, even better.
This abstract inspires me.
Alternate B, ca 1955 Mixed fibers on linen, 17 x 22 15/16 inches (framed)
And, more goats. Goats in a tree!
Goat Tree, ca 1947 Mixed fibers on unidentified four-salvage vegetal fiber with wooden dowel, approx 43 x 47 1/2 inches
All this to say, follow your threads. They will lead you to unexpected and
delightful places.
5.
A blessing for your week:
(The Animal Wisdom Tarot by Dawn Brunke, art by Ola Liola)
