Remembrances

I never knew my grandmother Amanda. She passed on when my father was a youth. I like to think she was a vibrant part of the Edwardian Era ...a glorious Gibson girl, next door variety. What little I do know of her is that she was a widowed single mother, raising her four young children in difficult times. She was a teacher, and liked to write poetry. She had a love of fine things, yet appreciated the simple life that escaping to the mountains and nature made possible. 

Life was hard back in the early 1900's. People still pumped water from wells and used outhouses. Lighting in the home was often from kerosene lamps that cast a soft glow. Cooking was done on wood-fire iron stoves that heated a tank of water for washing and cleaning, and provided heat for the home in winter. Amanda met it all head-on valiantly and gracefully. Over the years, I have cherished two things that belonged to her: her wedding dress, and an old fine-silver letter opener with a beautiful mother-of-pearl blade. The dress is pale gray silk chiffon with beautiful needle lace trim at the neck and sleeves. It appears too have been home-sewn by a fairly skilled seamstress.  Sadly, it is deteriorating with stains and holes sprinkled throughout because of years of abuse in a wooden chest alongside mouse nests before I rescued it. The letter opener had not fared well either.  It was broken at the blade/handle join long before I ever laid eyes on it. Even so, someone must have seen the beauty in it, choosing to save it rather than throw it out.

Over time, and especially the past year, I have been holding ideas for creating a number of remembrances ...clothing and jewelry, that build in my own mind what Amanda might have been like. This is the first in a series of remembrances, creations that honor my grandmother. The pendant was cut from the end of the old letter opener she once used. I added silver beads to an old chain, and pearl and rhinestone dangles from the bell. Somewhere in the mix I added an antique button and tied in a tiny scrap of the wedding gown. I plan to create several more chains with faceted crystals beads, ribbon, and other beautiful things added to layer with this, even though it can certainly be worn alone. 

Kicking Off the New Year

It's time to make good on those New Year resolution lists again.  I think I really needed a few pieces of paper this go 'round.  There are so many things that didn't get done last year, and they are nagging at me.  Then, there are a whole lot of new things that I want to do.  The excitement of starting and completing projects keeps me juiced.  The ones that do not get done really drag me down.  So, Resolution #1:  Finish what you start.  High on the list is the chair swing.  The fanged critter that was eating my branch, lost the battle of the plastic bag that I encased it in, and after a few weeks of working on it, that branch is so beautiful.  I learned that it really is a good idea to de-bark  the branch when it is freshly cut.  The bark will peal right off.  Since this was over a year old, the inner bark was really hard to sand off.  It was quite tough.  The swing part has been ready to attach, and I am gathering up courage to drill holes through the branch to mount and hold the swing in place.  I'll keep you posted on that.

 In spite of my UFO pile, I have not been totally slacking.  ...Just in a slower mode.  Now this will show you all the jewelry projects that I had planned for gift giving.  All those little plastic trays once held frozen dinners. There are eleven shown there, and not all of them were even started.  I had dreams of wrap bracelets for one of my sons and grandson, of leather and chain and a stamped plate with my grandson's racing number on it.  When it came time to start, I decided the chain was too shiny and refined for what I had in mind.  That idea was scrapped for the time being!  Anyway, I put all the components that seem to want to go together into a tray and then work from that.  All my projects took unexpected turns.  Rose quartz nuggets that were to become a multi-strand bracelet for my granddaughter didn't look right and were replaced with strands of pearls connected rosary style and clasped with an old rhinestone earring.  I have no photo because I was right down to the wire with finishing it, and was bagging it as she came in the door.  Although I am a "last-minute" person, that was a little ridiculous.   These are bracelets that went to my "daughters" (one is a son's girlfriend.)  In the fist one, I flattened a button and made a few fabric beads to jazz it up.  In the second one, I hand twisted silver wire to do the clasp.  I love that mother-of-pearl focal.  In the last one, I made use of a Chinese coin relic that is about 2" in diameter, and twisted some fabric rope to be a very simple bracelet.  I love the look of this one by itself and with the separate bangle I made to be worn with it.

The Scream

I have to admit that I have been really slack on the blog posting for several weeks now.  If you are one of my followers, I apologize.  It has been a turbulent time, making adjustments with life and family relationships and business.  Upheavals of all sorts, and at times I have been feeling overwhelmed with it all and needing to take time out.  Surfacing again has taken an effort, and so I am once again reminding myself that this is simply time for personal growth.

So much of the world as we have known it is in change and it is hard to find a foothold ...a way to ground and feel stable through the surging onslaught of waves of change.  For many people it is time to connect more strongly with faith in a greater power, and that is what I have been working on.  I have to let go of trying to understand and make any logic of the goings on of politics, economy, family situations, a mother with increasing decline into Alzheimer's dementia, a society that seems to lack a sense of compassion and morality, the predictions of the Yi Ching and the Mayan calendar, etc., etc.  I am feeling very like "The Scream" by Edvard Munch.  Enough ...enough already!

...And tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  So, out of all this negative fallout, we take time to find that which we are thankful for, and I find that I have plenty to be thankful for in spite of all the craziness.  Our lives are quiet enough and holding fairly steady, which is a blessing in these times.   Life can still be rich in the sense of potential and possibilities.  It is what we turn our focus too that allows us to feel safe and balanced.  ...And in that thought I can inhale more deeply and let the exhale wash me clean of the burdens and replace the scream with a quiet little song.

Tomorrow and every day, I hope that all of you who stop by here will also find the peace within and take time to nurture what is good and loving in yourselves and others.  One mixed media jewelry artist that I absolutely adore, Nina Bagley, posted a new necklace and her creative thoughts inspiring it.  She often creates tags with sayings on them and this one says: "gently polish every silver lining."   How wonderful this idea is.  How beautiful this thought feels when I breathe it in and it awakens the inner smile.  Yes, there is a little song inside that sings of love, compassion, strength and resilience.  And I am thankful!

Jacket Updates

Maybe you get tired of me writing about my 1980's linen Jacket, but I am so attached to this piece of clothing.  Ridiculous almost, but I do love it and wear it often but not so much as I used to.  It has sustained so much wear and now the fabric is giving out in several places.  Last week I blew the elbow out on my right sleeve when I bent my arm.  Big ouch!  It sat miserably ripped while I considered my options:  Should I retire it and use it as a piece of wall art in my studio?  ...or should I keep it going with more repairs?  Well, happily, I decided that wall art is off in the future.  Under intense inspection against a bright light, it was apparent that the entire right sleeve was seriously worn and thin.  Patching and reinforcement was needed to make it wearable.

First I took out the stitching at the back side of the sleeve.  This is a small man's jacket that my sons wore, so the two piece sleeve has two vertical seams.  The one at the back was in better condition than the other, and its integrity was intact while the seam under the arm had a few tiny breaks at the edge of the seam and would require reinforcing.  I left the cuff join alone, starting above the button slit, and opened it up to just below the armhole.  This allowed me to open it up enough to work easily.  I cut a piece of sheeting fabric with a pink striped pattern (in case of future fabric disintegration and show through), pinned it inside the sleeve, and then placed patches over the front inner elbow area where thinning was the worst.  I used a heart shape patch, and plan to embroider my grand-daughter's name on it.  ...Wearing my heart on my sleeve obviously!  The blown out elbow was "stitched" together with lengths of ribbon, looking for all the world like the stitch job one of my sons got in an emergency room by a seriously inept doctor after ripping his thigh on a barb wire fence.   On his leg it was pathetic, on my sleeve it's artsy.  Ah well.  I also used thin ribbon over another patch cut in a circle form wide ribbon In order to strengthen the top part of the sleeve, I striped thin ribbon about 1/2" apart to secure the lining and add stability.  To secure the lining where there were large open areas in design, I drew swirls and over-stitched them, filling in the spaces with spirals like my favorite artist, Gustav Klimt.

The results are stunning it I do say so myself, and now there are plans to "fill in" the rest of the jacket.  ...It sortof looks unfinished now.  But oh how magnificent it will be when I am done! 

To Friendship!

This past Saturday, a good friend and I got together and had a delicious breakfast at Cafe Strudel on State Street in Cayce, SC.  Becasue time flies and we both have demands on our lives, it had been ages since we last got together.  One of our favorite things to do is to have a "show and tell" with some of our artistic projects.  We both "oooh and aaah" over what the other has accomplished in mutual admiration.  I usually take along knitting and jewelry, and Barbara brings her hand-spun yarns and handmade books.  In recent months, Barbara has decided that selling wool yarn or wool products isn't the easiest thing to do here in South Carolina.  So, A few years ago she became interested in Coptic book binding.  She creates her book covers with various materials and found pieces, and binds real paper pages into a beautiful book.  She now has three locations that have her books for sale, and she brought perhaps a dozen to show me.  Gorgeous all of them.  The best part is that she presented me with a choice among them.  I got this red one that had caught my eye.  Its beautiful vibrant color and flowing design just makes me feel good looking at it.

Barbara was so thoughtful, and presented me with a beautiful deep rich burgundy dahlia, that was a prize from her garden.  It glorified our little table as we munched away at our breakfasts, talking the whole while.  How wonderful it was to be surrounded with such positive energy for a change.  Due to my mother's health and Alzheimer's I rarely get out for such an invigorating and refreshing moment.  Well, it made my day and truth be told, ...my week.  Thank you Barbara!  She urged me to use the journal and not be intimidated by what might go into it, but I thought it would make a delightful way to add positive affirmations to my life.  So, here is my start Barbara... and thank you for being a good friend!  (...and I hope you will forgive me for hammering the faded flower)

What's A Deadline?

I am fighting a war with some wood boring critter that took up residence in the branch I was going to use for the "pole" to hang it from.  Even though I tried to scramble its brains by banging the branch hard against the concrete repeatedly, and practically soaked it with insecticide, yet it bores on.  (...Dastardly little fanged beast!)  Next I will try entombing it in a black plastic garbage bag and baking its little nasty self in the sun for a few days.  It's my stick you little fanged critter!

This off my chest, I have been held up in my scheduling plans by the stated annoyance.  The swing was to be completed by the end of August.  However, I need that branch to measure and tie off the cords.  So now the deadline is being pushed out indefinitely, but hopefully not beyond the end of this month, which is flying by already.  Imagine, ...being delayed by a bug.

No Moss Grows Here, But the Dust is Piling Up

Yes, it has been a busy and challenging summer so far.  Hard at work getting a small rental home ready to place for sale, I have been team director, painting and cleaning up a storm on every weekend.  Now that the end of this labor is only a few hours away, my body and spirit are clamoring for more creative pursuits.  I have never been so sore and exhausted in my life!  Pushing forward with smaller projects has been the plan all summer.  The sewing machine has been out for the duration and turning out a few things that I am very pleased with.  Because my bohemian style has been with me since college days, my friends and acquaintances have told me they can easily pick me out of a crowd.  Imagine my surprise when I was "forced" to shop a few days ago and I saw many wonderful garments that were of the Boho bent and on the racks at large chain stores like TJMAXX, Kohl's, Ross and Marshalls.  WOW!!!

Naturally, this bursting Boho assortment of goodies has me puzzled.  What is going on in the world that so many artful garments are appearing not only on the ready-to-wear racks but are also being featured on Haute Couture runways by Rodart, Jean Paul Gaultier, Kenzo, Emilio Pucci, Anna Sui, and many others?  There is a bursting emergence of designers that are selling through Etsy that are more moderately priced too.  After mentally pursuing this for a few minutes, it suddenly occurred to me that it's the economy!  Just as the pioneers made use of what was on hand, re-crafting and up-cycling, and the wonderful crazy quilts that eventually resulted in Victorian times, We The People are dictating fashion to the designers and manufacturers!  I find it very interesting that they are trying hard to imitate what is being done so artfully by women artisans all over who are using their brains to come up with amazing garments, jewelry, etc., that are one of a kind masterpieces.  I could also see that the sloppy cheesy assembly of a few years past has given way to better skill.  ...Really, how can a factory worker who does the same piecework hour after hour and day after day turn out terrible work?  (answer:  They have to try real hard!)

During the Art Nouveau Era, we had the same inspirational sense that is prevailing now.  Artisans were exploring in various mediums that were used together in very creative ways.  It was not unusual to find mixed media in the same piece.  Rules were broken and as a result, Art Nouveau became the most widely celebrated and favorited Era in fashion.  I came across a lovely statement by Kecia, author of Lemoncholy's blog, in my web browsing:

By removing perfectionism, I free my imagination to play and ultimately, this freedom results in whimsical pieces of grace and beauty.

I love this way of expressing creativity, as by removing perfectionism, we give ourselves permission to fail.  Why is this important?  ...Because it means that we are free to try ideas and techniques that may not work out, or that may result in a new way to approach and express ourselves artfully.