from small talk to action

as most of you who read my blog or follow my photographs, i switch back and forth between painting and stitching.

as you can see, these have been a stitching couple of weeks.

well, sorta kinda because some of the pieces are more mixed media as in the above pctured book cover and family crest.

but below...the labour of love.  labour intensive since it was embroidered with single threads.  it is a pam garrison template i bought on etsy.  i didn't realize when i bought it that the details were tinier than tiny, but being the perseverer that i am, i just began.  one stitch, one thread at a time.  it took me almost two weeks to complete.  i added a little border in patchwork to give it the finishing touch and it is now framed in my bedroom.  

below, more embroidery with a seaside twist inspired by carolyn saxby in st. ives, one of my favorite fabric artists who recently sent me one her mixed media seaside hearts.

and then.......somewhere over the rainbow also in single thread for a chunky fabric book i am working on, stop and go since it is also labour intensive.  since this photograph a few moremwords have been completed as well as other significant pages.

this is a detail of one of the fabric book spreads, the ever present warmth of hearth and home.

when i am in need of a mantra, i choose repetitive stitches

 if all goes well, this circle will continue growing concentrically until it is huge.

 

only last night did i return to my faces

 

it always surprises me that they usually look so innocent, between childhood and adolescence.  i don't intend them to be that way, they just go their own way with the ebb and flow of the pen and pencil movements.

i love the expression on this sweet face.

 these last two are a bit older, having gotten lost in my hardrive, practices in pencil and ink pens both part of a bookmark that now marks the spot in my present readings.

and what are these you might ask?  well....two miniature portraits on oyster shells  a-la lynne hoppe to be scattered at point lobos also a-la lynne next week as we head up the california coast.

 

at least this lady looks a bit more adult-ish.

please pardon the difficulties in posting since i am now mainly using my ipad which is not user friendly at all for blogging. 
well that is the jist of it for now, hope to see you on the road.

inner child

"love shack"

"love shack" fabric collage detail

"love shack" people

it is no longer a fever, it is a delirium. i should know, i get these spurts of wanting to make things no matter the outcome.  like an urge to spit it all out, almost like the fibres and the colors and the textures have been living inside me and they need to come out, become, BE. it is the voice of my inner child who finally finds the time between cleaning and washing and cooking and paying caesar that stops everything to PLAY. 

bilingual splits

the sinking dollar, i refuse to look that way

and even though it hurts in one way more than another because i see how my children, independent as they are, are struggling, i cling to life, whatever will make me forget the dire straits up ahead. no, this is just the beginning, we have made too many mistakes to sweep the dirt under the carpet overnight, and i empathize with obama who inherited this whole mess.  one must not blame him, he is just awaiting that one brilliant switch of the thninking bulb to turn things around.  if only his wife would get rid of those 30 servants she has along with her at all times and set an example like the queen of england did during world war II.  no more nouveau rich mentality, this is NOT the time, it's all about the big picture, being sensitive enough to see everything around you and that's a gift few of us have.  sustainability is the answer, not growth.  but what few understand this in the midst of so much egocentrism and hooplah?  what is wrong with just saying it like it is? 

so i hide! i hide 'neath my turtlehide and self protect from the outside world by making pretty things.  it might sound sick and even a denial but what better way to isolate myself from a world that's pure chaos,with no rhym or reason, with so many underworlds one cannot keep track of, with so so so many lies.  oh, wanderlust your's is the answer, to become a rambler, never quite touching anything, living a free life of enchantment, forgetting the mores

siempre las telas, innumerables telas, de diferentes texturas, colores, interpretaciones.  siempre he sido una enamorada de las telas.  mi proximo proyecto mas ambicioso sera una capa de puras telas.  saldre por la noche con mi antifaz a esparcir creatividad al menos pare que el ojo del observador  pueda ver que hay infinitas posibilidades, apreciar, entrar en shock y quizas encender la llama creativa en alguien que vive una vida sedentaria y sin imaginacion, que lamentablemnte son los mas.

es que para mi la imaginacion es todo.  como si no vivir en un mundo tan politicamente correcto, tan "como deberian ser las cosas" que es lo mas patetico, tan falto de pasion y de romper moldes, tan ignorante de la inteligencia del hombre comun, tan manipulador de como deberiamos vivir nuestras vidas.  independiente, eso es lo que soy, a concho, porque ya no me trago nada de lo que me ensenaron en el colegio, segui mi propio camino, rompo capas como Steppenwolf, y bajo la capa siguen apareciendo gloriosas visiones de vida.

a few more stitches and a work in progress

shared at Faded Charm

LOVE NEVER DIES FABRIC BOOK Still in Progress

i am so happy at how this fabric book cover is turning out. More so since i have worked only with findings around my mother's home since when I travelled I didn't bring very much with me, only my large case of embroidery threads. I went out and bought the background fabric ( expensive since it is French) but all the pther details are a twist of the imagination with scarce materials. The back is turning out beautifully too, just haven't finished the cross stitch which is minute. Will post more pictures as the week progresses.