Tis the season

To be jolly. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

I'm working on the jolly part - far too much to do in far too little time since my return to Connecticut. I am, however, very joyful and thankful for so having so many good things and good people in my life.

There's my new favorite word - benign. It's really being all jumbled up with an extra n thrown into the mix, but it's also the sweetest of words to hear...especially when said in regards to one's mother.

Then there are friends like Pam

who saves tea bags for me and sends them along - 

all nicely emptied even though I keep telling her to just stick them in a box.

And who included a good bit of indigo from her own stash with the tea bags.

photo by Barry Smith

Then there's Fiona. Part of my whirlwind week back home has included being able to visit with Fiona and Barry in New York on Sunday. It still boggles my mind that they choose to visit during our winter. Think about it...it's summer in Australia just now. They've traded sun and warmth for snow/rain/sleet + wind + cold temps.

I'm so glad we had the chance to get together again. This time around we took in some bad art at MOMA. Really, really bad art at MOMA. The kind that leaves you wondering how on earth this stuff got to be shown there. Really? Just what were we missing? The kind that also leaves one thinking that their 1st graders made better collages back in pre-school. Yep. That kind of bad.

Lunar Architecture by Fiona

The good art came via a little bag that Fiona handed me containing gifts from her and Barry, Noela and Susan.

I've felt a kinship with Fiona from the beginning of our exchanges via the inter-pixies. And our work shows it, don't you think?

Imagine Peace by Fiona

Some time last year, I rusted a piece of cotton that printed beautifully...except that it had measles. Seriously. There were little dots all over it that I just could not get past. Noela thought she could do something with a bit of it so, not being able to see beyond the measles, I sent the whole thing to her.

She sent part of it back in the form of the most wonderful book,

all wabi sabi style

and playing off the measley parts 

in ways that left me speechless with surprise and joy

Peace by Noela Mills

and feeling very peaceful. 

 Susan's textured prints have me wanting to hold them

 
and examine them,

 to learn their language,

to listen to their tales

and secrets...for surely they are maps to another world, another time...

when feathers were magical and the most precious of possessions.

Barry's gift is one of reflection, stillness and meditation.

Encouraging me to smile, dream, shine, have hope, be at peace, to love and have joy. 

Tis the season for hearts to swell with amazement and awe, in my case at having such wonderful and generous friends. Thank you doesn't seem quite enough, but thank you all so very much for the gifts, but especially for being in my life. 

The first 9

Hey Pam! This one's for you!

Actually this post is possible because of Pam and Noela Mills of the wabisabiart blog  When readying supplies for our artist retreat at Pam's house in June, I was inspired by Noela's book of rust dyed silks and satins as well as her waxed silk kimono book. The quiet power of each spoke to me.

A switch was thrown in my creative mind and the discharged fabrics had a life. They would be a simple book dealing with pattern and texture via hand-stitching. Hmmm...color, texture, pattern, play. Just what my weaving had been about too. Somehow, it never occurred to me that the same principles I had applied to my weavings could be applied to the discharged fabrics...or the rusted cottons...or the monoprinted fabrics either.

Keep it simple.

Just do it.

Twenty minutes later, there were 20-something 8-9" pieces of discharged black cotton laying on my work table waiting to be packed for the trip. Just do it. Don't think about it. Just do it. Don't analyze. Just do it. That's what had been running through my mind as I tore the cotton into squares.

Fast forward to Pam's house and the unveiling of the discharged squares. Pam takes one look at them and asks if I've hung them yet. Hung them? No. They're going to be pages in a book. A twinkle dances in her eyes as she suggests we venture into her studio so I can humor her and hang them for a better look.

Twenty five squares later, I stepped back and said "wow". Keep it simple. How much simpler could this be? Just mount the pieces and viola! Instant installation.

Fast forward again to this week and specifically last night. There was a lot of cutting, stitching and gluing happening in my studio.

Discharged black cotton, set of 9 © Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

The first set of 9 is complete. They are mounted on black on black foam core because I wanted something light and easy to ship just in case they are excepted into any exhibitions out of the area.

So...a big Thank You to Pam and Noela.

Oh! And Dorothy Caldwell. Can't forget Dorothy. This discharging and hand-stitching is all her fault anyway. Taking her Mark Making: A Book of Marks workshop in 2006 was what rocked my art world and set me on this path. Thank you Dorothy!