Around the World Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop in the Around the World Blog Hop. My Roy G Biv partner, Julie B Booth first invited me to join the blog hop in October. Susan Bowers of Tracemarks extended an invitation soon afterwards as well. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to accept their kind invitations at the time.

When Lotta Helleberg asked me to join, what immediately ran through my mind was third time's the charm and I knew the universe was telling me that I needed to do this. A heart felt Thank You! to Julie, Susan and Lotta for thinking of me and extending the invitations. If you click on their names, you'll be spirited away to their own blog hop posts. From there, you can hop away to your heart's desire discovering new artists around the world - all from comfort of your own home. Enjoy!

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1. What am I working on?

I have 3 tea bag pieces in various stages of creation and an idea for a series that needs attention. 

A replacement for Water Dreams 1, which sold from Alchemy of Tea at the Cornelius Arts Center, is nearly complete. It's waiting for me to decide how to finish the sides...or if they are. 

What began as the base for an artist book has aspirations of becoming an installation. Think ancient scroll cascading down the wall and landing on the floor. A bit more length is required, I do believe.

Of course, there's always my hand stitching on black cotton to occupy the time when one or the other of my little urchins is hip hopping or learning the piano.

A friend has inspired me to begin crocheting again. Luckily, we've a wonderful yarn shop nearby called Nancy O. That's where this luscious grey came from. It's meant to be a wrap to keep my shoulders warm on our chillier days. Charcoal grey and burgundy will be added at some point along the way.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Good question. The short answer is that I don't really know. In wanting to find my own voice with the tea bags, I haven't researched to see what others are doing. That probably sounds funny considering my participation in Alchemy of Tea, but it's true. 

That said...I alternately view the tea bags as paper and cloth. The flow-thru type are what I use and those are generally made with abaca pulp. Being paper means that they are strong and any technique one would use with paper can be applied yet the thinness and translucent quality of the material hint at organza - and makes them perfect for layering and stitching.  

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

Memories are often associated with tastes, scents and sounds. Tea is my memory link. One whiff of freshly brewed black pekoe with mint and orange transports me back to my grandmother’s kitchen. Lady Grey winds me to Newburgh, Scotland where I first sampled its delicate yet steady taste. 

My work with tea bags explores and expands on the concept of memories, whether real or imagined, through the use of marks – the tea’s own as well as my hand made marks, direct rust prints, digital prints and hand and machine stitching.

 
4. How does my writing/creating process work?

During an artist talk this summer, I listened as two painters explained their individual theories and practices for organizing chaos via their art. They were attempting to make it nice and orderly, have it make sense and play well with others, etc. In listening to them, I realized that I have gone in the opposite direction with my work...in fact, I have embraced chaos via a wabi sabi sensibility.

Thank you for stopping by my corner of the world. Enjoy!

A little feathery fluff

Hey Susan! These are for you.

Just couldn't resist after re-reading Susan's post titled a bit of fluff and frivol. It's about feathers, tea bags and books. Three of my most favorite things.

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. 

Looking at 2012

I've just been oohing and aahing over Susan's and Fiona's posts in which they look back at what they accomplished in this year. Their work is magnificent and so inspiring that I would be content to sit in front of my computer all day, surf their blogs and continue to drool all over my keyboard in total awe.

Instead, I'm going to take cue from them and repost some of my favorite photos from the year. Enjoy!

light and shadows in the studio.

 Ann Coddington Rast, sisters, detail 2 during FiberPhiladelphia

Marilyn Richeda, 80 Unusual Stories at Silvermine Arts Guild

 shopping cart detail for Roy G Biv

 my tea bags

 marks on a wooden fence in Norwalk

 raindrops on day lily fronds in the front yard

unrolling a rusty bundle

 light and shadows at Pam's - her work on the table, mine on the wall

 100+ rusty square edges

 Pam's water

 

 a sunny day in London

 rust at AllSaints Spitalfields in London

 fence in Boston

 Martin Creed's Half the air in any given space at The Cleveland Museum of Art

 India Flint's hands

 Christine Mauersberger's stitching

tea reflection on table

rusty can + thread in snow