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I have some work hanging in a show curated by Roger Hayes, the venue is the Cannon Beach Arts Association.
(here is a larger view.)
Alice at the opening.
My good friend Sally Lackaff, standing in front of one of Roger’s paintings.
Roger is brilliant, and I was honored that I was invited to be a part of this show.
It is a beautiful sunny day here at the mouth of the Mighty Big river.
My life is intensely social, now I am in town. Still, my creative side has been pouring into relatively slow-moving projects (read: socks). I sometimes find myself hankering after a more dynamic element, collaborative undertakings. For inspiration, I can visit such sites as that of the Yard Dogs Road Show, a group of performers whom I met 8 or so years ago when they were still putting on shows under a different name…
Their aesthetic is pretty exciting to me, given a certain story I like to tell about myself, although I do have issues with the burlesque (and that’s another story, dear reader), and I strongly suspect that my next phase of life is going to contain its fair share of stage moments.
Collaboration is occurring, sneaking up on me, perhaps, or rather, flowing unplanned out of my new found friendships, and also out of the theatrical/performance-oriented swirl of activities that surround me here. Some of these collaborations are not mine, but those of the kids. Last night was another Acoustic Junction at the Blue Scorcher Bakery, and a raucous scene it was, with one song in which almost all the performers sat in, Opal included, not to mention the three year olds winding their ways around the space in impromptu dances, and spilling out onto the sidewalk after whooping adults… I even sang a song, which was a bit of a leap for me. (And subsequently I received a beautiful compliment on my voice, thanks Paul Hoskin.)
I know, too, that there are going to be as many costuming opportunities as I am willing to let into my life. I am opening the door slowly, it is creaking ajar, somewhat reluctant, needing oil perhaps, but I imagine that once I get a taste of the party that is going on in the room behind that door, my enthusiasm will provide the needed lubricant for those rusty hinges.
In the meantime, today, I will work on socks, but also spent a couple of the hours before work setting up the sewing machine and making a little something for myself, not telling what, yet, not ’til I’ve done it…
Off to costume!
can you believe I am actually going to post?
I have my work routine dialed in; I am away from home for three days out of the week, home four, during which time I catch up my sleep and correspondence, cook, and make stuff. Go to the library, be a mom, you get the picture. Garden a bit…
Working in a pub has its idiosyncracies. Like you have to drink a lot of beer just to be social. I even had to have a pre-shift beer on Father’s Day!
And of course I won’t drive with a buzz, having learned my lesson, a couple times actually (um, I’m a slow learner), so then I have to sit there and knit while the warmth wears away…
making for exceptionally late nights.
I am diligently working on a pair of the simplest socks, in those moments spent in town away from my stash, and I expect I’ll be done with them soon.
Here at home, I am trying to pick crafts that interest the kids, just to spend some time with them. Lately I have been on a postcard kick!
In collage, I like to create metaphor with as few elements as possible. The simplicity is refreshing in my world.
I have to end this post with the admission that one of the biggest deterrents to posting lately, and an effective one, obviously, is my crappy camera. I think it is deteriorating, as I used to be able to take a halfway decent picture, but as it gets older, my pictures get shittier…
With my time more limited these days, I have less and less patience for setting up shots. I need to be able to snap and go. A photo-less post is no post at all, and so there you have it. Weeks without a word.
Bear with me, and thank you for those who have.
In a recent post, Helle talked a bit about training one’s self to see light. Timely, as I very recently realized my desire in creating art is to capture lights and shadows in threads. It is true that I have no gift for figuring, so that forces me into the abstract, landscapes at best, but that is what moves me anyway! Daily I am brought into my wings by some play of light, be it delicate or dramatic, on the land or water.
Also, I have a growing sense of how to articulate the rich symbolic language that is always whispering in my ears or pounding in my heart.
Now I need to practice relentlessly techniques that will enable me to translate my dual visions of light and symbol, symbol and light, into stitched scraps of cloth.
I have been inspired by jude’s textile studies, very much. These are right up my alley, and exercises like these would fit into my schedule. Also inspiring in the same vein are Lee’s daily postcards. I don’t have any of my own work to show you right now. I feel brand new and blinking in the light.
Nevertheless, I feel like I am in the process of discovering my peers through the blogosphere.
!!!
Five Gallon Bucket 
