back in the habit

cant believe it has been so long since my last post. well it takes 21 days to form a habit. so i am not giving up .... here goes to the next 21 days of meaningful background reading and weekly posts ...

The Storyboard - RRR4

I resorted to laying out some brown paper - the type used to cover school books or shelves - and cutting it to the size of my collage. Using swatches of fabric and bits of embellishment I mapped everything out and photographed it. In this way I can stop carrying everything around in my head, and relax knowing that "everything is under control". I mapped in my quilting lines, and what type of embroidery I would like to do. I decided that the sea would be done in Cray Patch (!!), and the writing in black backstitch.

The best thing I did was to consult resident expert Maurean as my eye was confused but I could not work out why. She pointed out that the edge of the material sea was at a 90 degree angle to the edge of the sea in a photo I was using, no wonder things did not flow !! I strongly recommend to ask for advice when unsure on anything.

I played with the words all night and have alighted upon "Irina's Cyclone rages. Grains of sand sigh collectively. Overburdened, the system fails?" It has the feeling of a cryptic crossword clue which is rather nice.

Well that is roughly my storyboard completed. For the first time I am confident that I will be completed in time !! Until next time .... I'm off to crazily crazy patch.

RRR3 Poem evolving playfully

Got the photos on the camera; but having a problem downloading ... my browser is no longer supported by Blogger ?? When and how ?

Been having fun with words:

Irina blew forcefully
Rain followed torrentially
Rivers filled exponentially
Grains of sand sighed collectively

An Artist Attempts Allegory (or RRR posting 2)

The flu led to lung infection; which led to a spell in hospital. Which gave me loads of time to think about my RRR contribution “Aftermath” (see post of 10 March 2012). It really needed to have more layers – both on the collage itself; and as an allegory for life in 2012. Photos will follow once the camera batteries are charged. (It seems practical & boring blog preparations, such as having prepared photos to accompany my text, are a little beyond me).

I decided on the following priorities:

·         A collage which incorporates interesting textures and words

·         If Aftermath is ever going to contribute towards the improvement of society then it should have the potential to spark independent thinking

·         It must not hint at any answers, as I have none

·         The making of it should feed my soul

This led to the following conclusions:

·         Commercialised fabric to be avoided

·         The allegory started to take shape. Aftermath could be about the following scenario: A new political order sweeps into a country; much as a Cyclone; bringing about changes. People ask the New Order to solve all of their problems. The New Party sets about making improvements. All the while the poorest in the country suffer. The question is: do the poorest always suffer, and if so why?

And / or Aftermath could be about the following: Cyclone Irina brought rain. Rains swelled the rivers, carrying rubbish to the sea. The cyclone left and the tide washed all of the rubbish on to the beach; to the detriment of the beach environment. The question is: was the beach ruined, and if so why?

·         I envision the collage as showing all the trash washed up on the beach. Words will swirl around the collage. The thing is; I might have too many words; so back to the planning stages to see if everything fits in. If my soul is at peace then I will be piecing my collection together satisfactorily.

Prospective Aftermath Words :

“Irina blew. Rain followed torrentially.  The River dumped on Sea. Sea cleaned up. So why did the grains of sand suffer?”

I am very aware that these questions are basic and I am also aware that my collage might be a little amateurish. Therefore I take great comfort from the following quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson : “Every artist was first an amateur”.

 

April foolz

i was going to write about crafting in relation to physical health
this last sunday
but the universe conspired against me
by taking away the electricity
and so the computer
had to remain
off

and then it played its strangest april fools joke, i have flu
on this tuesday
so instead of writing i crafted
and my body has benefitted
calmer and easier breathing
less shoulder tension
atishoo

and although sometimes i think it very pretentious when capitals are not used
on any day
i suddenly don't have the energy
to press the Caps Lock
button or Shift
zzzz

No lesson learnt?

The two You tube posts below are both feel-good moments by themselves. But taken together, they beg the question, has Simon Cowell learnt nothing? I guess he gets paid a lot of money and wins a lot of viewers by being mean and cynical, so perhaps we can forgive him. But really ... you would think after Susan Boyle he would stop judging books by their covers (as Charlotte reminds us not to do) !!

The thing that really worries me about this obvious lack of learning - in Simon and the Britain's Got Talent audience - is how many times have I failed to learn my lessons? Did I even realise that the Universe was trying to teach me, or did I close my eyes and fall back into the same old patterns?

Mother tried to teach me how to thread and use a sewing machine many times. But I refused to learn. Now that I have a passion for using my machine, I wonder how much time was wasted because I refused to learn a valuable lesson?

I don't have any comforting words to end this train of thought off with. Every person must be responsible for their own learning and their own time. I'm betting that Simon Cowell still has not learnt his lesson, and that is his tragedy.

JONATHAN ANTOINE AUDITION - BRITAINS GOT TALENT 2012