Connections
This is my scribble cloth, that I used to test a few calligraphy pens with the soymilk-based pigment paint. Looks messy, and like something I wouldn’t want to show anyone.
Then as I was sorting through my samples, I saw this one and I thought – I don’t remember doing that, it looks interesting. Turns out it’s the back of my scribble cloth. Keep this in mind.
We walked yesterday in the forest. It was cold, windy and sunny. The surface underfoot was so variable. Snowy, wet, muddy, leaf-covered, pine needle-covered and soft, icy, woody (bog bridges), root-covered. I found it fun noticing the type of surface I was stepping on and how it felt, how I reacted. And I was thinking about cloth. Then I was thinking – what if I could translate these underfoot sensations into the surface of the cloth? Or the look of the forest floor – this light frosting of snow everywhere. Could I replicate it with the soy painted cloth? Could I make a surface that looked like leaves, mud, icy patches, tree roots? Turkey tracks on the side of the road? Inspiring. I took a few photos because this type of snow disappears so quickly.
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Obeah – A kind of sorcery practiced especially in the Caribbean
I encountered this word, obeah, that I’ve never seen before, twice in one day in totally different contexts. Isn’t that strange?
One was in an article about spirituality in Jamaica in the New York Times. There were lots of photos including one of an obeah man’s altars. The second was in a book review of Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys. It described the obeah practice of Christophine, a character in the story. I haven’t read the book, but I think I should.
I so get the wanting to translate surface underfoot, landscape to cloth for I have been immersed in the wanting to make the bog lands of Connemara, Ireland onto cloth based on the Irish reading that I am so involved with. I have never been to Connemara but both John O’Donohue and Dr. Sharon Blackie speak so eloquently of this land. I have been to bog land in other parts of Ireland so I do have a sense of how it looks.
The cloth that I thought had depicted this just didn’t do so after much thought. I woke up one morning recently and realized that the cloth was too dark, too heavy for there are times when the light comes to Connemara and it is magical. I did have a good backdrop cloth, lighter in markings and feel and when my other dyed cloth scraps were pinned to it, Connemara came to life. This type of creating, for me, cannot be rushed or forced. It comes in its own good time and lets me know when I need to step back and re-consider. I know when it is time to do this because the cloth lies in my reed basket without a single stitch…after redoing my Connemara cloth, re-pinning my scraps, stitches were finally made so I am on my way to completing this cloth..
It’s really good to hear your experience, Marti. I’m taking your words to heart – not to rush or force especially.
it never ceases to amaze me how the other side of things can be every bit as valuable as the more intentional “right” side
I very much love these surprises!
I really don’t see anything but pen marks on the original side. But the back! Oh, my! I see a sweet dragon with a small old time Chinese man and a large goat looking up at him. That was all without looking for anything. When I look for more . . oh, gosh! So much! I LOVE this sort of serendipity.
It’s amazing, isn’t it! Makes me want to mark up a lot of cloth so I can turn it over. I see the sweet dragon too.