dive deep

In a revival of creativity and self reflection I am back to blogging.  I was trying out a different interface through my website, but have decided I don't really like it. So, here I am back to this blog in hopes of feeling inspiration to write as much as I can...

This quilt is all about the process of diving deep into ones self.  There is so much I can say on this process both from personal experience and having witnessed people looking at their own personal stories and seeing how attachment to what was can keep us from moving forward in life.

I am forever grateful to know how to look deep and look hard at the patterns and wounds within the essence of myself that I want to transform into new healthier patterns and releasing those wounds, tending the scars and allowing new stories from within to evolve.

Through the process of "diving deep" my life gets better.  I find more joy.  I find more connection to self and to those around me. In my mind, this can only be a good thing!

Here's to more soul searching and more joy and more happiness!

Until next time-

S

Finished the tree

Sometimes I just can't believe how fast time goes.  

Kalib and I had an amazing time at the Advanced Bird Language weekend up at Wooten Woods.  We met some awesome people, learned more about tracking, and best of all learned more about birds.  It has blown my mind to learn all this new information about birds and what they can tell us about our world.  Those vocal critters are pouring the information out.  We just have to tune in.  

In the mean time, I haven't gotten a lot of quilting done.  Artistic progress is slow, but any progress is good progress.

With all this mentor training and bird language training much of my time is taken up studying and looking things up and... listening...

I did manage to finish the tree!

However, when I stood back from it I just did not like that apple in the middle of the tree.  

 A little obsessive you ask?
Maybe. 
 I just like to get it right.  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Initially, I wanted it to stand out because it would sit at the heart of the tree, but each time I looked at it I felt like it drew the eye from the overall image a little TOO much. And, I just don't really like that piece of fabric.  I keep trying to use it and keep putting it back on the shelf.  One day it will make its way into one of my "tapestries."

So, I pulled it off and replaced it with a different apple in a fabric that was only slightly different from the others.

AHHHHH.... much better...

Now, I can sleep at night!

 
 

Until next time!

Sarah

Leaves made with scraps? I think, yes!

I've started adding leaves.  Everything is fused thus far with wonder under.  

If you notice in the picture below the template is lifted back.  I have pinned it to the quilt and I am lifting it when I iron a leaf or apple down, but using it to help me get the leaves in the right place.  The template is on stencil paper I picked up from the local art supply store.  It comes on a roll and is quite larger than stencil paper that comes in drawing or sketching books. Because it is bigger I find myself taping sections together less often. (For me, this is a big time saver and makes working with the pattern much easier.)  I will try to take a picture of this next time I have to tape sections together.

 Here's a slightly closer image.

 and even closer.  You can see here pretty clearly that I'm using lots of different prints. 

Fabric is expensive, and since money is a finite resource in our home right now, I have challenged myself a while ago to use what I have in my stash and only buy fabric when I REALLY need it.  That's a bit of loaded challenge since we quilters seem to ALWAYS need more fabric.  I have a wonderful stash that is beginning to show the signs of me not replacing fabric as often, but it is totally fun to see how far I can stretch a piece of fabric and how little I actually end up wasting - which is next to none. The biggest perk of all is learning how I end up not needing fabric as often as I think I do!

  Now, I save all my scraps and put them in color coordinated baggies.  These are even beginning to emerge into shades as I collect scraps. When I'm needing smaller pieces I just pull out the baggy with the color I need and viola... this time, I had enough green to do the leaves in a slightly darker shade than the grass!  If the scrap is under 10" X 10" (or there about) then it goes into the baggy and I save scraps down to 1" X 1".  I use a lot of small pieces of fabric in my work, so it's fun to sift through these little bags and pull from it.  All the leaves have come from this small stash with the exception of two of the prints.  There are 9 different fabrics all total.

Until next time!

Sarah

Tree of Peace

The initial idea for this quilt was to focus on forgiveness and with forgiveness - true forgiveness comes peace.  We are all doing the best we can at any moment and harboring resentment has lead to unhappiness over and over in my own life. 

This past weekend was the weekend of the coyote that I am doing where I am learning to be a mentor and community builder under the model of the 8 shields - a concept from the 8 shields institute.  Evan brought in an Odawa Elder, Paul Raphael, to come and speak to us about how community works on his reservation. My heart is still overflowing from the wisdom he shared with us about rebuilding the community to bring about peace. With this wisdom comes a lot of forgiveness and a letting go within ourselves of how attached we are to how people should act or how people shound have acted in the past.  In his community, they focus less on the me and more on the we.  I find myself returning over and over to that statement trying to see it becoming a reality in my own life.  Are my actions and thoughts good for the whole and not just myself?  This feels so contrary to our culture.

In his culture there is the Tree of Peace.  Oh... how I love the sound of that..  In his culture that tree is the cedar tree - not the red cedars that we have in Georgia, but the "real cedar tree" as he says.  (The red cedars we have in Georgia are actually in the juniper family.) 

I love the sound of Tree of Peace and how it rolls off my tongue.  I am making an apple tree and not a cedar tree, and I am still deciding to call this new quilt Tree of Peace.

I'm seeking forgiveness both for myself and my own actions as well as offering forgiveness to all those who in my mind have wronged me over my lifetime. I am re-writing my life story to see peace in all my nooks and crannys. I am letting my heart song shine so I can continue to be a strong voice in my community and truly serve my community in the best capacity I can.  I am seeking peace in my heart, peace in my life, peace in my community.

Thank you so much Paul for all that you shared with us this weekend (in spite of the wind and the smoke and the cold) and thank you Evan for bringing all this goodness to my home town and guiding us towards the true gift of peace.

Until next time,

Sarah

Some grass and flowers

If you follow me on Facebook, then you have already seen these, but I've added grass and I've added some flowers and then there will be a tree and yes, another woman (i do love women archetypes) added on before I add more grass and more flowers.

  I'm working on trying to create more depth in my pieces. 

 

 

And after I've added a few flowers...

 

Until next time!

Sarah

The show!

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get any pictures of the opening reception myself as I was busy chatting it up with the good folks that were able to make it out, but my good friend Richard did and he gave me permission to use them on the blog!  Thanks Richard!

Shakti Project danced in the directions of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.  

Dancing with these ladies is pure bliss!

Jason did shoot a video of both performances, so if the other girls of Shakti are agreeable, then I will share it and Killick is patiently awaiting me getting the video of him uploaded to share.

 

As Above, So Below...

 Killick played some wild music and whether you like it or not, you can't help but to experience it.  Each piece he plays is original.  It's a wild ride!

A small group of folks checking things out.

There was a great turn out - better than I could have hoped for and SO many nice words about my quilts.  I even met a male quilter who makes his own wool fabric with lint.  Sounds so cool.  I hope he hunts me down and we can connect again since I didn't get his name!

The show is up through August.  You can drop by when the space is open or make an appointment to get in to see it OR you can go all out and take a class.  There is a lot of wonderful movement happening on that floor with some great teachers!

I am FINALLY ready to start starching my next background.  I've been stuck on colors, but I think I'm just going to jump in with both feet this weekend so stayed tuned! And hopefully, next week I will have a slide show of my latest quilt from beginning to end for you! 

Until tomorrow!

Hanging the show

As promised, here are some photos from the day we put the show up at FloorSpace.  India took most of the photos (except the one she is in) while Jason and I got the show up.  Jason did most of the really hard work of climbing the ladder and hooking the wire while I adjusted and straightened.  I am always shocked when we hang up art work by how long it takes to get it all right and even on the walls.  It took about 3 hours and one trip to the store for more wire.

 I laid all the quilts out like I wanted them to hang on the wall while Jason got the wires ready on the rods.

 India did the same.

 We were eager to see how India's pictures would look on the wall and get an idea of the spacing so we hung one of India's photos up.  Looks pretty good doesn't it!

 Can't just hang out on that fantastic dance floor without a little dancing while mom and dad work!

 Quilts are up and now the job of getting the photos up!

 Wiping them down one last time to make sure there are no smudges on the glass.

 The last time to walk through and straighten.

 viola!  All done!  Looks great!

See you tomorrow!

Athens Banner Herald article

As most of you know, India and I have a show opening tomorrow at FloorSpace.  (It is hung and I have photos of that process I will show you after the opening.) 

I was fortunate enough for Julie Phillips to come to our home to interview me before hand.  

Here is a link to the article...

I pulled out all the quilts I would be hanging for her to see.  Some have hung in shows before, but YabYum nor Transformation have.  I am excited to show these two quilts for the first time in public. 

My dance troupe, Shakti Project, will be performing a sweet little piece, then Killick! will be working his magic on his many instruments.  He's a one man band with tunes that will leave you speechless.  I can't wait to see what he has in store for us.  I feel certain it will be out of this world.  

The event is free and opens at 7:00 with the performances beginning at 7:30.  There will be some light snacks and wine after the performances.

We would love to see you there!

Until tomorrow!

Beads, Roving, feathers, oh my!

 When I got the poppies finished, I already knew I was going to sew down some wool roving over the yellow to give a look of pollen when you are standing back from them.  I also knew I was going to sew beads for the seed heads.  

The embellishment stage is often my favorite time with a quilt.  I get to hold it and cradle it and spend some time touching it in a different way than I do when it is going back and forth from the design wall to the sewing machine.  I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to explain it, but I really don't know how.  It's all a tactile thing.  Maybe the quilters who read will understand.

I sewed the roving down on the sewing machine, then I got out all my black bugle beads.  I ordered these specifically for this project.  (Ornamentea also has great prices on wool roving.)  I put everything out in front of me and one at a time I sewed down the beads over the centers of the poppies.

I also ordered these crystal looking beads thinking I would do something completely different than I ended up with for the ballerina.  I never loved her head piece, but in studying ballerina's it was appropriate - more appropriate than her having long flowing hair and the idea giving her a bun was just yuck so, I figured I would dress it up when I got to the stage of handwork and embellishing.  

A while ago, right after the beach, someone gifted me some swan feathers from a lake where they were found - it was on the property of a camp where the swan had lived a good life and died leaving behind some feathers.  I felt honored to have them since I have been working with the swan.  When they were given to me I thought for sure I would find a way to incorporate them into the quilt, but they are HUGE and didn't fit. Even though they were too big they still inspired me to use some feathers anyhow.  

I ended up just using some feathers I had from a project the kids and I have did a year or more ago.  A good quilter holds onto everything that might be useful in a craft, right?  Certainly paid off this time!

I'm all done with the top.  It feels a bit bittersweet.  I better get busy on those new ideas I've got floating around in my head!

Until tomorrow!

I'm off to quilt!

Oh Sweet Trillium... I how I love thee.

After getting the lady's slipper finished (or what I thought as finished) I decided to make some trilliums for the bottom of the piece.  There was a lot of negative space at the bottom.  To me, it just felt like it needed more.

While making the trilliums I realized the lady's slipper was still not quite right, so I made the leaves a more muted green to make them blend in a little better. 

Before:

After:

Better?

Onto the the trilliums...

When I was in college studying horticulture was the first time I had the pleasure of seeing a trillium.  They are small and inconspicuous and as with all flowers that I truly love - one has to be paying close attention to see them.  For some reason, the simple almost hidden flowers are my favorite, but I've told you all this before.

The trillium in the woods, much like the maypops and blood root or wood sorrel remind me of a world of life we can't imagine going on in the woods, or the floor of the earth.  I think of fairies and magic, pixie dust and glitter.  I have stories upon stories built around the life of these sweet little plants.  

Trillium were the first "woods" flowers I came to know and they will always have a special place in my heart for opening my eyes to the world of flowers that bloom only a few inches above the soil.  

Some trilliums can be rather large, but you have to get to slightly cooler climates than ours to enjoy them.  When we were at Joyce Kilmer I saw some of the biggest trilliums I have ever seen.  They were fantastic like all the life around them they grew big.  Maybe that's the land of the gentle giants... much like the sequoahs - that's the story I made up for myself anyhow.

I recently read in The Maiden King something along the lines of the reason we connect to fairy tales is because the story is full of all this fantasy that excites us and we can't imagine it, but the feelings behind the action speak to our very core.    Fairy tales are ageless and we hear them over and over and we experience the same feelings each time we hear them as though we have never heard them before.  We relearn the lessons until they stick with us, then we need a new story with new lessons to hold onto.

I believe this and think it is why I am as drawn to archetypes, folk lores, and mythology as much as I am.  There is much to be learned from those who have come before us and how they related to their world through story - something we have gotten away from.

The trilliums have added the last element of the fantasy of the moment these two beings are sharing.  It has become unimaginable to me, yet the lesson of the beauty of transformation is one I will continue to learn.

They are now between the worlds of the red poppies and the simple trilliums sharing a moment in time.  Looking at them I find myself asking what brought them to this moment?  Why are they bowing to one another or are they bowing to the lady slipper?  I start making up a story of characters and magic and laughter.  The story deepens in my imagination and I find joy in telling this story whatever it is.

Until tomorrow!

I'm off to quilt!

Observation Medication 7/29/11

First off, I want to thank India for helping me out with these photos.  I had a long day of work today and she edited them for me and got them ready for this post.  It was a big help, so thank you.

This week, I noticed the light is beginning to change and the days are beginning to shorten, but it is still HOT.  It won't be too much longer now.  The nights are beginning to have a tinge of hope to them as fall approaches.

AND I'm still thinking about the rain a lot. 

I was sitting on the front porch last night listening to the song the cicadas sing and Fred, the rooster, wishing the big rain cloud over my head would just burst.  I was praying for gravity to work its magic and let some drops of precious water fall to the earth, but alas... no rain.  

Summers are always dry in Georgia.  Winters are always wet.  We complain in the summer when there isn't rain and in winter we wish it would stop.  

I once heard a wise person say we should try not to complain about the weather because it's never perfect and we always want something different than what we are having.  We should be grateful we are having weather.

Such simple truth. Wish I remembered who said it to me.

I guess I should work on my attitude towards the heat.

Humans talk about the weather all the time. 

Isn't it a funny phenomenon? 

When we can't think of anything else to talk about there is always the weather.  It's the most unpredictable thing most of us have in our lives that we can wrap our heads around - and here I am... talking about the weather, when what I really want to tell you about are:

Cedar Trees

I want to learn to recognize the different trees in our woods so I can learn their cycles too.

There are obviously easy trees like the cedars which is my starting point, but as I was reading up on them last night for this post I discovered the trees we call Eastern Red Cedars are not cedars at all - they are actually junipers.  Did you know that?

The bark is reddish brown and peels or shreds off the tree.  

They are considered pioneer trees, meaning after a fire or when land is recovering from a disturbance -  be it natural or man made these trees are some of the first to grow.  Pioneer trees are not as shade tolerant as other species so they grow first and provide an environment in the landscape for the second succession of trees. The second succession of trees are more shade tolerant and slower to grow than pioneer trees.  Pine trees are another example of pioneer trees.

There are a few critters that eat young cedar trees like the white tailed deer and rabbits, but it is better known for the food its berries and cones provide to birds and other small critters - especially in winter.

Cedar is a wood often used for its durability. It is used for fence posts, furniture, and its insect repelling abilities. (I keep a little cedar in my yarn stash and clothing drawers and especially around my fabric stash.  It helps keeps my clothes smelling good and the moths from eating the fabric and fibers.)

Through out history people have understood the many uses of cedar and have chosen not to burn it as fire wood because it would be a waste of good lumber. 

In the far east, cedar is referred to as "deodar" which is derived from the sanskrit word "devdar" which means lumber of the gods.

It is also associated with being the home of many gods.  It was used in ceremonies for purification, cleansing, healing, and protection.  Burning it or the oil is supposed to help with interpreting your own inner voice and to promote peaceful thoughts.

There are hundreds of stories through out history that mention cedars and their connection to humans and life.   In almost every religion they are mentioned at some point.  I read so much information about them in stories it is all running together in my head.


So, here are two stories I liked if you want to read them:
The Legend of the Cedar Tree
Origin of Fire (has music so turn volume down, but great story)

Personally, I love how it smells and use it often in my oil diffuser as well as my bath water and will appreciate it a little more each time I walk past it in the woods and remember to be grateful for all it provides us with.

Take care and I will see you on Monday!

references: Easter Red Cedar

Meaning of Cedar