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a very good day

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very close to finished.  a few more thread bead stars,   but the stitches through the weaving are complete.

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this whole "room"….many stitches.  Many.

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and all the while,  stopping to look, think.   How much do i want to make the buddha uhhh, clearer?  i can see her so easily,  through the Glennis window, out into the Pure Land.  but that story is in my head.  does it matter that no one else might see her?,   she might look like just a brownish mark?   Thinking.

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and we might notice an addition to the picture.    yesterday, i finally remembered to take the cutters and brought home some really perfect and beautiful salt cedar sticks.  beautiful in that they are that perfect brownred color and perfect in that they are beautifully straight …… in case a cloth would ever need a hanging stick.  all sizes.  and there are more.  i have found the perfect clump.  between the ditch road, the road road and the railroad tracks.  who'dve guessed.

 

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39 responses to “a very good day”

  1. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    this is so incredible. i keep wanting to say “i am so proud of you”
    silly isn’t it?
    i love the buddha and it is for you not for others to know.
    the suns at the top or moons are beautiful. did you make them?
    i hope you wrap it around you and feel
    at
    peace

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  2. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    oh…Say it! no, it’s not silly.
    the sun/moons, no…they are a really rare strip from
    Deb Lacativa.
    when it’s done, i Will. wrap It around me. yes.

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  3. handstories Avatar
    handstories

    do you jump up and down in front of it, or stand perfectly still smiling so big? i would. the stars on that strip of moons that i love so much are perfect, that whole left panel just sings to me. i would put it at the end of the bed to see while falling asleep & waking up & ask someone to put it over me while sleeping. x

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  4. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    i just stand. looking. it’s a long time off from
    All done…, just that side panel is close. there’s
    the Rest.
    and what a wonderful thought…but the dogs aren’t
    very good with their hands, or cat….

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  5. jude Avatar
    jude

    those beads are something aren’t they? there are a lot of things that people don’t see even if you tell them. all is well here. settling in.

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  6. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    i know. about seeing/not seeing. it’s amazing, really.
    quite an eye opener as they say.
    and yes. the beads are tiny miracles. just like the
    real ones out there in that
    sky

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  7. Nancy Avatar
    Nancy

    It is for you Grace, so it needs to make sense to you, be pleasing to you…feel right to you.
    I myself did not see the Buddha, until you pointed her out.
    But, that is of no matter. These are your rooms and they are lovely, very lovely.
    I can see you sitting with a cup of tea and resting in her (the whole cloth as female, to me) presence.
    I really like the salt cedar sticks and wonder about the smell of them…is it wonderful?
    (((hugs)))…to you Grace in this moment of your amazing cloth.

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  8. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    no…no smell. but in the odd blooms, there IS for the bees.
    Salt Cedar is considered Noxious plant in the state. it does
    so well along all the irrigation ditches and yes…does
    crowd along the Bosque. there are moves to irradicate it.
    but it is extremely opportunistic. last spring, after the
    very very cold winter, when it finally warmed and the bees
    woke up, there was nothing for them. none of the usual things…
    except the Salt Cedar. and another odd thing that i would like
    to understand more about is that the Tanagers Love it. they
    come when it’s blooming and hang like christmas ornaments…

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  9. Deb G Avatar
    Deb G

    How wonderful, all the possibilities…

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  10. nemo-ignorat Avatar
    nemo-ignorat

    She (in accordance with Nancy) is beautiful. I love the composition. Much like a medieval triptych opened up, ready to tell stories of (for me) excotic places and lives. And you can close it, fold her around you, hearing her whispers only in your mind. Wonderful.
    I actually had to look up salt cedar first. Usually, those exotic plants are only found as neophytes around here. But imagine my surprise that it is the oher way round this time. It’s too humid where I live, but I know Tamarix from visits in the mediterranean. The blooms are butterfly magnets.

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  11. ;uie Avatar
    ;uie

    The moment when cloth, or a swamp, reveal a buddha is a moment where all else fades away: is a moment when our eyes truly see and we expand…

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  12. Michelle in NYC Avatar
    Michelle in NYC

    Grace’s cloth–
    Sophisticated naturalism is having caught natures complexities and ordered them by design. Oh, It’s an alter piece, a medieval triptych,a meaningful manuscript, encoded with wonderful information, observation, and love. That Buddha coming into being from the shadow in the circle might become clearer over time. All beings come from the shadow into the light.

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  13. Jenni Lynn Avatar
    Jenni Lynn

    Grace, this is amazing. I am moved by the “presence” of this cloth. So interesting and evocative. The stitching tracks and grasses tie everything together so well. I learn so much watching your work.

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  14. saskia Avatar
    saskia

    oh this is just so beautiful!
    and seeing things others don’t see, I opened your page and in the first photo I immediately saw a person (f)lying over a crocodile, in the weaving part I mean, and the whole piece is such an inspiring work of art…… it just is!!

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  15. Eva Ucgatwork Avatar
    Eva Ucgatwork

    Hi Grace,
    Yes, it is a magnificent cloth.
    Are you taking part in Deb’s indigo-workshop? I think lots of Jude’s student will take part.
    I didn’t know about it – it’s online, isn’t it?
    So there is more beautifully dyed fabric around the corner to work with! I haven’t got a balcony, so the odd tea-bag is everything I can use to dye small pieces…
    I am looking forward to seeing all your results!
    Have a great day,
    eva

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  16. Mo Crow Avatar
    Mo Crow

    loving how everything is integrating with the stitching of the details, the star beads, the grasses, the windthreads and the sculptural quality of the salt cedar in the foreground.

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  17. Robyn Ayaz Avatar
    Robyn Ayaz

    Oh Grace, how wonderful! Like a great story of life spread across the wall, so beautiful. And so much calm and peace there too.

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  18. Yvonne Avatar
    Yvonne

    The weaving has really come together and the colours of the whole have a lovely sunset-like, soft beauty and it’s wonderful to see the expanse of your cloth as well as close ups of the details.

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  19. Valerianna Avatar
    Valerianna

    I’m standing here, quietly looking and feeling inspired. The weaving part has captivated me.

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  20. Penny B Avatar
    Penny B

    A larger than life cloth so full of story…so beautiful, Grace.

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  21. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    yes…there are many many many

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  22. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    yes….butterfly, bee, bird magnets…and also very
    good at using as much water as is there. but interestingly, they manage with very little water.

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  23. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    yes. i have thought all along of swamp buddha.
    well, some say they are everywhere.

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  24. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    i love this thought, Michelle, that it will become clearer over time of its own accord….i can see this as a possibility.

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  25. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    JenniLynn…thank you…and i am learning SO MUCH by
    making it, just one small thing at a time.

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  26. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    isn’t it just the best that we see what we see? and i
    think the clothweaving inspires this a lot…i loved
    learning that and it’s endless, the continued learning
    with the process. it never ends.
    here’s to crocodiles and (f)lying beings!

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  27. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    Eva…yes…it’s GLENNIS’ workshop….and yes.
    i am going to try. am not at all good at following
    directions and moving along at a clip, but i will try.
    and also then will have all the information for the
    future….for when you move to the country and have
    acres to hang your cloth

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  28. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    yes…now is the time when the connections really begin
    to connect. am going to be figuring out how to more
    define the kantha tree soon. that will make a big
    change

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  29. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    Thank you Yvonne…the colors are the colors of this
    part of the world…

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  30. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    you would love doing that kind of weaving. it is
    very simple and creates such complex images.

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  31. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    Penny, Thank you… it is my Joy.

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  32. Eva Ucgatwork Avatar
    Eva Ucgatwork

    Grace, I think you will do really well and produce some fine pieces of indigo cloth!
    Save one or two tiny scraps for me, please…I can send you a few pieces in return.
    By the way, could you make use of the silk scraps I sent you?
    Best wishes,
    eva

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  33. nance Avatar
    nance

    haven’t read the other comments yet… but if no one said this…here is the truth: it doesn’t matter what someone else thinks about the buddha…. if YOU want to give a clue then what about just a circle/halo behind her head? you don’t have to add details.

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  34. nance Avatar
    nance

    oh… and those sticks are wonderful… i love them.

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  35. sandra Avatar
    sandra

    yes, I can see the buddha, the one that’s also called laughing buddha. i looked it up at wikipedia, and there it said that he is called Budai, which means cloth sack! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budai
    by the way I finally found a basket! If you would like to see it, I posted a picture on my blog. I always love the baskets in your photos.

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  36. Jacqui Avatar
    Jacqui

    and in India Flint style you might wrap cloth around these sticks, bind with string or wool, put in a pot with some leaves and water and see what dye comes from them?

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  37. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    yes…i was wondering really, for myself. for the
    Cloth. and i still AM wondering. yeah…the sticks.
    i am so glad i found that clump…actually, noticed it.
    it’s been there all along but it’s where you have to
    watch for a train coming as you go on to the road.

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  38. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    i just went to look and YES! yes to all there, basket,
    beautiful cloth, your beautiful feeling about it…
    don’t you love it…cloth sack!?

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  39. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    well, you know, i will. i can’t remember if i tried
    them already…i think i tried the blossoms.
    i think of you and your family a lot. hope the earth
    is quiet there….
    xo

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