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layers of a day

that kind of straight line wind.  NOT gusting,  but just this one single constant WIND.   Good news of the grandson, 24 yrs who flounders,  the news making everything just that much Brighter.   Granddaughter signaled her intent to try her hand at……..clothmaking.!!   I will send her examples of stitches in the mail.  OR just now i thought…maybe one of Jude's online classes…!!!!!!!…?????  Watched Nogal express himself in the most Great way…he DOES NOT LIKE the side oat grama grass hay.  Usually just walks away.  This eve he stood a moment then hooked his scur horn in the rim of the feed bowl and FLUNG IT OVER  then set to flinging the hay EVERYWHERE with those same scur horns.  Then he walked away.  I am thinking he is not a really hungry Goat.  But i like that he made himself very Clear.

i thought to check out Christa Tippet's  ON BEING…can google it

and there is a truly WONDERFULL interview of December 11th  with Joy Ladin  entitled Gender and the Syntax of Being.  It is ExtraOrdinary to me.  About her transition  of gender in her 40's.  It is just the most tender and beauty full STORY of a human being.  It is about so much MORE than what it's about.  I will listen again tomorrow morning.

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all the above while stitching  Grass Seeds.  and thinking about the question of yesterday,  the importance of dialogue in making art.  

AND IT'S  8:49 PM AND THERE IS GREAT WIND,  RAIN, MEANING WATER FROM THE SKY AND IT'S FIERCE.    fierce…..fierce…..and not so much as other places, like Vermont where Cynthia is,  but fierce for here.  So…i close the Dog Door.  Hunker down.

 9:o4 p.m.

Tay is not used to the Dog Door being closed.  Even if she might not…MIGHT NOT…want to go Out in the WIND and RAIN,  she is not  used to not having the OPTION.  She is uneasy.  I am too.

We are uneasy.

 

 

 

 

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24 responses to “layers of a day”

  1. Jan Avatar
    Jan

    (grace). . .as you say. . .layers of a day. . . .and the dialogue is layered as well. there is the conversation we have with the cloth and the springs of inspiration which inform our choices. . .our creation.
    and then there is that other animal. . .allowing others more directly into the conversation. . .and how there are degrees of this. . .increments on the spectrum of how we contribute. . .because our personalities and experiences inevitably come along for the ride. ultimately, you are in charge of the decisions you make with cloth. . .yet the participation you so generously allow colors the energy of going on. it will either become richer, as you explore this local opportunity to share your work, or, it may take some time to blend that with the way you are working now. you are a guiding light and honest voice nonetheless.

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  2. grace Avatar
    grace

    say more….can you?

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  3. Jan Avatar
    Jan

    I’m feeling my way here. because, on the whole, this medium of online journalling. . .sharing the process of working and development. . .the practice of it. . .is such a positive thing. we all feel enriched by those of you who do this. and yet I have observed that some visitors make suggestions about particular things in a piece (have witnessed this in other places). . .try to collaborate or express opinion on how something should be done, that isn’t really our place to do. it is the energy of the process we observe and learn from rather than a more hands on participation. and of course we are free to carry this sense of going on into our own work.
    and I have seen the overwhelm of too much “participation.” have experienced it in my own, private, process.
    and you have more control here about the exchange. . .when you will sell something. . .you get to know your audience, I think. . .there may be decisions about taking commissions. . .and perhaps the pressure of deadlines that can influence this carefully nurtured flow you have created. you set the tone for how you expand your own reach. does that make sense?

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  4. Mo Crow Avatar
    Mo Crow

    love the grasses Grace & that’s so cool to see that your favourite needle is bent too, is it a crewel embroidery no 7 ?

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  5. Patty Musgrove Avatar
    Patty Musgrove

    I’m thinking I need to grow some scur horns. These sound mighty
    handy to have around here right now. xo

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  6. grace Avatar
    grace

    no…it’s a very very very thin small beading needle

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  7. grace Avatar
    grace

    i love this Jan
    i love that you say these things and i take them in.
    Things to think and give space to live
    back in the morning
    back in the morning. yes.
    and yes. it all makes sense.

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  8. grace Avatar
    grace

    Patty M
    scurs work very well. Not so much in a way as real HORNS, but
    they work. Nogals work. He is not so dramatic as his father,
    Buckwheat who had full and natural horns that could also inflict
    damage. Scurs are to make a point and they do that. He really
    doesn’t like Side Oat Grama and i wish he did because it’s a
    native. But he doesn’t. Like when a kid of yours doesn’t want
    to eat spinach or kale or green stuff…they don’t. We don’t know why, but they don’t and there’s nothing to say about it. You cant stuff it down their throats. You are bummed, but they just don’t.
    and someday, down the line they say OH!, it’s ok…and they LIKE it? Will Nogal do the same?, i don’t know. But today, i watched him watched him flinging stuff all over in his dissatisfaction about what i gave him and i loved him for it..i loved him because he was so CLEAR

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  9. grace Avatar
    grace

    funny how i repeat myself sometimes more than others…
    why do i do that?????

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  10. grace Avatar
    grace

    and i love that you are here and i didn’t know it, but
    comment when it applies…thanks……….

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  11. .cynthia Avatar
    .cynthia

    uneasy is hard and srtange..yesterday we went out for the first time in so many days..unbelievable beauty..everywhere..and yet the power lines are almost down to the tops of the cars..covered by these long perfect 6 inch circles of snow and ice encasing them..the roads are decent..but there are unexpected trees down across them..too cold too gray for the snow to melt or flake or blow away and so things sag and bow and break..so new to me ..such visual impact..and yes i am uneasy
    the grass seeds are wonderful..suddenly missed here as everything becomes white and covered and hidden..now brought back to life..and the echo of the yellow foliage woven in near her eyes..
    thank you for the links..i am having an interesting time following them ..safe inside.gentle day grace

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  12. grace Avatar
    grace

    over time, beginning back when i was making the fiber figures,
    i have slowly come to understand that it is of no use for me to
    try to be too responsive to input. it almost always doesn’t work.
    meaning that i seem to be unable to effect changes that didn’t
    preexist in the seed image of a Cloth. A few times, i have tried, to no avail. But really, i like hearing the thoughts of others. and
    have let go of the urge to Please, and the feeling apologetic when
    i stubbornly stick to some personal vision, even though it might
    not be uhhhhh, “how it’s done”. What comes to mind is that often
    my images are not “aligned”…or, seem out of or off balance? But
    for whatever reason, that means something to my sense of what
    is happening in the story of that cloth. For instance in this cloth the dark at the top…it’s probably not …. what’s the word, uhh, oh, eeeee, i can’t think of the word right now, but it means how we arrange the components to form a cohesive whole…i’ll think of it as soon as i walk away from this screen….
    OH…composition….that’s it. My composition is often off kilter but again, that’s ok with me. And though i look and “know” it, i don’t change it to conform to any “rule” of good composition.
    But still, i like hearing how things come across to a wide variety of Eyes that might look here. And varied responses give me a
    larger understanding of what i’m doing.
    Tapestry, Judy Colvin now the owner, is a Great Great place for the cloths, and i hope there is a good response to them over time. As my “old people” work changes by attrition, i will NEED to sell some things if i want to keep moving toward Cloth making being PRIMARY in my life. Goats most likely will remain here and they are a responsibility. That doesn’t seem to be going to change much or any, even, maybe and i have to have a way to help support them.
    My social security check is $701.oo a month. Doesn’t cut it with Goats factored in.
    As it was with the fiber figures, i would just send things as i had them to send. And as is. At present, they are pretty “crude”, “raw”….as in not backed to hide the stitching. This is the only thing i might change on some. I am interested in finding out if that’s an issue for people that aren’t in Jude’s community of clothmakers. Judy will be able to let me know by listening to those who look at them. And i am no good at “commissions”. The only thing at all near that was a “Leaving Cloth” that Wendy Golden-Levitt asked me to make for use when the children were leaving
    their work with her. and that one turned out to be a Going Through Cloth..one of the ones in her beautiful book of a thousand thank yous. Less about finishing than just going On. and that was just ok with her. So, no commissions.
    so we get to “flow”. Flow here is circumscribed by life here. And by life in my Head. by whatall cloth making time is being required to share with stuff in the day to day. And with my need to LOOK at any cloth for so long. I won’t be able to change that a lot. it is what it is. What changes it is being able to STAY
    HOME and keep the thread of any one cloth as foremost….that holds a momentum.
    So, these are all first thoughts. I APPRECIATE so much your words here, they are helping me find some clarity and really, look at my Purpose.
    I will look forward to your Response to anything i’ve said here so i can take it further.
    AND TO THE RESPONSES OF ANYONE ELSE who might have thoughts about
    it all….about my work here, or their own.
    so, i’ll let this sit a bit and come back to see if it’s all true, or not. Again…THANK YOU. very very much and LOVE…..

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  13. grace Avatar
    grace

    i remember one winter especially like that in Michigan. It is
    surreal, otherworldly.
    there is intense visual impact to your words here. I had
    seen this on Inet news about the Vermont weather….and again,
    i have such HUGE respect and admiration for FARMING in that
    wild world. Puppys and piglets….
    Breezy Meadows CSA in Vermont….a google to find the link, i should have looked it up first….
    I LOVE word from your OutLands…thank you so much

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  14. Saskia Van Herwaarden Avatar
    Saskia Van Herwaarden

    not that it matters one iota, it’s just that this lady seemed so familiar and just now all of a sudden it came to me: Joni Mitchell…..love those grasses, know what they feel like too as I have some over here on your cloth in my kitchen, such an excellent connection

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  15. Jan Avatar
    Jan

    you are so clear about this and it makes perfect sense for this thing that you love to do to also provide the means for you (and the goats) to keep going. my only wish is that you value your work to reflect the time and intention you pour into it. . .and always let it bear your name. . .be clear about who the maker is.

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  16. .cynthia Avatar
    .cynthia

    michigan always looks so not like anywhere i have ever lived…winters there seem unimaginable ..such happy note to send back..
    i just talked to meadow..next sunday .solstice ..they are driving up to northern vermont for four new goats..these will be alpines..she was so excited.. and i found i wanted to send some of her joy out into the world..(.and she promised to post some winter pictures soon..)and it is so good to hear happiness..as she talked about this week’s project now ..to build more covered shelter…
    thinking of your grandson, ..of your granddaughter and cloth….joyful things ..now if the power would stay on…

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  17. Dana Avatar
    Dana

    The grass stems are just right. I’m very interested in your quandry about making, selling, presenting your cloth. I don’t have much to say at the moment, but I’m taking it in. Thank you for sharing.

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  18. grace Avatar
    grace

    i forget a lot to “sign” them

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  19. grace Avatar
    grace

    oh Lord…so Gaia is Joni Mitchell?????
    and yes. these Native Clump grasses might be everywhere before it’s over

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  20. grace Avatar
    grace

    to build MORE COVERED SHELTER…the forever Mission of the Keeper.
    YES and how i love to hear that Meadow is going for yet MORE Goats, alpine this time…Oh how LUCKY you are, Cynthia, to live among these young people who just GO. Who JUST GO FORWARD. How energizing this is. and the you TELL it and so the Energy FLOWS out and far away and enlivens Us All…
    i wrote a little note for the Altar…Power lines for Cynthia…
    it’s there………

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  21. grace Avatar
    grace

    i’m looking. The more i think about it, the more complex it seems
    to get. I either Will or i WON”T. but i’m giving self Time. Maybe till Spring?

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  22. Liz Avatar
    Liz

    I love that your granddaughter is wanting to make cloth … Spirit Cloth 101 was a magical intro for me, but if I had to guess, Skyping with you to learn cloth making would probably be the greatest gift of all

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  23. grace Avatar
    grace

    how interesting…i never even thought of that…that little camera
    thing is here behind the monitor, all covered with dust….
    HOW INTERESTING a thought…she could tell me how to ACTIVATE it ???
    i could, couldn’t i.
    ……………..????????????????????……………………

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  24. grace Avatar
    grace

    all that is dependant of course, on how it goes with the Thing in my nose. If i begin growing a plant, well, i will be involved in that.

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