Wednesday 28 August 2013

in which the river strengthens its spell

work from my residency by the river shows no sign of slackening
during the day i am a happy participant in Sandra Brownlee's class
working on Tactile Notebooks

my personal therapist sleeping next to me on the stoop

before and after class hours
[besides a spot of cooking]
i sort fragments, draw and write.
some of the drawing takes place in mud

i have been working on a short film together with Tracey McConnell-Wood
that is to say, Tracey is actually doing the real work [of filming]
and recording sound
while
i wander in and out of shot.

last night i stitched and dyed until late
so that this evening
we had something to unbundle by the water

the sky was absolutely fabulous
[and the dress that came out of the dyepot fits me]
this beautiful object is a steel drum
made by Jason Shearer here in Newburgh.
the dress was bundled around it in the dyepot
[if you'd like to buy a drum like that, please send a message with your contact details via the contact page on my website and i shall forward it to him]

27 comments:

  1. Can't get over how that sky is reflected in that dress ... "burbling happily" is probably the tip of the iceberg ;>]] I might venture a guess that in your case this Scottish expression rings more than true: "Mony a mickle maks a muckle."

    What a splendid time you're having!

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    1. and you'll be hearing stories whilst they are still fresh
      yours truly,
      Muckleberry Flint

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    2. Dear MF,
      Looking forward to that immensely.

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  2. No wonder that you want to be down by the river unwrapping your precious bundle, with such a stunning sky on display!
    Love all those beautiful china fragments.
    PS. I wonder if our daughter saw the same beautiful sunset, as she is based in Edinburgh for 2 years. from Jenny (Melbourne)

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  3. Isn't it remarkable how magic happens when you most need it.

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  4. Just had another look at the pickies.
    Mud, mud, glorious mud, enough to give your feet a facial!

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  5. India , great work , the pink is it pieces dyed seperate and stiched on ?

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    1. no, all stitched together and dyed together...just variations within the bundle

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  6. Looking at the images of your residency and swooning again. Love: the effects made with the steel drum on fabric .... the china fragments and river gatherings..... and feeling the spirit of place.

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    1. it's a very Good place. a little gritty, a little grey with a warm heart and a river running through it...

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  7. oohh! fragments - are these found by the river?? Love that dog is supervising.

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    1. fragments found IN the river at low tide. and thank Dog for that dog. a furred blessing.

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  8. so the flying saucer is a drum! well, gurrl, you look like you're having quite a time. wonderful, indeed. and a nice dress for you! and a film! whew!!! good harvest season.

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    1. now thinking the dress will be exhibited before it finds its way to my frame...but there'll be a bit more stitching first

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  9. India I am so looking forward to seeing the film!

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  10. Thanks for all 3 beautiful posts.

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  11. I just realized that you'd linked to my blog post here. Thank you so much!

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  12. Beautiful, beautiful all of it! Love the fragments of ceramic, and the unveiling of the dress in the long grass beside the river. Magic. Thank you. Oh and of course the sunset, how could I forget that?

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  13. love these glorious pics, and such soft hues in the dress, what plants did you use?

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  14. Every day I wait anxiously for your words and pictures. I've become quite a whirled traveler with you.

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  15. Man, that sky and light in the reeds is spectacular - the dress seems to have bundled up a bit of sky reflecting in water so you can wear it.

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  16. Glad you're having such a great time in Scotland (I moved here 16 years ago from West Oz) and really looking forward to seeing you in Glasgow tomorrow.

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  17. me fait penser à une visite chez picassiètte à chartres ... beau!

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    Replies
    1. moi, j'aime les fragments bleus surtout [please forgive the quality of my french, it's a little rusty!]

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