Tuesday 14 January 2014

loose ends


even though i keep a calendar things do get lost
so today

[after a quick pootle to the seaside to meet and exchange dye stories with Latvian master weaver Maris Manins who is visiting the annual summer school at Dzintari , a place i've long thought would make a fine retreat location]

i came home and made a list for this year
and added it to my website

that way, if i fall out of the sky at some point
at least someone in my family has access to the people that will need to be contacted
so it's an insurance policy
as much as a running sheet

it's a surprisingly long list.
but idle hands are the devil's playground.

it's hot and there is smoke on the horizon


and a bit closer, a funny shape


no, not a Pushmi-pulyu
just two friends having a scratch


 while Kelpie gives an excellent impression of a Stubbs painting



there is packing to do for a hop across the ditch and this year i do hope to travel a bit lighter than in recent months


 it mightn't be quite as light as this, but i'm working on it.
my back isn't what it used to be since the stair-tumble in Portland.

i'm also working on this dress
loving the way the shapes are forming
pondering which trees i'll be asking for donations
and wandering over the surface with needle and thread
drawing lines and making marks


and am thrilled to bits that people have begun to send me images of their stuffed, steeped and stored jars
to add to the virtual pantry


this jar holds the remnants of the bunch of roses Ma gave me for my birthday in December
together with a handful of copper nails i found on Granville Island
when i was visiting Maiwa last September

11 comments:

  1. India , you are a very busy person, all the exhibition in 2014 , the white dress are lovely on one of your daughters,, the blue skye the beach ,we need it here in Denmark , later on the year when the light and sun come i wil make a new jars , thank you for my blue jar on your site!! i have lots of other idears. enjoy your trip to New Zealand new stories comming up

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    1. not a daughter this time...but a very good friend who kindly tried the dress so i could see how it worked on a moving body

      :-)

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  2. Ahhh for precious time to sit and plan……on my 'to do' list is your new book….this new way of working seems as tho it might better suit my 'fly-by' lifestyle (as well as honoring it)….blessings from the other side

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  3. If idle hands are the devil's playground, you must be surrounded by legions of angels. Your beautiful hands are always working, always creating. The devil wouldn't have a chance. Someday I hope you post what blooms out of the jar with your birthday roses and nails and I do so hope the smoke on the horizon goes away. Is the above dress silky merino? P.S. Your horses are beautiful.

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    1. you made me laugh and smile. the cloth of the dress is silk on one side and wool on the other and quite heavy. i'm told it will crinkle slightly in the dyeing...we shall see

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  4. There is something so compelling to me about preserving "time" in a bottle [don't laugh, but I heard Jim Croce sing it live]. For instance, Patsy gave me some of their madrone bark ...

    Those bush fires are worrisome, as is the tumble down effect. Take good care!

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  5. your list india, holy cow! and i'm liking the book, just so busy prepping for AU that i don't know if i can commence a jar or two.

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  6. I love the movement of the body flowing through the dress.

    I got this thought, just now, of how strange and wonderful to buy a dress in a bottle, thus... then open it up at home, to find.

    Happy New Year. Much Crystal and Toni C to you too, :)

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  7. it will be a worry to leave your farm with the current heat wave and bushfires ... I do hope everything stays safe ... and your back gets better .. I love your horses ... and yes, a wonderful dress, looking forward to seeing its progress ...

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  8. will the new bottling method of dyeing effect colorfastness compared to your normal bundling?

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    Replies
    1. colour/light fastness is determined by a number of variables...

      choice of plant
      choice of cloth
      whatever else is in the water

      but it's safe to say that long slow dyeing usually gives better results than quick dyeing [with the exception of eucalyptus, still my favourite especially on wool]

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