slower...slowest

As the past week progressed, a trend of giving the bulk of my energy to more physically oriented tasks continued to build on itself.  As a partial result you can see my stitching is progressing at a pace that makes the much referenced snail's crawl look like a crankhead's journey.  I'm [basically] okay with that and remain grateful that I'm accomplishing a modest fraction of what I might wish to accomplish; grateful that I continue to re-develop abilities that allow me to stay tangibly connected to the areas of life that matter most to me.

Needless to say that means I've spent a fair amount of time in the garden.    The energy and medicine spirits of the shifting seasons are percolating and, the more that builds on itself, the harder it is to know when to call it quits and come back inside.   Fortunately my body's been gaining a lot of wisdom where such things are concerned even though my mind & soul are still a bit hooked into my former habit(s) of pushing the envelope.   Because that's what it's there for, right?  Wrong.  At least for now.

Have also continued my cleaning and winnowing efforts here in this workroom.  Between one thing and another it has not been a straightforward or uber focused activity.  But it is happening and I do see/feel the results at a cumulative level.  Along the way I encountered the bare bones of a fiber collage pictured above.  We won't dwell on how long it's been since I constructed this base from the leftovers of three other projects.  Let's just say I feel a renewed interest in my original plans for the piece and let it go at that!

Here's a look at the next patch I intend to attach to my CQR block.  It's from a summer top that never fit quite right although I would stubbornly wear it anyway - if not for public viewing than for working in the garden.  When I finally got tired of the way it sagged or stretched in all the wrong places, I started cutting it apart and coloring sections of it with various agents.  This piece was soaked in watered-down Dynaflow paint.  Have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with it but first need to finish the embroidery in progress and rough-stitch my idea for embellishing the silk shibori scrap from Glennis.  Have also solidified the overall visual theme I want to express in my mind's eye.  And that feels like enough of a plan to hold.

Though I have not been doing a great deal of stitching it does seem that my thoughts frequently circle back to topics related to personal creative development.   This involves a fair amount of mental & psychic reconciliation concerning some potent inner fallacies which I have nurtured - sometimes for decade - as facts rather than the visual equivalent(s) of fiction.  Much of my thought process is not yet sufficiently refined (read: anywhere near tactful enough) to be expressed in this sort of personalized-yet-public forum but, believe me, it's all getting quite a bit of airtime in my writing journal.  Various aspects are also cropping up in the studio journal I've continued to keep. 

In addition to the beginning of the autumn season the coming week brings some major changes to the household's schedule.  They will, in turn, have a strong impact on how I spend my time & energy during the day.  Am not yet clear what this will mean in terms of tangible accomplishments but I do relish the conceptual and pragmatic shifts a-brewing.  Even though much of what's coming remains largely Unknown I feel the right-ness and necessity of extensive change building in waves.  Wishing all readers a pleasant equinox experience - the perfect balance between light & dark is no small thing on any level ... 

Comments

[Paula Hewitt]

I like the way you have echoed the colours of the flowers in the embroidered border

[Helene H]

OMG, I love that fiber collage ! It sings and dances before my eyes.

[jude]

hey, i was going to say what paula said but i was thinking that i also liked the orderliness of the color in the border against the wildflower arrangement in the fabric.

[H.D.Campbell]

i have enjoyed reading your blog thanks for sharing
hugs