I wasn’t planning on picking a word for 2010, but I just did — congruence…
Lining up with oneself. Lining purpose up with essence.
True congruence would be enlightenment. I’ll aim a little lower.
Beginning with what I hope to be an extended LOOK AT WORDS, the shape of them, the feel of them, I wondered what it would feel like to take a rant page (the black ink) and weave in questions designed to encourage release — like, “Could you let this go”, “would you?” , and “when?” (from “The Sedona Method“) (the magenta).
What I found —
- ribbons this narrow obscured too much of the text for what I was after. I have since added vertical lines of machine-quilting and plan to add some hand-stitching tonight… perhaps a lot, given that the words aren’t really legible anyway.
- I don’t have the right pens yet. A medium sharpie bleeds too much, and the pigment pen isn’t fat enough. Also, for this to be effective for how I want to work, I have to be able to write FASTER — which might require securing the fabric to a surface and acquiring different markers. Any recommendations?
- the Ott light reads as REGULAR fluorescent and not HOT fluorescent on my camera’s manual setting– which explains difference in pix.
What I wondered —
- what it would look like if I pressed the strips first,
- or made them irregular in width,
- or turned them into bindings first, like this project
- does making a cloth piece out of the words/feelings I wish to release by definition mean I’m holding on to them?
An exquisite woven cloth with quilted center, here.
ouch i’d say those “angry pages” would make a GREAT erosion bundle
And i LOVE that heart–with the rest of the entry though it is ironically “incongruous”
be well
thanks arlee — I hadn’t thought of that incongruence… perhaps the heart was a kind of prayer. I ended up deleting all the personal stuff. It’s something I go back and forth about.
why don’t you paint with plain textile medium (GAC 900) first, then try the pen on that when dry?
good idea… that certainly would stabilize the surface.
and what about these pens?
http://www.faber-castell.us/28843/Products/Art-Graphic/Artist-Pens/PITT-Artist-Pens/index_ebene3.aspx
i like arlee’s idea about that medium too!
i too go back and forth about the personal stuff sometimes cringing about what i’ve written/exposed but it’s all grist to the mill and i don’t see the incongrousness. to me it all fits together.
yolie, thanks for the link — I think I’ve heard of these pens mentioned before for fabric & will treat myself to a few… the pigment pen I was using was by Staedtler.
for me, when the cringing leads to an overwrought sense of vulnerability and exposure, it’s time to take it down. I think blogging takes time to wiggle into one’s own voice, just the way quilting or collage does, and I’m not there yet.
sts. I think one way to help with this would be to create a completely anonymous blog where I spill whatever I want!!
What and interesting approach to textile arts. I love the idea of leaving your loads, or the things that bug you in such a direct way, as in a personal diary yet invisible words for the rest of the world to see. From the rest of the links you added to your post, I believe that the way the strips of fabric are cut may add to the meaning of the work. It’s a different feeling to it if it’s cut with a rotary cutter or if you simple rip the strips apart. Very intersting, I love it.
thank you Paloma.. i’m excited to explore this as both textile art and metaphor… the cutting of strips will definitely be making a difference. and there may be times I DON’T want to obscure all the words… we shall see!