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Wednesday 16 March 2022

Exhausted Bliss

It was my intention to maintain my posting schedule while I was away and it's not happening. I am having a fabulous time and it's exhausting. I had no idea that venturing out into the world after such a long period of time alone would be this busy, noisy, tiring. I've been going back to my room right after class, spending the evening alone, and crawling into bed early. I'm glad I'm staying an extra day not only to enjoy more of the community but also to rest up before heading home. 




I should have figured out what program to use for editing photos before I left. I didn't and I don't have what it takes to do it now especially with intermittent internet service. I don't know photographer's name but I do know that the tall building in the photo above is the hotel and my room is on the fourth floor in the middle of the tower with a similar view of the mountains on the opposite side of the valley. It's beautiful and as I write this, I'm sitting in the chair that I've moved over by the window watching the sky slowly turn dark. In the morning, I'll do the reverse. 





Ever since my first visit, Ashland has been a magical place for me, a place where questions are answered and I get a sense of direction. I definitely came with questions. What to let go of? What to keep? What to focus on and move forward with? Which shiny objects to pick up, admire, put down, and walk around? What gifts to give myself? To name a few.


 


Working with fabric has always been how I breath and the two primary forms I've worked in are textile art and creative clothing. This is the first - and quite possibly the only - time those two loves have been combined in one retreat and not just combined but also with two amazing instructors.

Paula's textile work is thread intensive. It reminds me how much I enjoyed working with thread and encourages me to add more thread details to my clothing either by hand or by machine - to vary the stitch length, to change the colour and the width of the line, and to play with thread as I would any other mark making tool. The picture above left is - I believe - the work of Karen Ann Ruane although I found the image on Pinterest and you can't always tell what is whose there. I like the organic-ness of the lace. I want individuality, originality, and the hand of the maker to be even more evident in my work. 

The other image is from a blog that is no longer active - And Then We Set It On Fire - and shows the variety of texture and line that can be created with hand stitching. Hand is starting to be more than just a four letter word. I'm beginning to think of it as a way to be in the work longer, more involved, adding an organic nature that is meditative... and slow... another four letter word that is morphing. 





This is my seventh time at this retreat in the past ten years and it's the first time I feel like I am starting to speak the language with some degree of familiarity. Maybe I'm a slow study or maybe the timing is finally right. I am inspired by Diane's unbelievable creativity and by her amazing pieces. I'm working to incorporate that inspiration into my own work in an authentic way. I don't want to do Diane, I want to do me, and the more I study with her, the more able I am to do that. 

The coat I'm working on in the image above started with two sections from a pair of denim pants that no longer fit. I cut them apart on the inseam and the crotch seam and used the two pieces to create the front and back. From there, I started adding the patches I made earlier as well as other scraps of denim to create the yoke and attached oversized sleeves taken from a man's shirt. Right now, it's folded in my suitcase and I've started draping a top from a rectangle of fabric. I know how to finish the coat and I can do that later. I have more to learn about draping and making parts before I leave. Already, I know that when I get home I want to focus even more on process, on adding detail, and on refashioning. I am thankful for that much for now. It's a start to respond to and a place to develop forward from.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - quiet moments

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