hotness contenting stiller

Almost everything, if one keeps one's eyes open, is potential material for painting.  Graham Sutherland

OK, I admit, I'm getting bored, sure wish I could get to the studio for a few hours but I've been here sitting and knitting all day except for semi-regular trips outside to pee (not me, silly, the DOGS!).  This knitting is in modules and I ry to do at least one a day but if the sun goes away I have to stop because I can't see the dark yarns at night.  Sigh.  This could take a long time, especially since my tendency is to rip more then I knit.  Two modules already got ripped and re-done today.  And I'm sick of it.

Meanwhile I am simply ITCHIN' to get back to the twins quilt.  I'm about out of pins sticking it together so pretty soon I'll have to actually start some stitching.  Plus I have a second piece underway that has mostly hand appliqué which I know I can't do at home because again, it's black.  Duh.  Not enough light. 

The OTHER thing I have on my schedule this summer is to watch Downton Abbey so I have a couple of episodes of that finished and will add to it tonight.  Sure beats 'Toddlers and Tiaras' or 'Bridezillas'.  God Bless Netflix.  

I have something else on my pea brain today, something I picked up from a conversation on the SAQA list.  There was a question about proceeding as an artist and being professional and all that sort of stuff I stopped thinking about a long time ago-  these are the folks who are always making quilts to fit a theme and second guessing what they think a particular juror will 'like' and worrying about somebody copying them. Plus they work for cash prizes at these shows like we are the 4-H or something.   Get over it, that's what I say.  
There is always a heavy discussion about 'technique' which I find stupifying because nobody ever asks about CRAFTSMANSHIP (probably because it has that dreaded 'crafts' part to the word) without disparaging remarks about quilt police.  I have a sick feeling that these people don't have a clue where 'technique' stops and 'gimmickry' takes over.  (Thread painting???  Really?)  Somehow that 'technique talk' substitutes for lack of art principles, for not doing lots of work, and for genuine experimentation and growth-  instead they take a class from somebody and adopt (though it's supposed to be 'adapt') that technique as their own, make a quilt, and think it's the bees knees of 'aht' quilting.  Another term I can't get my head around-  I am NOT an art-quilter.  I am a Quiltmaker at some times, at other times I am a Mixed Media Textile Artist. Whatever kind of work I do fits into one of those and I'm quite proud of working in that tradition.

And so I am getting off my high horse now.  And if you're reading this and make quilts, sorry if I offended you.  Now go get back to work because that's all that counts.

Besides, there is another episode of 'Portlandia' on now and I have rows to go before I sleep...  gonna finish another module if it kills me.  So, are you still with me?


These guys wrap cellophane around trees and create a new surface to graffiti with.  The cool thins is it's can be visible from both sides, it's removable, and nobody gets mad and paints it over!  Problem solved unless of course you live in a city and there aren't usable trees!  I suppose lampposts would work too if they were close enough together.  But HEY-  'I has a idea!'  Why not wrap subway cars in cellophane and just let them have at it?  When it's full of crazy paints it can be unwrapped and the car remains shiny and new

                

Astros & Kanos  CelloGraff    (You gotta love the translation…)  " They use Cellophane to make partitions and short-lived volumes which are of use to them as support for their plastic interventions without damages. The wills and the possibilities are Multiple. CelloGraff emphasizes the possibility of acting in the city, while respecting its codes and its smooth running and to bring in particular the graffiti there where it has no reason for being. The problem of the support is for a long time in the heart of the graffiti, the walls of expression miss cruelly in the youth and the graffiti vandal do not stop deforming our streets."

On to 'book graffiti'.. I need to try this, maybe in my oldest Fanny Farmer cookbook that is full of grease spots and splatters and is screaming for a renewal.

There's a hole in your Fifteenth Century manuscript. How are you going to fix it? At some point during the history of this manuscript housed at Uppsala University in Sweden, the solution was to embroider the holes. Some of the work in the Preservation Section is done in the form of projects where it is possible to immerse oneself in a particular collection or a certain object as far as methods, materials, preservation and storage are concerned.The book  here was one such project just because of the special way it had been mended with silk thread and which was in great need of conservation. The manuscript dates from the 14th century and it belonged to the monastic library at Vadstena Convent after its purchase in Konstanz in 1417.  Amazing.  

SuperMoon Sunday:  the Moon orbits the Earth in an ellipse, not a circle, so the distance between us and the Moon changes all the time. When the Moon is closest to Earth in its orbit we call it perigee, and apogee when it’s farthest. These happen once per lunar orbit, of course, about 13 times per year each. This year, the average perigee distance is about 363,000 kilometers (225,000 miles), and the average apogee distance about 405,000 km (251,000 miles) .  Isn't it spectacular?