I just snuck over from the apartment where I addressed all my cards, had some tea and realized that I could not get internet to get a blog done. So now in the studio being quiet.
We had our first snow!
Now it is bitter cold!
Yesterday Lee helped me make macaroni and cheese with broccoli for the freezer. I am trying to make things simpler for us. And two days ago he was able to get the last of his leaf blowing in with some very late color in the yard.
I keep up with the drawings…
A double ikat
scarf that I made of two fabrics
with leftover cloth.
A nice pure linen
semi sheer scarf of blues/greys
from Whidby Island.
Lee’s worn work glove
the left hand one that is not
as dirty as right.
My winter work glove
pressed into use this morning
to spread corn and seed.
Now a few more random journal sketches.
And some more writings from old journals.
But first these next few lines are what I forgot to copy to the last post on how words get on the page.
Sometimes the character is so strong that they will be there later with more of their story.
They don’t give it all away in one sitting….that would be like writing a novel.
They just showed up to tell me something, share a feeling.
They are very real at that moment and I pay attention before they leave me holding a pen over a blank pad of paper.
That is how the writing happens.
I then put it on the computer so I can look at it. It is more clinical now and less a private conversation.
Some words are changed or omitted because they interfere too much. This happens because I am getting in the way of the essence of the “story”.
I stay pretty much with the idea of stanzas. They let me breathe in the space between and pause to see if that was right….is that what happened or was said or was felt.
And then an ending comes quite naturally. I don’t need to make them say more. I give a nod and step back. And I am now okay with sharing this small glimpse of feeling with someone else.
Now some prompts I liked…
Prompts:
Telling a Lie
I tell lies all the time – say something nice when I would just as soon not.
“Oh, that’s nice.” And it really is not nice or I don’t give a rip about whatever I said was nice.
Usually I don’t know what I said, “Oh, that’s nice” to – I am not even paying attention. It is a comment I use while I am making up another lie…..mmmm……about needing to be someplace else.
A Window
This window is my escape. I can look through it and feel my body follow my gaze.
I am no longer here in this room with these people. I am walking through the grass, going toward the forest.
I am going to the first tree I see and climb it.
Then I am going to sit on a branch – face this window and wonder what I am missing.
I am now going to leave you with my cat, Sadie, who needed a blanket yesterday.
And the finished Christmas cards. I made small etchings of scraps of cloth in the shape of a tree and then took thread, made a French knot at the top and stitched the pieces together once the prints dried.
Here thy are with the inside message. I wish I had time to make so many more for the kind friends who have been so considerate this past year. Thank you.
Til later…