Minding my maps

Merriam-Webster defines  map :

1 a:  a representation usually on a flat surface of the whole or a part of an area

b:  a representation of the celestial sphere or a part of it

2 :  something that represents with a clarity suggestive of a map

~ the Freudian 'map' of the mind -- Harold Bloom

so I got to thinking ....

could photographs act just as easily as maps of a  life?

If I mapped myself, what might that look like?

And if I focused on, say, my creative life, would it be telling?

Could I show the route from back there 

to here?

So I gave it a try & here's where it led me ...

To the convergence of paper and books

to beads on cloth with an uncertain latitude

towards an elusive north star

with an ever present guiding light

and a dear navigator who teaches all the compass points.

Just a small smattering of map pages - old directions & new ...

so yes,  I can see how I got here

but perhaps the more important question is

just where am I going?

[ this is where a hushed voice offers, "Only the cartographer knows for sure..." ]

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bead sketches : month six

June was my birth month and I was having very mixed feelings

about growing older, like we all do I suppose.  I try not to dwell on the negatives

and instead, steer any introspection that occurs right towards that which

is beautiful and calm and filled with positivity.

And that's where doing an enterprise that we love

can save us.

Literally.

Not to put too dramatic a spin on it, but it's a challenge to not be

brought down by the goings-on in the world.

It seems so important to keep going 

in the midst of all that

no

matter

what.

I didn't follow particular prompts in June, not like previous months. The natural dye pots

were fired up, sewing was at hand, the garden was being tended & revamped for

dye plants (instead of food) ... then, the new space needed arranging, many

photographs to take & play with, resting to give attention to, dietary changes to make

 and so all became one big swirl of activity,

each one seeming to feed off the other

with hardly any separation or pause.

There were words, some phrases, even memories that cropped up

while working with these littles so I'll share those instead

and you can make of them what you will ....

walking a thin line

full pockets

astonished

order from chaos

solace undermined

minimalism

the wee lass who collected abalone shells on her 10th birthday

"nostalgia is not indulgence"

sunset tidelines

stay calm; wait, hope

delicate balance

relative symmetry

frayed around more than the edges

flower  power

"to rest is to prepare to give the best of ourselves"

: : : :

To view all of the  52 weeks : bead sketches  posts, starting with the most recent,

 CLICK HERE

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bead sketches : month five

Bead sketching in May was like wrestling a dragon.

But then, most everything in May felt like a wrestling match.

Here, all of nature seems to "wake up" at this time of year ... spring  positively explodes ...

and most afternoons I find myself wondering just how I'm going to fit in a nap between 

all the items on my long list of tasks.

Bone weary might be an apt description.

Those are the moments when the strong commitment I made to this project

becomes its own guiding force,  nudging (sometimes shoving) me to the beading table

while the other half of me feels like she should be outside accomplishing x, y, or z instead.

From assembling the base, gathering the materials, stitching layers of cloth,

solving how-to-attach-objects issues, then onto the bead embroidery itself,

each sketch requires between 6 - 8 hours to complete.

This is a relatively small amount of time in a week, all things considered.

But I've realized that if I didn't place value on the process of doing this project

- if I hadn't vowed to myself to show up and do the work no matter what -

I would be allowing a million other things to pull me away.

Excuses are easy.

So here is May.  Duly wrestled.

~ Local skies were lit with dancing lights early in the month so I wondered if I

could illustrate my own perception of them with some over-the-top bead stacks ~

~ Circles of friends; how imperfect they are with their loose threads .... 

how simply they can unravel without care & attention ~ 

~ What happens to the tons of used clothing we as consumers donate or "recycle"?  Much of it 

 makes a voyage overseas ... the somewhat disturbing afterlife of American clothes ~

~ From my collection of purposeless vintage keys (keys with unknown or missing locks),

not suited for much now except for illustrating idioms like this perhaps ~

: : : :

To view all of the  52 weeks : bead sketches  posts, starting with the most recent,

 CLICK HERE

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bead sketches : month four

April's quartet ...

which felt more like a kind of poem evolving than a

weekly exercise in making;

more like a continuous thought that moved quietly from

one color palette to the next - which I will explain further 

at the bottom of this post.

Without further ado ...

Once again I'll note the source, or the word prompts, or where my inspiration came from

below each photograph (with links, if applicable).    

~ New beads! called 'Rose Petals,' which started as an exploration of mandalas but grew into

a green study revolving around this term  ~

~ I wondered how I might create a different twist on an old tradition ... ~

~ Off-loom bead weaving can be an incredibly meditative activity & a welcomed mental state of

mind it was this month, so I included a short journey with the freeform version of

this stitch in order  to practice mixing bead sizes & shapes  ~

~ In March of 2015, I had rather an amusing *failed* attempt at dyeing with madder and only

achieved apricot colors.  Since then the shade has grown on me & I've wanted to use some of

that cloth in a beaded piece.  A water-inscribed twig of driftwood, some pearls

and a few magic stones later ... 

: : : :

Now, about that evolving thought I mentioned earlier ...

I didn't realize until I took this quartet outside to photograph her that there is a certain

calm

running through this batch that I haven't seen in the others.  This month

feels like one cohesive journey tied together by an invisible equilibrium.  Am I 

making sense?  Its as if I'm starting to work out some triteness, some of those cliches that

crop up when doing improvisational bead work.  There was definitely more of an ease this

month, a kind of level of intention that never left me.  It's hard to explain but let me tell you

what I did at the beginning of the month:

I drew a card ...

a prompt card from my dear friend India's "wander cards for wonderers."

The words were

so

utterly

perfect 

I kept them in front of me on the beading table for the entire month.

It is where I held my focus.

And from that came a great, soothing calm

along with an unmistakeable affirmation to keep paying attention

to that which is most important.

: : : :

To view all of the  52 weeks : bead sketches  posts, starting with the most recent,

CLICK HERE

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bead sketches : month three

March was a bit wild, not the least of which was the unrelenting rainfall

which definitely set my teeth on edge by month's end (all time records were broken for Seattle!)

but did make for cozy hours at the beading table and a guilt-free frame of mind

as I watched the grass grow another foot taller and didn't have to mow it.

So now there's 12 ...

March's collection - month three of my '52 weeks : bead sketches' project - was more challenging

than earlier months due to paper wrangling one week and found object attachment issues

the next ... but part of the joy of this project is continuing on no matter what.

Nothing has to be perfect.

I can change my mind right in the middle of a bead pattern

because these are "idea" squares ... itty bitty templates for trying on a new dress, 

so to speak.  And it's all about the process, not about the finished product.

I've said it before - this adventure is so  freeing.

There was quite a lot of positive feedback last time about posting my inspiration each week,

so once again I'll note the source, or the word prompts, or where my ideas came from.

They are written below each photograph with links, if appropriate.

~ followed two simple questions: how might I create  texture  on those triangles

& what kind of edge treatment(s) might compliment the graphic elements? ~

~ thinking about an homage to "broken wings" inspired by THIS IMAGE ~

~ one glorious evening I bought a marvelous tome, wrapped in a paper bag,

from this [in]famous BOOKSTORE 

~ contemplation of leaves in the last line of THIS ~ 

: : :

To view all of the  52 weeks : bead sketches  posts, starting with the most recent,

CLICK HERE

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bead sketches : month two

And now there are 8 ...

February's collection - month two of my '52 weeks : bead sketches' project - is finished.

More playing relentlessly,

more diving deep,

more showing up faithfully.

I also did a lot of wondering about why I haven't imposed 

a project like this on myself before.  In truth I suppose because the time is NOW

and I wasn't where I needed to be to take this on before now.

Just showing up to do the work has great benefits.

I'll write more on that subject later as thoughts solidify, but for now

I've an amazing sense of freedom with this work / play

that I've never, 

ever

had before.

There's surely a lesson in this approach for me

although I can't put it all into words yet.

For this month I thought it might be of interest if I noted where

my inspiration, or word prompts, or weekly idea came from.

They are written below each photograph with links.

~ bugle bead inspiration arose from HERE ~

~ exploring some thoughts about THIS ~

~ describing in materials the meaning of THIS PHRASE ~

~ experimenting with the pattern of THESE ~

Feels  so good  to be back with my beads.

: : :

Postscript:  A few hours after I published this post I came across some

excellent words that seem to fit right in so I've come back to note them.

You don’t need more motivation or inspiration to create the life you want. You need less shame around the idea that you’re not doing your best. You need to stop listening to people who are in vastly different life circumstances and life stages than you tell you that you’re just not doing or being enough. You need to let timing do what it needs to do. You need to see lessons where you see barriers. You need to understand that what’s

right now  becomes inspiration later.

by Jamie Varon, from 'To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind'

: : :

To view all of the  52 weeks : bead sketches  posts, starting with the most recent,

CLICK HERE

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bead sketches : month one

When I wrote the following on Dear Flora last month,

"Something new for what is feeling like a glorious new year on the horizon.

Thought it might be time to embark on a yearlong adventure ... 52 weeks

of 3-inch squares and the discovery of all the tiny worlds I can create

within them. I have no idea where this is going,

but go I must ... "

what I didn't mention was that I was going on this journey mainly to

play with beads again.  We'd taken a break, my bead family and I.  You know how it is

when you have to step away for a while in order to come back with fresh eyes,

a renewed heart?

I'd been away for so long that many new bead varieties had hit the markets without me

and I'd been growing steadily more curious about how to integrate them

into bead embroidery work.  Compound this with all the hand dyed

cloth I'd been amassing, explorations with paper, metals and all sorts

of sundry textiles and what was building felt nothing short of a crisis of making ...

I needed to dive.

I needed to stop dreaming and start doing.

For the last year or so I've noticed myself being attracted to the projects

of others who'd committed themselves to creating something/anything on a steady schedule.

Committed.  Key word.

Schedule.  Key word.

Be they daily poems or sketches, weekly paintings or mixed media collages, 

even a gorgeous pair of knitted socks per month, folks were dedicating themselves to

show up ... do the work.  Best of it was, they were gaining much from 

this kind of discipline.  They talked about it - they were having breakthroughs.

Their new creative "habit" was renewing confidence &

providing fertile ground for inspiration.

This, to my mind, was a healthy choice of how to invest ones time.

So I had a good long think about what I could stomach doing for the long haul.

Having really blown it in the past was actually helpful for not setting goals

to outrageously out there ... 20/20 hindsight & all that.

Size was going to be critical.  Beads are [mostly] tiny little pretties

and the last thing I wanted was a demanding blank space shouting, "Fill me up!"

So learning from a previous 6-inch disaster I first cut the size in half.

Another extremely important aspect of setting parameters was allowing

for the element of  play  ... I did not want to produce a *finished* square each week.

Instead, how freeing to simply play with ideas & materials

and just see where that took me.

Hence the name, bead sketches - not particularly clever, but to the point.

Without the pressure of having to finish something each week I found

month one an extremely enjoyable enterprise.  As each new week rolled around I

picked up whatever caught my fancy in the moment & started from there.

I wondered what would happen if I paired this with that,

then tried it.  I experimented with edge treatments & extending beyond

the exact space while allowing the materials to dictate the direction.

There were mess-ups - like joining methods, thread issues, fabric limitations -

which sent the beads all wonky-doodle ...

but I sure know a lot more now then if I'd never started.

Little templates to explore some ideas every week.

Slow and steady ... just show up.

Play relentlessly.

I'm really liking how this feels.

:::

It would be immensely enjoyable to hear about your experiences.

If you are someone who's ever [or currently] embarked on a daily, weekly,

even monthly practice, your comments about the process are most welcome here.

If you'd like to share a link where we can come and see what you made during the process,

please do.  I think the sharing could be very advantageous indeed.

Thank you for stopping by.

"I have no idea where this is going, but go I must ..."

: : :

To view all of the  52 Weeks : Bead Sketches  posts, starting with the most recent,

CLICK HERE

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Jade Dog's spring bead challenge

Whatever came over me, I'm not quite sure ...

participate in a bead challenge at the start of spring when the

tasks outside are too numerous to list?

oy vey.

I must be crazy.

It's just that when I saw this bead kit, I couldn't help myself

... such an organic feel, earthy tones, seed pods,
with a beautiful balance of textures that set my mind

right down a new path of inspiration.

I couldn't say no to that - that doesn't happen all that often -

that
is inspiration worth listening to.

Besides, I was already a big fan of Jade Dog Beads.
Cool stuff from a real swell gal.

~ 2015 Spring Bead Challenge, Kit #5 ~

Each kit has basically the same ingredients with only slight variations in color and

detailing marks on the large cab [at bottom].

The ingredients:

wood disc bead

vintage aluminum ring blank

polymer cab (50mm x 34mm)

radraksha beads

sea urchin spikes

strand of pellet beads

bag of size 8 transparent picasso finish glass seed beads

I think I should elaborate ... I won't be making jewelry.

[That ring is soon to become  not  a ring]

There may be cloth involved ... there may be embroidery.

Because there are no limitations on what we can create, ANYTHING beaded is fair game.

The only rules: we must use ALL the beads in the kit

and we must be finished by April 20th.

But we can add whatever we want to the kit stash

and  anything beaded  goes, including 3-D.

oh boy.

There are a few kits left ... anyone want to join in the challenge with me?

You can view them over on Etsy

and also find The Jade Dog on Facebook ... more info over there, too.

Darcy [the owner] is super speedy with answers if you have questions.

: : :

for those not swept up with bead madness
- or maybe even if you are -

I offer you this video rush

:: Danny Macaskill: The Ridge ::

Isle of Skye

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Taking our cues

Sometimes when I begin a post I have a fairly clear idea of where it's headed

and other times, as happened here, it veers off into another direction entirely.

This one has become an open thought, just some observations

about how connections can happen

and where they might lead,

so I'll leave it as that.

Backing up a bit, here's where my thoughts started ....

Michelle and "the boyz" had an impromptu practice session yesterday
so Isla and I headed over to the training facility to join them.
Working with our dogs is one of the great joys in our lives
and I'm certain it's the main reason M and I have became such good friends.

Sam, her Golden, is twelve years old now but still learning
new tricks.  This is a bit of platform training used in Freestyle
and Sam's just accomplished "four on" [all four paws square on the platform]
so he's been clicked for the positive behavior
and gets a yummy reward.

Benny, who's eleven, is learning verbal commands to understand

which platform M wants him on.  Here she's said, "Behind,"

and Benny has moved into position  -  M clicks

[clicker in her right hand] 

and will hand him a treat backwards.

Our dogs take turns - while one is on the floor working

the other dogs are enclosed in their crates or pens.

It's a great way for them to learn discipline while in close proximity to other dogs

and the crates also become their "safe spots" where they can always feel secure

and chill out if they need to.

We keep the exercises short & fast ... that way, the dogs stay fully engaged

and it's easier on the handlers, too, in the long run.

The dogs seem to love the practices as much as the humans.

We're building a mutual language through teamwork but perhaps best of all,

we're building comaraderie across species.

Here's the newest addition to M's doggy household, the spritely Border collie, Craig.

A youngster by comparison to his "old men" brothers,

he's barely three and believe it or not  HE  has become Isla's first boyfriend ... 

oh my, is she ever so sweet on the Craigster ... shamefully so.

They look like brother & sister - must get some portraits of them together soon

[more of that story another time].

Although he arrived with sheep herding skills under his withers,

M has some   additional plans   for this fine fella ...

as in

her next Agility companion.

So how might one teach a herding dog new tricks?

Practice, patience, practice, determination, patience, practice,

mixed together with a lively batch of hand signals,

verbal controls, body language

and endless amounts of positive reinforcement.

Taking the cue for "bow."

So far so good.

M is nothing short of focused & dedicated ... as for Craig,

OH what a happy dog he is !

After we finished, Isla and I headed to the beach.

I needed some stones for a project and anyway,

the bright afternoon was excuse enough to head outdoors.

We walked and walked 

and as the little stones clinked into my bag

I rewound thoughts from our day; 

about training, and learning ... how much dogs and humans have in common,

thoughts about how all of us take cues from our surroundings,

from what inspires, excites, 

and also from those who purposely or not

encourage us towards new directions.

Like Craig.

The beach experienced some leveling over winter which made for easy rambling.

Piles of driftwood were displaying their silvery lines

in the chilly sunshine, exposing their story, 

showing what they're made of ...

which reminded me of some lines back home.

This piece is finished now

and this stone is my next cue ...

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