about longing and making

i love this photo of jennifer concentrating deeply 

as she begins to spin lokta thread, kami-ito.

her hands know so much

and weren't happy with the drop spindle

but she felt comfortable with the bobbin winder.

that's how it is 

i think,

as you make techniques and practices foreign to you

as you make them your own.

you juggle them and try to find the connection

and you know deeply when something 

resonates or fascinates or reminds 

creates longing and love in your heart.

over at terri windling's blog today

she wrote about mr finch's work and cs lewis.

and about longing.

while my work is not so much words, but images

and books, and textile,

i share that feeling. 

i want people to look and see and feel somehow

a longing.

it's that sort of day here today, 

rainy and contemplative,

my laundry got half dry before i took it down,

as the first drops began,

and hung it inside as i do in winter.

monica langwe shared this image today.

and i realize these books,

all of which i want to hold and read
longing, again, 

would likely be in a language unfathomable to me

and likely be

about something uninteresting as well.

there would be no lucy or peter or edmond or susan.

or narnia.

but there could be teaching in these bindings, 

the books themselves now taking on personality.

as below, the lamppost and the ladder are doing.

i have put my trust

in the natural world,

in the decay of summer leaves

and they are just beginning to turn

a touch of gold in the sugar maples

always the old, hurt trees show first.

and here,

in the studio

that today is my dining room

i am thinking of how to build a big 

BOOK.

how can one make sense of the longing

that fiber holds for some of us?

how image works in-- 

or of making paper, 

here of poplar seed fiber 

or of weaving paper into shifu

as yuko is doing here 

poplar seed pulp.

a gift, an experiment, a paper, a fiber.

a ramble today, my thoughts are moseying along.

book in hand

felicity sent me this image

and it's something i really love

so here it is for you, too.

 these two photos are me 

answering questions at revive and renew,

the talk just before the opening reception

tom and diane listen,

diane was one of our students who travelled with 

three (!) border collies

that i got way too little time with.

 behind tom is one half of my large piece

of printed awagami gregory kozo

and behind me is a piece by tatiana ginsberg, 

behind diane, one by pam mckee. 

the show was designed and hung

beautifully by the morgan's mason milani.

i'm still recovering from the trip, 

the bat,

(who tested negative for rabies)

and house and studio maintenance.

i did completely clean out a raised bed

at the new place

pulled out a LOT of weeds and roots and put in old manure

so a fall crop can be planted: 

spinach, four lettuces, kale and two rapes:

fall pleasure.

august

 it's august.

mother earth is pulling out the stops

it's roaring here, after being in cleveland

for 11 days.

the morgan was hopping, with my class and steve's two weekends ago,

then mine with aimee

and the opening of REVIVE AND RENEW

which is beautiful.

and you should see it if you can.

tom checking in with aimee

 elizabeth's dye samples

 tub on ramp, i kid you not

morgan color

 a place to momigami

(did i coin a verb?)

we used water and ink to alter original colors

and discovered riches. 

lake erie sends fresh water

to ontario, my home lake

and on to the st. lawrence

 20 miles from where i live now. 

 cleveland between lake and sky

 dinner partners

lotta, chris, jennifer, aimee

 cleveland over the top

we did not dine with him.

 yuko's shifu

 i bought this japanese book in oz

and opened it for our students

 lovely details

 paper staples

 yuko and ivey

 the sun was a red rubber ball

remember that song?

 as i drove

 out of cleveland

 yesterday

 tom labelled me

 and 

gifted me with three morgan kozo starts

bill's indigo above smells

quite strong.

 here all is changed

after 11 days!

 the girls and their calves

were curious to see me walk after so long

 maybe they forgot me?

the red baby didn't

and he has a name

 fire man

this mornig i woke early

up collecting my stuff to head downstairs at 4:45

light on

and a bat appeared. 

i found it was not so bad

in my room, 

just waking up to them flying over my face 

is problematic.

day two, yesterday

photos by jennifer

 aimee handing a large piece of denim 

she is "stationed at one end of a large table,

me at the other. 

in the blue bag is fresh indigo that bill brought in
we will do a fresh pot today. 

me handling a sheet of lokta, 

cut in wide strips and ready for the next steps before spinning.

we have made paper from flax, abaca, wild iris stalks and poplar seed fluff
the last two were experiments
we can take some risks in this class, which is wonderful!

we have made cords and lace and twisted kozo thread

we have processed pulp from beginning to end, done all the steps of papermaking,

we are tired, 
but good conversation,

good humor and camaraderie chocolate sustain us.

both of these photos are by jennifer coyne qudeen

who traveled all the way from connecticut 

to take our class.

we have students from the east coast, 

from around ohio, 

from new york and 

from ontario.

the level of interest in paper and fiber

is high, very high.
and we are all working hard.
today-shifu and dyeing and papermaking
look out, class!

morgan shenanigans and...

 mason and aimee

and julie mclaughlin's kozo dress

big ass paper, indeed! 

no, it will be displayed differently, 

but even armless

and legless 

you get a sense of the grace and beauty of this piece.

tiny beads accent 

 charity fitting out ugly girl's hair
calculating how to best display this indigo dyed piece,

another of julie's garments 

with a stairstep woven and dyed indigo bodice

 leftover body parts

(what can i say?)

aimee and mason curated this show,

mason is hanging it and was in charge of this catalog.

the back cover below

shows my latest hortus siccus book.

 i feel a bit like i'm 

on the cover of the rolling stone!
and am in the community of fine paper artists.

 where i stay when i'm here--

 the other half is a wonderful big paper mill

way behind the zebra hide

and this

rather important and famous artists' book

by bill drendel lives here.

i was delighted to find it.

it's handmade paper heaven here in cleveland. 

here in cleveland

being back in cleveland is grand.

i grew up on one end of a great lake 

by the niagara river, so this sort of place

feels very familiar.

cleveland is not far from my original home,

lewiston,

upriver from niagara falls.

so it's grand.

and aimee is here and so are the morganites.

our weekend eco/contact print class was amazing.

very high level of skill and commitment.

and i got to see melissa!

 bill wrapped several bundles in leaves

and brought fresh home grown indigo to share
we had some interesting results
and it's delightful to 
have indigo to play with.

 margaret experimented with folds

echoes

and cecile's hands holding her favorite squares

her hands know so much!

with charity (one of aimee's interns) in the background.

she blogged about our workshop here.

 the studio where i stay

is a cabinet of curiosities

i said hello to the drum

 and to the crazy thing

out the window 
old industrial + green looks fine

 and aimee in the paper mill

you can see the hanji vat just behind her left knee
draped in felts!
on thursday we begin our four day,
excitement!