reading design

i'm reading about two compelling things,

(when i'm not reading Phryne Fisher stories)

design and craft.

phryne i reserve for the very humid and hot days, in the afternoon

when my head feels enormous and mushy

especially after i did this

have you tried to walk or make paper or garden 

when your big toe is swollen and bruised

or hauled a fan up and down stairs (16) because you only have one?

i did, however, complete this chore first:

i felled a basswood that was growing in my perennial border

where it's not allowed.

sawing basswood takes almost no strength, 

such a pleasure to do this job quickly (the cutting, that is, stripping is still work).

i clip off the branches

and then stripped the bark leaving outer and inner bast intact, 

to send to Heather from PBI

who is sending me a trade.

grin. this is fun.

and basswood, well, it's delicious.

it doesn't smell or feel quite as lovely as slippery elm, 

which i still have to "weed" out of that border...you know,

the end of the border where it becomes forest?

i also made a little stack of 27 square flax papers

laying them flat to air dry without restraint.

(black cases hold typewriter and sewing machine)

as they dry they become dimensional

which always pleases me

stacking them is fun

especially when i can stack them on top of some shifu

that i dipped several times,

i lost track how many,

maybe 7 or so,

 in the vat.

and below is one of many dimensional pieces i made in Mary Hark's PBI class

flax with inclusions,

dipped in the same indigo vat,

see how the dye works on different fiber

and different numbers of dunks?

can you guess what the inclusions are?

so this morning,

toe feeling much better,

i worked in the mill for 2 1/2 hours

made a big stack of larger heavy flax sheets.

(i'm beginning to understand flax)

oh, 

and reading design and craft?

i'm still very much pursuing that, 

 today, after spending the early morning with this book

i went off to make paper.

a very good balance for me.

andrew's book is a treasure, teaching through stories. 

i read a a few pages,

go away mulling it over, and return to read and think some more. 

his understanding of the creative process, of problem solving, 

and building well designed and beautiful environments

combine teaching wisdom with caring wisdom.

i am learning so much--

a very good book.