an evening journey

…with friends

 was it wednesday?

i don't recall

 but

 naomi drove marie and me

into the mountains

 where we found a few surprising things

 vast

 and more vast

 and looking down,

a few pieces of trash

 including a dirty diaper.

 which made us angry.

 oh, but this place!

 so different than

my old familiar adirondacks

 oh, my

 we all took photos

 and a month or so ago

there were fires here

 but this land knows 

how to deal with it

 trace's xanthorea

 working through.

the burnt bits

wrote mysteries all over

my white twill pants

and then we went to dinner

with trace.
~~~
gail stiffe has put up a post
about my class at beautiful silks
and the book she completed.

hands working

this little film inspires me

every time i view it.

and i am reminded of the simplicity of making thread

yarn

string

and how that thing

 string yarn thread

holds us together

sinew cloth clothing protection

shroud

fiber.

my mother's maiden name was weaver.

it's a protection i hold close.

i learned to stitch with used unraveled hem thread

on kleenex.

winter to summer and back again

the last class was exciting

going deep

four days

13 humans

and blue fairy wrens

(among other feathered beings)

 i love the variety 

 of needle books

my students had.

did i say i had 14 students in the two day class

12 in the four day class

and we worked.

 we made and made and made

 we shared

 we built

 we discovered how a few crinkles

can enhance the dullest of papers.

 these folks kept saying "why not?"

and making my predictions

dust and ashes.

oh, i learned so much! 

 proving my predictions wrong

 some came despite

difficult circumstances--

 there were stories

involving 

toilets and firearms and other things

 some folks just took off

like sky writers,

you know,

those pilots who write letters

across the blue heavens.

 many, many books were made

 new spinners fell in love

with paper,

kozo and lokta

 and some book artists 

combined their learning from class one

with our class.

when natural dye pots were unavailable

we decided to make a few ecoprints instead.

when one said the red was colorfast

she was right

 and then,

well,

my beautiful little canon

powershot

spurted from my pocket

into the rinse bucket.

so there are no more photos.

but

as a few come into my inbox

i will share them.

let me tell you this:

four days is entirely enough

to really get somewhere

with paper and shifu and books.

we ended with stationers bindings in classes one and three.

and they were all amazing.

THANK YOU ALL.

if i could hand pick students, 

you would be the exact ones for me.

it was amazing,

toilet jokes and all.

a few more stories

may come along

as i try to get my brain

wrapped around back to school

and a dentist appointment

and then income tax forms.

another day in a beautiful place

 kookaburra

 female fairy wren

 grampians out my studio

the other direction

i've been without e-access

but have a little bit.

my camera fell into the dye-rinse bath

yesterday,

but all is well. 

we'll see if the travel insurance will cover it.

my students in both calsses,

all 27 of them 

(yes, you read that right!)

have been an incredible blessing.

i hope they spin and weave

paper

and remember how amazing 

this little chuink of time together was.

thank you australia!!!!!

breaking news!

the MORGAN conservatory has posted

its summer schedule.

take a look, i'm teaching a class

and co-teaching another with aimee lee! 

i love this place!
(scroll down the page, hit the next page button, 
and there are the rest of the summer classes!)

hi! i am a pole….

art supply plus+++

palm

where the basketmakers hang out

blessed anne newton

she is one of those lovely 

thoughtful people 

tree so unlike a north country tree

(i forget which one, my head is mush)

word

clock

filigree

kayak

perseverance

alchemistresses of

indigo

 trace willans and naomi stevenson

pressing 

these

these

this

and this. 

the last four photos

are about 10 degrees of too light

but i will photograph them

another time

away from basement fluorescents.

~~~

at hall's gap and the grampians

it looks like i will be internet deprived.

quite possibly email only.

see ya!