Best Proud Past Award – Art Story Prologue

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My story begins with a piece that was finished in 1989, nearly 25 years ago. I was truly honored Saturday evening November 3, when I found out it had been awarded ‘Best of Show’ for the Proud Past portion of the Seattle Weavers’ Guild 75th Anniversary art show. The show, sponsored by SWG is called “Putting the Art in Fiber Art, Proud Past, Dynamic Future, is at the Art/Not Terminal Gallery in Seattle, WA through November 27th, 2012.

'Gaia - The One and the Many'

‘Gaia – The One and the Many’
Size: 18-1/4” x 20-1/4” x 1” – Completed: 1989
Materials: cotton, beads – Techniques: handwoven, beading

This piece was inspired by a quote from the book The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra, 1982, “The image of the Goddess…with the one manifest in the many and the many dwelling within the one”. If memory serves, this was my first introduction to the concept of a feminine Divine energy, and the Gaia hypothesis — the earth as a single living organism.  Using modern physics as a basis, the book examines the many ways that everything is connected. My intent was to create a visual image or representation that showed the spark of divine light within each of us as separate entities and yet together they create a greater whole.

There is a lot of personal significance for me that this particular piece was chosen for the award. “Gaia, the One and the Many”  was the last piece of conceptual art I completed for almost 20 years, but was never shown publicly. In many ways it was a foundational work for me. This piece was more complex than my earlier work in concept as well as utilizing more elements and techniques. It was the first exploration of my personal philosophy that everything is connected in some way. And it shows the beginning of my now deep connection with the Divine Feminine. The timing is significant as well. I love the “coincidence” that an artwork about the “Goddess” was awarded best of show now that I am truly launching my ceremonial cloths business, dedicated to imbuing cloth with sacred intent.

The next post in this series will fast forward about 20 years (with a brief stop 9 years ago) when my need to create art finally re-asserts itself.

 

Urban Craft Uprising

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Went and saw a really great craft show today. The Urban Craft Uprising now in it’s 8th year is having it’s summer show this weekend (July 7 & 8) at the Seattle Center Exhibition hall.

Several things caught my eye and wanted to share. First of course was some fabulous yarn. For you knitters, check out Yarnarchy who has some gorgeous handspun and hand dyed yarn. And equally as gorgeous were the yarns from Spincycle yarns All handspun using a lot of “Bluefaced Leicester” a long staple fleece with high luster. The ones mixed with silk were luscious. And Yarnia from Portland was there. They will custom ply your yarn from there huge selection of fine yarns. They had cones of pre-wound yarn for sale.

There were also lots of people doing upcycled crafts. Muluk does some very fun things with neckties. And Bella Sisters take old wool coats and jackets and embellish them into some very fun wearable art.

Lots of wonderful jewelry, letterpress cards, pottery and more. And my one purchase was a book called Recipe for Press the diy guide for being your own publicist. The author Amy Flurry was there signing books. Had a great chat with her.

Definitely glad we went today. They have a show the first weekend of December. I’m thinking about applying for it. If you can’t make it tomorrow, put it on your calendar for December 1 & 2.

I Did it!!!

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    It may not seem like a big deal to many people but for me this is huge. I finally signed up for my website/blog today. The process itself wasn’t difficult, it was making the necessary decisions that was my big stumbling block. I’ve been stewing over this for nearly two years now. First choosing a domain name and how to structure the site. What did I want to put on it? How much to include? Then getting over the technical hurdles of the platform, hosting and a certain amount of techno-phobia. All of which required a bunch of new knowledge. But now, with a lot of help from my friends, I’m here!

I want to thank all of the people who made this possible. Paula Ward, who teaches business classes at Seattle Central Community College, in a month of mentoring you have helped me to move forward faster than I ever thought possible. Without your coaching I’m sure I would still be stewing over this, so Thank You!! She has a great knitting blog. http://easyknittingdesign.com/

Mary McKenzie, a good friend and spiritual guide, thank you for your always well timed input. The copy of Deepak Chopra’s Laws of Detachment you gave me last night was most helpful. Her blog is at http://miniaturewytche.blogspot.com/. And I found another website today, a Jewish meditation site http://www.awakenedheartproject.org/. They have a series of meditation talks, just the title of one struck a chord with me: “I think, Therefore I am in Tsuris”. Tsuris is Yiddish and means troubles or trials and tribulations. Hmm… So if thinking about this for two years hasn’t yielded a decision, try something else? Meditation perhaps? Let go and follow my intuition, ah, finally, success.

A special thanks goes to my husband, Kevin Cain, for listening and putting up with my dithering, for your help with all of this tech stuff, and all of your love and support. Kevin’s blog is at http://artwritingandgeekingout.wordpress.com/. And to the rest of my family and many friends who keep encouraging me, Thank You! Your support means more to me than you can ever know.

This is the beginning of a new adventure for me. It is obviously a work in progress, with only two pages and one blog post, there is a lot of work to do. I still need to choose a theme (appearance) for the blog, and there are a number of pages yet to come. But earlier this evening, after the first two pages were up, I was feeling almost giddy. I did it! I made the decisions and acted on them. I am vanquishing my foes!

Choked by Fear
Bound by Doubt and Worry
Sinking into Indecision
and a pool of Procrastination
——
It takes Courage to
Gain the Confidence
To rise up with Hope
And attain the Certainty
To move forward with
Decisive Right Action

You can read more about this piece on my etsy site.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/72091968