Having Balls

This week I untangled threads. I have had a pile of yarns all mangled together beside my chair for months now and in order to gain the illusion of control I tidied them up and they are all in nice neat balls… for now.
I can live with mess…. anyone who knows me knows that —but every once and awhile when the universe is sending me mixed messages, I find cleaning can set the mind back on the path. I have had good reactions to my art and some rejections… what can I do? Tidy the loose threads and keep on creating and finding other ways to get myself out there. I need balls.

In the past 10 days, my kids escaped a fire, moved home for a week, and now are living in a hotel. They have handled it like pros and figured out really quickly what they could and could not control. They survived and thrived. They have eachother. When they could go and get some of their things from the apartment, they took computers, some clothes, books and their knitting. Balls.

We are fostering a dog who has added a new dynamic to our home. We have a dog but she is pretty independent and doesn’t really like playing. Bear, the new guy, needs to play. He came with food, bowl, bedding and balls. He has made the change to being with our family well, as long as he has lots of balls.
My son, the juggler, puts himself out in public space all of the time. I feel like a taxi-driver in his life. “Next destination sir?” baseball, ultimate frizbee, youth conference, fundraising, english essay, play… keeping all the balls in the air.

Acknowledgement and Praise

It is so good for the soul when you are new to sending your art out into the world and a complete stranger makes this kind of comment how can you not want to hit the studio.

“Love it! This sings on so many levels! Grace, please keep experimenting with your woven nests, and listen to your fingers, because they will know how to interpret your innermost thoughts and feelings If you have more,please post them. This really is art from the heart!”

I have been feeling a little lost the last few weeks. Even my dreams are full of movement and indecision.  There are so many things I am capable of doing and want to do and think I “should” do but the truth is I want to nest.  In the studio I have a chair I love to sit in and around me is a pile of threads and yarns and fabrics calling me to be woven together.   At home I have a similar nest of books, laptop, threads and projects waiting completion.

The nests I make are becoming even more diverse.  All represent a place I would feel at home in and I realize that there is no perfect spot.  Sometimes it is full of colour and movement, sometimes a place of memory, sometimes a place I want to just look at and breathe with.   I need more than just one way to be.  Exploring this even in the mediative way of circling threads on the a loom expands all the ways I want to be me.

Thanks for the feedback.  I am off to create more for myself.

Nest in progress

My Hands

So I was looking at my hands while typing today. I was admiring all my “war wounds”. The dirt that is so jammed into where cuticals used to be. Where I stabbed myself with a needle. Where I caught my finger on a broken plant tray, scars left from burns and freckles.  Working hands.

I started this post awhile ago and did not get back to it because my hands were busy elsewhere.  I live through my hands more than any other part of me.  It may not be true but it feels true.

I wake and put my hand on my husband’s chest to wake him to roll over and stop snoring.  I run my hand over my head to try an tame my morning hair.  I pet the dog.  I touch my son’s face and give him a hug.  I hold my hot coffee mug close to me.  All this before a word is spoken or a day begins.

I love my hands.

My Son, My Hero

So I am beyond excited! I could not sleep last night because my son performs this week in his high school play. It is not that I haven’t seen him perform before. I have for a long time. It is that when he performs I see him in the moment and he is so visibly happy. He is so present and has such presence that I can’t take my eyes off him.

He makes opportunities to find that time where he is centre stage and with a big smile on his face, he starts entertaining the crowd even when the crowd is just me.

It has taken me years to unlearn so many lies about myself and he has been my greatest teacher.

He lives in the present, he is fearless, he is passionate, he is determined, he knows who he is and makes no apologies for it. He can drive me crazy because he wants me to be as excited about all the things that excite him (which can be endless) but he will find the person who will be excited and share his joy.

When I have to put myself out in the world, I think to myself, “What would Carter do in this moment?” then I jump in and really live in colour.

Thanks Carter!!!

Giving Hope A Home

Just one of a series of nests I am creating. I have been thinking about all that nests represent. Home being a big one and the surprises you can find inside. Then I liked the image of the magpie who fills its nest with lots of shiny wonders. More nests to come.

Open Studio Times For February

So I have been keeping my studio to myself most of January. It has been lovely but it really is time to share. The Living in Colour studio is open for drop-in artshops:

Monday afternoon from 2 to 5
Wednesday evenings 6 to 9
Sunday afternoons 1-4

Material fee of $20.

Individual and group workshops for creating wire trees, needle felting, mandalas, and other expressive arts experiences can be organized by appointment for $30 per person.