Memory Lane

The importance of memory in art.

Perhaps the first art was created

through a society's need to remember events

of their time

or to help their descendants learn about

what went before them.

Perhaps it was from a society's need

to honour individuals or events.

Lest we forget

Maintaining

Our collective memory

Our collective conscience

Art surely keeps alive

the beliefs and accomplishments

and memories

of a society.

The memory of the senses.

The smell of salt air

The rhythmic sound of ocean waves

brought me back to live by the sea.

My work has changed

since coming here.

Did coming back to the sea

stir up unconscious of memories

that I need to put down in thread and cloth?

I know that as I get old I have a need

not only to recall memories

but also to create new ones.

Perhaps memory is not just looking backwards into the past.

I seem to have chopped off the first pebble of the week.

Woopsy daisy

 I might have obliterated a memory!

I hope you have a week of creating wonderful new memories.

Sands of Time

These projects that I undertake

are all about time.

Recording time

The passage of time

Marking cloth each day.

This week Time has been on my mind

and of course the pebbles of these Stone Pathways

must be the oldest of Nature's wonders 

in this land that I inhabit.

Seems appropriate.

Sometimes my attempts are rather clumsy.

This one deserves a softer, gentler touch

but time is cruel

and marches on despite my desire

to take it back and start again.

Oh, to be able to control time.

Slow it down

To give me more of it.

I remember wishing as a child

that I might be able to

speed up those long seemingly endless school semesters

or terms as we used to call them in my day.

Like prison terms as far as I was concerned.

Then I would have liked to be able to 

s-l-o-w  d-o-w-n

those glorious periods of freedom from school.

School holidays

Especially the longer Summertime ones.

A wrinkle in time

Time and cloth come together so often.

Perhaps I should be wrapping these stones in cloth.

Layering time

Cloth fragments layered and stitched.

Stitch a mark every day.

Walking Side by Side

 

The last two weeks not yet joined to the rest of Stone Pathways.

Two weeks stretching side by side

Makes me think of 

walking life's pathway

with my lovely Handy Hubby!

Life companions

or perhaps a couple of spuds sitting pretty.

Sometimes opposites attract

Growing old and wrinkled together

One can't help but gather scars along the way

After more than forty five years walking the path together

we can't help but mirror each other's thoughts.

Problem is nowadays as we get more forgetful

we both forget the same things!

We feel the path we walked as a family

has given our boys

a good solid footing

They are now out there

walking side by side with their

own beloveds

and I know they will give their wee ones

clear, stable pathways to follow.

Having said all this 

I realize I haven't done much walking this winter

ice underfoot

Can't wait for my early morning walks

with the Rusty Pups

with the warmth of a sunrise on my face.

A Fibre Arts Retreat That Might Interest You

The Society of Fibre Artists of the Annapolis River (SOFAAR) is hosting a Fibre Arts Retreat

and I thought some of you might be interested in treating yourselves to a glorious weekend get-away working on your current fibre project at the grand Queen Anne Inn in the lovely historic town of Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia, Canada.

It runs from September 29th to October 1st, 2017.

Included in the weekend is a private guided tour of the Fort Anne Historic Tapestry and a reception at the art gallery for a private viewing of the SOFAAR “O Canada” exhibit. There will be a lovely, catered dinner at the Inn on the Saturday night.

There are 12 rooms only available at the Queen Anne and FIVE of them have already been booked!

We need to fill the Queen Anne by April 15th for the event to go ahead so if you are thinking about coming, we would love to hear from you.

While in Town, you can visit the Historic Gardens, take the famous Graveyard Tour, play a round of golf, stroll the walking trails and immerse yourselves in the history of our region founded in 1605.

We hope you will think about spending a glorious, relaxing weekend with us.

Here is a link to the .pdf file with all the information you need to know about this fibre weekend get-away.

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Thought I would post this just in case any of you folk 'from away' might be interested.  Here in Nova Scotia anyone who was not born and raised here is called 'from away'.

Sometimes....

Sometimes I take liberties

and make subtle marks bolder.

Sometimes a pebble is so smooth and beautiful

there is no ice of cloth that will do it justice.

Sometimes a pebble is so beautifully rusty

that I forget to make sure the camera focuses on

my stitching rather than the stone.

Sometimes I jut don't get the colour right.

 Sometimes the marks look like cosmic streaks

across a miniature universe.

Sometimes a pebble brings words such as

'butterfingers' to mind.

Sometimes a week takes all my energy in other directions

and I don't quite get things finished on time.

Have a fun March Break.

Stone Pathways Week Nine and a New Month

Such a lovely rock to handle

It fits in the hand perfectly

Cool, smooth and heavy

with surprising cracks running over the surface

and a small rusty blob.

I like the simplicity of this one

Minimalist but beautiful.

Moving on to the ugliest one so far!

Afraid I just didn't do this one justice.

I wanted to add a bit of colour and contrast

but it really didn't work!

Another one with a rusty stain.

This one I like.

This must be the week for cracked pebbles!

 This one too, I didn't do it justice.

Should have been more subtle.

Now, this one I love.

The stone is still stained with mud

so I decided to use a brown linen

just to bring in another colour.

Nearly a perfect sphere.

Speckled.

The Rusty Pups love my studio too.

They find a spot among the baskets and basins tumbling over with scraps.

They like it even better if something has tumbled out of those baskets

'cos they can rest their noses on it!

Pebbles are happily lining up for their turn.

Mind Wanderings Over Stone Pathways

Looking at this picture for some reason my mind

thought of Hopscotch.  

My goodness... the hours we played that as kids in the fifties.

Then I wondered if in fact I have any control at all

over my mind

for

it seems to wander wherever it wishes

without any control on my part.

I Love the minimalist nature of a few marks

on dark grey linen.

I think it is fair to say that most pebbles in these parts

are grey with some kind of white streak

A fringed divide between colours

makes me think of a grass skirt

perhaps dancing over it's own tiny stone pathway.

As you can see the pebble itself

is asking for a white streak

but

that little scrap of dyed silk is just too beautiful

for me to wreck with clumsy stitching

so it remains as it's own little gem.

Ah, this one I love

it makes me think of one of those old topographical maps

full of little symbols.

Symbols for marshlands, trees, mountains, towns

and many more I can't recall at the moment.

Or perhaps even more ancient rock markings.

This one is tiny

My scrap of silk was not quite the right colour

so it asked to be stitched all over to bring the colour closer.

Such a handsome stone

and silk velvet is way too beautiful to stitch over!

Apologies for my rambling thoughts

Our dear friend, Velma, died suddenly this week

We are filled with so much sadness

for her family and many friends.