Tag: stitchings (Page 17 of 36)

134

October 27, 2012 / jeanne / 21 Comments

This is the last drawing in the 5th of 6 journals Nancy filled in June 2012

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This is how it looks in stitch,
shown here with the delectables at City Cafe in Fayetteville, GA
where we went after Alison’s show tonight:

134a

And here’s the sweet (and talented) one called Alison,
my daughter/Nancy’s niece,
also standing near the sweets.

134c

It’s been a really sweet weekend so far.

~~~~~~~~~

She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy,
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.
Go here to start at the beginning.

133

October 26, 2012 / jeanne / 0 Comments

We work hand-in-hand. Nancy draws:

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Then I stitch:

133

When You Come to Love
by Ann Fisher-Wirth

When you come to love,
bring all you have.

Bring the milk in the jug,
the checked cloth on the table—
the conch that sang the sea
when you were small,
and your moonstone rings,
your dream of wolves,
your woven bracelets.

For the key to love is in the fire’s nest,
and the riddle of love is the hawk’s dropped feather.

Bring every bowl and ewer,
every cup and chalice, jar,
for love will fill them all-

And, dazzled with the day,
fold the sunlight in your sheets,
fold the smell of salt and leaves,
of summer, sweat, and roses,
to shake them out when you need them most,

For love is strong as death.

Tickled to be here today. Thank you, Ashley.

~~~~~~~~~

She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy,
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.
Go here to start at the beginning.

131

October 25, 2012 / jeanne / 0 Comments

Here’s what Nancy drew on the 131st sheet of paper:

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and the 131st stitching I did on cloth:

131b

I tell you, the more I think,
the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic
than to love people.

~ Vincent van Gogh ~

~~~~~~~~~

She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy,
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.
Go here to start at the beginning.

130

October 24, 2012 / jeanne / 1 Comment

She draws:

5 130 1 erased

Then I stitch:

130a

Mix red and blue, you get purple. (This is not a political statement, by the way.) In horticultural circles, purple is called “blue” or “horticultural blue”. In World War II, the Japanese used a secret code called the Purple Code. They didn’t know till after the fact that Allied cryptographers had broken the code. Purple auras represent a love of ritual and ceremony. In the Star Trek universe, Klingons had purple blood. Once upon a time, purple was reserved for royalty. In liturgical terms, purple is the color of Advent, a season of looking forward, of anticipating. In this project, purple represents Nancy’s favorite color.

Trees1

There’s no purple, that’s true, but driving through these mountains we now call home is like driving through a box of crayons

Trees4

through a painter’s palette

Trees3

through a basket of fabric scraps.

~~~~~~~~~

She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy,
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.
Go here to start at the beginning.

129

October 23, 2012 / jeanne / 0 Comments

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129d

Dahlia23oct12g

The dahlias waited till the very last minute to get all dressed up and flaunt their beauty.

Dahlia23oct12l

Such delicate beauty that unfolds

Dahlia23oct12k

and unfolds
seems a perfect companion to Nancy’s drawing.

Dahlia23oct12a

The touch of the natural and timely frost
creates a stained and withered look, a natural and timely beauty.

Dahlia23oct12d

Next year we will plant them in a different place,
a spot that’s easier to get to, perhaps.
We will put them in the ground earlier
and we will get sturdier, taller stakes to support their sizable blooms.
We are learning.

~~~~~~~~~

She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy,
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.
Go here to start at the beginning.

102, Envoy: Janet MacGregor Dunn of Hummingbird Hollow Pottery

October 22, 2012 / jeanne / 0 Comments

JanetMcGregorDunn FayettevilleGA

Once upon a time, I learned hand-built and slab-work pottery from a fun and talented woman named Janet MacGregor Dunn in the cutest free-standing studio that her son built for her in her backyard. Every Monday morning would find us meeting there, closing the door, and slinging and shaping mud (both literally and figuratively). Though I never really got the hang of it, Janet works with the grace and near-nonchalance of a woman who is at one with the clay, a woman who mastered the basics long ago and shoved them aside to go beyond, way beyond. Be sure to poke around her online gallery, see where she’s going next, maybe snag a beauty or two for yourself or others. (Tis the season to be shopping, you know.)

I met Janet eons ago when we worked together on a fundraising event for the American Heart Association. Janet continues to be active in local fundraising events and art shows. She took her Nancy cloth with her to several art shows and asked fellow artists to hold it. They obliged, and I get goosebumps thinking about Nancy’s drawings being in the presence of professional artists (shown here in alphabetical order by first name because that’s the way my computer prefers it) like Janet and . . .

AllenQuandee JasperGA

Allen Quandee

BobMcGillNashvilleTN

Bob McGill

CharlesPickney CarrolltonGA

Charles Pickney

DonMcWhorter CarrolltonGA

Don McWhorter

GaryCurtis WoodstockGA

Gary Curtis

JesseDukeAndFriend

Jesse Duke and Friend

JohnMartin VillaRicaGA

John Martin

JuneShellnut AtlantaGA

June Shellnut

LarryAndLindaSmith NorcrossGA

Larry and Pamela Smith

LynnMersingerReader StockbridgeGA

Lynn Mersinger Reader

MarcVillanueva EastPointGA

Marc Villanueva

MaryLynneRobbins TrussvilleAL

Mary Lynne Robbins

MattBolton TempleGA

Matt Bolton

OneRingAtATime

One Ring at a Time

PatrickHenrickson VillaRicaGA

Patrick Henrickson

PaulaLansford GreensboroGA

Paula Lansford

RandyAyers CarrolltonGA

Randy Ayers

SallyAustin CarrolltonGA

Sally Austin

SantoriaMonica

Santoria Monica

TheLivingSculpture HeLovedHerArt

The Living Sculpture

A heart Thank you to all you creative people and to you, Janet, for making this happen.

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~~~~~~~~~

She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy,
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.
Go here to start at the beginning.

128

October 21, 2012 / jeanne / 0 Comments

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128

Clothstack3

I continue to rest after weeks of travel, and today I began gathering materials needed for a new project I’ll start tomorrow, or the next day, or next month. You know how it goes. This project begins with deconstruction. Perhaps it’s age, perhaps it’s all the historical documentaries I sometimes play in the background as I work, and the motivation(s) don’t really matter. What matters is my commitment to making a serious commitment to creativity. Productive creativity. And presentation ideas for this creative collaboration begin to come around.

Honored to be included here today.

~~~~~~~~~

She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy,
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.
Go here to start at the beginning.

s . . . s . . . s

October 21, 2012 / jeanne / 3 Comments

Mountains

Sunsetca

i’ve been many places
in the past several weeks,

traveling for many reasons,
all reasons involving other people.

Beach1

some folks are quick to divide people
into two groups:
those who like people
and those who don’t like people.
i continue to bump up against
that categorization,
but i no longer spend time and energy
trying to explain that i, too, like people
just in different doses.
defending and explaining is time and energy better devoted
to what my soul must have
as nourishment:
space,
silence,
solitude.

Solitude

120, Envoy: Illuminary

October 20, 2012 / jeanne / 1 Comment

5 120 2 erased

To understand what it feels like to look at Nancy’s art, you can not look at it with a logical mind. My daughter said it best, “It feels free,” and how does one capture freedom? As a flag flapping in the wind? You do that already with these. So I brainstormed and hunted the web looking for images that made my spirit feel free. And instead of taking a picture of the stitching in an organic place, I placed it upon the images that reflected most to me what it makes me feel when I looked at it, the joy and openness…

120Illuminary

Today’s Envoy is my friend Illuminary. The first time I read her writing, I was smitten, absolutely smitten. Then next thing you know, we’re tucking each other in at night with stories about our day or how we wish our day had been or how we hoped tomorrow would be – a ritual that continues to this day. Beyond giving me a sweet, soft place to lay my head every night, let me tell you: this woman is amazing. She gets more done in a minute than I get done in a week. She home schools Little Moon (my special name for her special daughter), makes pottery, sews, quilts, makes dolls, reads the best books, tend a garden, writes, makes brooms, paints, and I don’t know what all. Seems to me there’s nothing this woman can’t do. Simply said, she is an artist – an artist in various creative mediums, an artist at life, and an artist at friendship. And she’s as generous as she is talented. This week found her holding class for the Empty Bowls project, and I know she donates some of her mugs as a fundraiser for an animal shelter. Go visit her blog and be captivated by her writing, by her special way of looking at the world, then visit her etsy shop and let her become your favorite elf. Thank you, MoonGlow, for this beautiful collage and your beautiful words that accompany it. I’ll talk to you later when we tuck ourselves in under the moon that holds you, me, and Nancy, too.

~~~~~~~~~

She is my developmentally disabled sister-in-law, Nancy,
and I am Jeanne, the woman who flat-out loves her.
Go here to start at the beginning.