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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

it's official



Deckard is a replicant. Blade Runner final cut dispels the erstwhile controversy.
After that being settled now it's time to park my Japanese lessons until next year.
How much human is human?

neki desu

Monday, November 26, 2007

chinese medicine




Bad, bad cough. Nasal and sinus congestion. Ginger comes to rescue.
Grind fresh ginger, put it in water and heat. Aspire the vapor, then sieve the liquid saving the ginger shavings for another sesion. Mix the liquid with milk and drink it.You can add sugar, but i like the kick, hot and pungent. Get in bed under the covers.
Repeat twice, three times at the most in one day. Guaranteed to get you better.
Ask me how i know.

neki desu

Sunday, November 25, 2007

the whole gamut

felt-stamps



i've made ATCs and postcards that i have to upload. Now it's the turn for stamps.
You can see the scale with a 5 cent € coin. All materials with no remorse:) lutradur, paint, foil, beads, those cool iridescent square sequins and thread. And oh yes the heat gun. Fun to play with when you're stressed out.

neki desu


Thursday, November 22, 2007

more ATCs

ATC#4



The latest ATCs.i guess you can call this a series as there are already 6 and presumably more to come :)

ATC#5

On the home front still SNAFU. AND i bombed on Japanese test. The final will be in two weeks and i'm contemplating not taking it and calling it quits. There's only so much that one can handle.At least i am able to do a little work in the studio now.

ATC#6

neki desu

Sunday, November 18, 2007

keeping my wits or dr. livingstone i suppose.





In times of strife one has to keep up the standards and the wits with a stiff upper lip, oi?
Using my textile images and creating patterns in Photoshop has been therapeutic. And once photoshoping one can create backgrounds and make sandwiches. This is the result of a sandwich making morning with borrowed ukiyo-e beauties from the great master Utamaro
Eventually they will be printed on fabric. If i survive, that is.

neki desu

Friday, November 16, 2007

living vicariously



Impossible to work in bedlam. Net surfing as therapy.
Here are some goodies for you indigo lovers out there.
This African site where the picture was taken from talks about a Mali master indigo dyer.Scroll down and you'll find a gallery link with great textiles.
More. Magic of Light Mystery of Shadows blog posted an interesting post on carved wooden blocks for itajime. It also includes a video showing the cloth being unfolded.

Enjoy

neki desu

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

i won't give up

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket


i don't usually kvetch. But if i do not do it today i'll get physically ill.
There are workers and brick layers of the worst kind, with all due respect, doing repair jobs in our building. There is also a different crew remodelling the place below us ,at street level which will become a restaurant.
Can you hear the noise? Are your sinuses congested because of the cement dust?
Why doesn't she leave and go somewhere else i can hear.
Because the repair crew is doing work in the light shaft and the only access is through my apartment, no place to swing down a moving scaffold from the rooftop, answered she.

And to add insult to injury i walked out of my studio to find them mixing cement in my foyer. Right the wooden floor was covered, but the books on the shelves weren't. And construction workers are not especially known for their finesse.
Swallow bile is the name of the contest. Hope to get the award because that's what i've been doing. Literally.
And with all this i haven't been able to study all i need for the Japanese test.
i have some more time in Hades as over here the tradition is that you know when they start but not when they end. Take the Escorial monastery . It took 21 years to complete.
Then there's also another job to be done on the terrace which has to be waterproofed because when it rains it also rains in the store below us. As you can read, all this is fascinating domestic bs.

The postcard illustrating this post is some sort of talisman i picked up in one of my trips to the long demised Lausanne Tapestry Biennale. i want to share it as a thank you for any sympathy that comes along this way. It's cool. It empowers me and converts me into Venus A fighting along Mazinger Z. You go girl, no cat photos here .LOL. But i digress. The point is kvetch i will , but i won't give up.

neki desu

ps. Oh man! just noticed. Today's Tuesday 13th, Spain's Friday 13th.

Monday, November 12, 2007

beauties,beauties


Look what i got. This ATC came a while ago directly from Sequana. Thank you Annie!


This other ATC and tag came from Sue .Thanks Sue!
Isn't the Internet fiber community a wonderful place full of wonderful people?

neki desu

Sunday, November 11, 2007

working with green and honing skills



Green is such a difficult color for me. i don't understand it and i do not feel at ease working with it. Not like blue that holds no secrets for me and its always a joy to work with.

i'm forcing myself to work with green and see if i can overcome this lack of understanding. Also doing some more needlefelting to get the skills . Nothing serious though, pure craft, which is not objectionable in itself. The difference between crafts and art is that crafts are about technique, whereas art is about content. At least i see it that way. The horizontal piece, a good example of this, is a compendium of techniques: hand stitching, free motion stitching, needlefelting, painting, dyeing. There's no other objective than to try them out in a visually pleasant way.




One thing i discovered i like about needlefelting is its immediacy, compared to weaving i'ts instant gratification. Another one is how color can be created and manipulated in an almost physical way.
And here i am. My mind should be studying for a Japanese test on Wednesday and here i am happily punching away. And creating these impeccable pseudo profound alibis :)

neki desu

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

sample, sample, sample



I found a sample book with samples from Nami-san,my Japanese weaving sensei while decluttering the studio.
They are woven in silk and dyed with vegetable dyes. As with all things Japanese they possess an unassuming, quietly restrained beauty.




















i find this subtle beauty very inspiring. It is the wabi-sabi concept of Japanese aesthetics which fascinates me.
If i could only ignore the sirens' calls.


neki desu

Thursday, November 01, 2007

trading post

atc1 up for trade

i've been making ATCs for trade lately just to help me get back in the swing of things. It's taken me a while to get back after the flu.
These are the first three of a series of 10. If you're interested in trading leave me a note.

atc-2 up for trade


i'm recycling some thick loosely spun yarns that i've had for years but could not bear to discard because of the you never know syndrome.And it seems that i finally found a use for them.
atc3 up for trade

i'm also having fun adding other materials and beads and sequins. Not only is this a stash reduction phase, but also a beads and sequins phase.

neki desu

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