of life and love

days with my father

by phillip toledano found via  art cerre

have a good weekend.

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design principle#44

Color theory provides a framework for understanding the behavior and meaning of colors.

Mathew Frederick

 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

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it feels like years since it's been here

Training really hard for my move to Oviedo. It has been raining for two weeks and today we had the first sunny day.The kind that makes you want to sing "Here comes the sun,  du dn du du, Here comes the sun i say, it's all right" like George Harrison. Dashed to the balcony to record the cloudless sky.

i need to weave 75 more centimeters to finish the cloth, those painfully slow last centimeters.But the day invites to go for a walk and that's what i'll do.Need a recharge.

Plus you can't hear them, but the construction workers are back. And that horrible man is drilling holes making noise and dust.Two for the price of one.In case you wonder why i want to move to Oviedo.

Off i go.

neki desu

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of travels and textiles

 This is a cotton  warp ikat from Flores island in the Indonesian archipelago, bought in Bali during our trip there. A difficult choice as there were many beautiful ones in  one of the government run craft shops that we visited. Those shops have very high standards for their purchases thus helping to create a win win situation for everybody.
The craftspeople are fairly paid, the standards are maintained and crafts are not banalised to meet the tourist market. And you get quality craft.

The sales lady was very helpful and gave me a crash course on Flores and its textiles.  But as all my trips include a textile component- why travel if you're not going to see textiles- :)  i had also done some homework reading this book which is still one of the most comprehensive books on traditional dyeing and patterning methods.
 The  warp  ikat  patterning is symbolic and includes stylized trees and animals. The dyeing, i  was assured,  was done with natural dyes.
The piece rests on our sofa and has faded a bit, but it has that look of used and enjoyed that i like.It  is also a reminder of that wonderful trip.

On the home front  i still have one meter to weave to call it done well, better woven, as  it needs wet finishing  and cutting and  sewing and...

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,

thank you Ray Davis

For putting it into music.

Have a lovely weekend, regardless  .....

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design principle#40

A dynamic composition encourages the eye to explore.

Mathew Frederick

 

 

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

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the book of friendship and good times

Front and back covers of the book of friendship and good times.There's something of all the friends that one way or another contributed in  shaping last year.

The fabric was gifted, the printing  resulted from  an answer to a question  of mine posed in a dyeing list. The cover textures come from the constant inspiration of another friend.The stitching was inspired by two other friends.

The foil was another gift, along with some good  laughs.i just put it all together, the printing is my own japanophilia and the poor stitching and crummy photos  are mine too. The good times, ah the good times...

Henceforth, learning the ropes of the new Blogger editor.

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and speaking of clothes

Timeless, understated. Mina Perhonen

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OD

From this to.......... this

Quite a change. Pomegranate dye with an iron od. One gram in 6 liters of water for 30 minutes and the yellow did not dull. It went away!!The silk skein did not change hand nor luster, but i covered my back with an acid rinse, just in case.i know what iron does to silk in the long run, all those cheap silk blouses that sort of melt away. i don't mind the drastic change in color, what i' would really mind is a change in the silk properties.
Now i know that pomegranates can also give black with a slight greenish cast, or pool water brown hair :)

Happy Monday to you!

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design principle #39

A static composition appears to be at rest.

Matthew Frederick

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

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world textiles

Russian shawl, printed lightweight wool challis.Bought in St. Petersburg 1995.

Here's information on Russian shawls.
Two great books on Russian shawls : Ivanovo Printed Textiles 18th to early 20th century (in Russian)
Châles de Russie in French. With some luck it can be found in English
Russian Kerchiefs & Shawls By: Louisa Yefimova
ISBN-10: B000IASJYQ ISBN-13: N/A
Publisher: AURORA ART PUBLISHERS - 1985-01-01
Both books printed in Russia.

Always been fascinated by the journey from Indian to Provençal textiles and all the stops in between.
More information here.

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however, i'm still a weaver

And still weaving this cloth.The yarns are soft and they sing a particular song as the beater gently beats them in place.The colors blend creating an all over mottled color .The cloth is predominatly black with dark blue and gray yarns interspersed.
It's going slowly, but pleasurably.

And about slow cloth indeed, check out the Slow Cloth group on FB .It seems there are some issues bothering textile makers and this is a place for having challenging , civic discussions without invoking any deity or supra natural power if you know what i mean.There's also lots of information sharing.

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the book that came from the cold

It's cold all over the northern hemisphere, so i won't bore with my own experience of it.i will only note that it even affects the ether, bad connection times.

Finally finished this fabric book that had been shuffled around for some time now.
The stitching was fun, the problem was my slightly dyslexic self trying to make the cover match the accordion. i'm not a real book maker, just an impostor trying to recycle my fabric samples while enjoying the process.

Inside the book. These books are an exercise in putting it all together and not getting more scattered than what i am. Surface design, dyeing, stamping, stitching....
While some of my friends are very focused and only do one thing, and do it really well, i am fascinated by all textile related disciplines, except spinning. And no, i won't go there, not because i have something against it. Just not enough time and or space.

Behind the scenes, the back of the pages.The embellishment is not really gratuitous because the black interfacing was an anticlimax.:)
Was it Coco Chanel who said furnishings had to have a function otherwise they'd be superfluous ?

While on the subject of fashion gods i lucked out with a couture exhibit in Oviedo. There were 4 Balenciaga dresses and a coat. You do not see cut and drape as that anymore. Nor the respect for the fabric.

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essence of beauty

Masao Yamamoto. Slow viewing. Treat yourselves to viewing the whole photo gallery.
http://www.hackelbury.co.uk/artists/yamamoto/image_library/image_library.html

Have a great weekend and keep warm!


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the three wise men arrived

EFE Luisma Murias

Luisma Murias

For Spanish kids, perhaps all Hispanic kids, the arrival of the Three Kings is Christmas .The season builds up to this precise magical moment when they arrive and parade through the cities in all their pageantry, throwing candies and exhorting children to go to bed early so they can do their job of bringing presents to the good ones and candy charcoal to the naughties.
The kings are accompanied by a brigade of pages who collect the pacifiers from the kids who are in transit from toddlerhood to kidhood. Another brigade collects the letters of the last minute scribes. Because children have to write a letter to the 3 kings telling them how well behaved they have been and what they want as a reward for the effort.

As Barcelona is a port city they arrive by boat, escorted by many boats from the yacht club tooting their sirens.The mayor welcomes them and gives the key to the city, the one that will help them open the doors of all the houses, so they can do their job.They are also offered salt and bread a traditional welcoming gift.Then there is a parade with floats, animals , magicians playing tricks and tons of candy.

This year we were spending some days in Oviedo, taking further notes which will help us decide our move there. We had never seen such racket at the airport full of over excited children, running and shrieking. At the first security check i wise cracked to the person and asked her if the excitement was due to the arrival of the 3 kings . She smiled and said " of course it is".
She explained that they were arriving by plane and that all those children would be let in to welcome them. And here i was ,the unbeliever, left with my mouth hanging open.

We cleared security and went upstairs to the departure lounge. There were men with walkie talkies gazing outside and giving instructions, and lots of other out of the routine movements.
Two big red fire engines drove in and parked in front of the glass windows on the ground floor, blocking the view. And from a car we saw the 3 kings getting out and climbing the stairs in one of the fingers.
The PA announced that the children who were waiting to welcome the 3 kings would go through security on the ground floor and would be escorted outside to the runway so they could take a place.There was an area under the finger which was blockaded and the city police was standing on guard.
Through the PA the arrival of the Iberia plane which was carrying the kings was announced.

There was clapping, jumping and i bet lots of shrieking downstairs on the runway.
The plane taxied and stopped in the middle of the runway as two big fire engines drove towards it. The engines spayed the plane with an archway of water as a welcoming gesture. i was awe struck .
As the passengers from the flight disembarked through the finger into the arrival lounge the three kings went down the stairs and were received by the local authorities as they were to be escorted to the VIP lounge so that they could hold court .
Not only the kids were delighted, but many adults on the second floor raced to the windows to see the arrival of the 3 kings.

Parents, relatives, as well as the whole country is in cahoots during the week of the 4th of January to transform this moment into magic.The radio and t.v.newscasters, the newspapers, the authorities, all of them help create an atmosphere where everything is possible if you look through children's eyes.
A country that goes all that way for the sake of its children must be a darn special place.

i pray,hope and wish this never change. And i'm not even Spanish.

ps. more photos of the wise men in Oviedo here

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