We’ve had a LOT of rain here in the past few months. You know I’m always thankful for rain.
As a gardener, rain is a gift-especially in a drought prone desert like Southern California. But the rain got the best of my 102 year old house and its 37 year old cedar shake roof. We celebrate a new roof that has just been completed! So YAY!! Such a process- the demolition noise, dirt, and mess. I really could not function well while this was all going on. But it is done now and we are very grateful. As if to test it out, the roof was completed on Friday and it rained significantly both Saturday and Sunday. The test was successfully completed!
Old houses are a task in many ways and next week the original electric breaker box will be replaced. Always something that needs work but the breaker box is essential. I’m grateful the house hasn’t burned down with that old thing. I will be relieved when it is replaced. The thing is dated 1920!
Other maintenance items such as fences and deck refinishing have been completed by us here as well (special thanks to my son for his help) and I’m looking forward to enjoying a lovely summer in the outdoor spaces here (outside of the ongoing insane flight school training you might have read me complaining about previously). We anticipate the heat of summer and remember days when the setting sun is a relief and the cool evening backyard is our sanctuary.
I can finally get my studio workspace back, cleaned and organized for a ribbon order heading off to France soon, and a weekend indigo shibori workshop at the Japanese American National Museum this weekend. I spent the last two days curating fabrics for the group and am satisfied with the collection. You read my previous post on the preparation that goes into a workshop and that is what consumes my mind and time at the moment.
In the middle of all this I had my 4 year old grandson here for a week. We had a marvelous wonderful time. (No photos but trust me… ) He’s a cat boy and was immediately adopted by Kitty Meow. We read Pooh stories, ate good stuff, took fun jacuzzi baths, played in the garden and ART of course! He lost his own Dharma kitty a couple of weeks ago from old (20) age and we processed it (all living things live their whole entire life, some lives are longer than others).
I want to suggest a book that I just purchased by author Melissa Kwansy. I featured her here once in the past for her book, Putting on the Dog: The Animal Origins of What We Wear. Melissa accompanied us on a Silk Study Tour to Japan in 2015 as a research trip for her book. Melissa is mainly a poet, and her latest book is of great interest to many of us who are aging and seeing our parents and friends age and pass away. She also lingers on the environmental decline we see around us and connects us to it.
Melissa Kwasny writes the poetry I want to read as the world ends. Complicating the boundaries between love and grief, abundance and scarcity, these stunning poems help us navigate our shared 21st century catastrophes. Despite her skepticism (or because of it) Kwasny’s “faith in the intellectual supremacy/of earth” gives her the courage to linger in life’s difficult truths. She reports back to us in a sparkling syntax and breathtaking clarity that only deepens our gratitude for what the earth provides, then takes away. “Redeemed by proximity to these last of religious signs,” Kwasny writes, “if I believed in priests, I would confess to the pines. – Rob Schlegel
Evocative and wrenching, The Cloud Path compels us to consider the whole of living and dying. A beautifully measured interweaving of personal and planetary loss, these keen and tender poems teach us to see afresh in the lateness of things.
So give it a look. I think you will enjoy it.
In shibori world, like I said, I’m working on a ribbon order for France. Additionally. I’ve been participating in an online shibori workshop by Awonoyoh. One of the recent techniques covered there is a focus for the upcoming workshop. It’s always interesting to see how others present shibori. We all have our own way. I like this workshop as it’s affordable and covers various traditional techniques one per month. One thing about traditional techniques is that they are great for inspiration and adaptation to your own style. Great practice as well. Here’s a few of my samples of the techniques recently covered:
The car is all loaded for the weekend workshop and I can enjoy a little garden time. Here’s a little glimpse of what is out there…
And to my surprise today, while loading the car I came upon a whole bunch of swallowtail caterpillars. They are so beautiful! I had almost come to tearing out the over abundance of fennel since i never had seen the swallowtail butterflies or caterpillars on them. That was my main reason for planting them several years ago.
I’m still contemplating this months moons but did get a couple of things into the vat yesterday while packing up- one was a pair of pants to wear while dyeing (indigo duh! can’t tell if they are already blue!) and a very old small quilt sample I made over 30 years ago. It had hung in a bathroom with lots of light and became quite faded. It’s now overdyed with indigo and will make a nice placemat!
And I’m featuring a couple of things in the shop for shipping next week:
-Indigo Yardage in Three Shades
–Takaramono Fabric Packs
–Card Sets
Have a peaceful weekend
Glennis