I am not your aggregate

..or maybe that is all I am. At least to Google and Facebook.
Some days I want to opt out completely, to scream “I am not an aggregate of anything!” but then I realize that I still have to keep a roof over my head, food on the table and the lights on. I want to use technology- not have it use me. Is this even possible anymore?

Oh good grief- there she goes again, you might be thinking now. All you wanted was a quick trip into shiboriland or a little visit to the dyepot with some pretty pictures and a little inspiration to start the day with. But here you are. So with that in mind, I offer up a couple of pretty pictures and a word or two.


some recent work- itajime indigo on handwoven hemp and some silk gauze arashi shibori

-AND the option to get out now while you still can. Or as Flickr likes to say “Take me to the kittens!” (i’ve always liked those kittens!)

~~~well, if you are still here~~~
Jason Lanier believes it takes about 10 years for us to give up an idea we are attached to.
I’m inclined to agree. And that’s if we are really trying! He also has some pretty interesting insights into technology-where it started and where it may be going. To some he may sound negative or cynical but I can feel his optimism if we truly are willing to look at the bigger picture.

An idea that turns out to be wrong which we have attached ourselves to and have allowed to shape the ways in which we go about our daily lives is indeed a very hard thing to let go of.

Patience is required not only with others but with ourselves in order to move forward. I am in the process now of discovering that some of the ideas to which I have attached myself to in the past are simply no longer true- that they simply do not fit the paradigm in which I find myself existing. The problem I am having with this is that I’m not sure I have a new idea with which to replace the old one. It’s difficult to leave that space blank but usually that is really the answer for the moment- to just leave the space open and see what comes next.
Technology and the internet are changing so quickly anymore that I often find myself at odds with it and wondering if I am using it wisely.

It seems to me that certain basic truths are becoming more eclipsed by all the layers of busyness which I succumb to in my daily life. Eclipse as a metaphor. More on that later.

I am in the process of reorganizing a number of things-one of them is my virtual self. If you use my personal facebook page as a way of connecting to my blog, please consider becoming part of my studio page. I am in the process of clearing up my personal page and limiting it to those who I regularly connect with on a personal basis. I hope no one will take offense at this. It is also going to allow me to separate my shibori/art/craft/dyeing posts to the studio page and not bore the rest of my friends and family with all that stuff unless they specifically ask to be included by joining in over there. Less duplication and interruption. At least this is the intention. We’ll see how it goes.

If you are a regular reader here, you also know I am working on something different in the way of a subscription video series. Many thanks to those of you who have subscribed- expect to receive your link via email on Wednesday afternoon (PST). I am looking forward to welcoming you into the studio.

Change is in the air it seems. I am surrounded by it. Schools are getting back in session, seasons changing. Lots of changing energies. Fall, it seems, is upon us.

The madness has passed, at least for now. Back to the studio.

16 thoughts on “I am not your aggregate

  1. Ken

    Well. it’s goodbye then. I want nothing to do with Facebook. I think I would have to register with them to get to your studio page. I’ve always enjoyed visiting and seeing your lovely work. Sayonara.

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    1. shiborigirl Post author

      see… i’ve already confused people. i guess i should explain that a large number of people come here through a link on a facebook page. i have two pages. a personal page and a studio (or “fan” page as they call it- i call it my studio page because i don’t like the term “fan” page). two pages too many it seems. i wanted to try to separate those who are already using facebook into personal and work/shibori pages. i’ve let them them become blended and i suppose it’s hard to separate the two. what i would really prefer is to go back to just doing a better job on the blog and get off facebook altogether. or in the very least, change how i am using it. by all means, if you don’t use facebook at all- this is no reason to start now! everything there is just pretty much repeated over here in one form or another but in greater detail. Facebook is just a teaser. if you’ve enjoyed the blog please continue to visit here.
      it’s been a long day. time to be done.

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      1. Queen of Dreamsz

        I love visiting blogs…I’ll continue visiting here…sadly, since I’m on verizon wireless internet in our home I don’t stream videos very well and plus I’m on a limit of use for each month and videos can really use up the megs..really a drag since so many are moving to videos for a lot of presentation.

        But living in the mountains I think I’m fortunate to have verizon and not have to deal with dial up…omg, what a nightmare that would be! haha I would need therapy for sure..LOL

        Happy Day,
        Stephanie ♥

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        1. shiborigirl Post author

          the videos are really a separate thing. the regular blog here is remaining as it is. perhaps i am confusing people since i am in a state of confusion myself these days…

          therapy may be the answer!
          cloth therapy-

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  2. jessica

    I’m one of your Blog fans. I recently signed up for FB, so that I could be a part of the Slow Cloth Group and have since discovered that many Artists are there with fan pages. I understand what you are saying and it’s actually helped with some of the thoughts/questions I had in my head about the fan page.
    Since FB is new to me, I found myself drawn to be “connected” to some of my favorites in the Quilting world. Some FB pages are filled with more “talk” than on their blog…I’m thinking…maybe this is a better way to connect than thier blog (?) In some cases the page is filled with talky-talk and I’m searching through it, looking for a post from the FB owner.
    …I now like to go directly to the Discussions, it’s more organized talky-talk!
    If your FB fan page gets narrowed down to a single or dual purpose, that sounds great. Organizing it to a Banner or a Discussion board…so that you are not duplicating, sounds good. Leaves you time to create! …and, I like what your create!

    Thoughts…I love your blog. It’s a quiet, lovely place to visit and more often than not, your words fill my creative heart. (Thank you for adding the beautiful pictures too!) ~smiling~

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  3. shiborigirl Post author

    yes, quiet. that is what i am striving for more of!

    each day i feel the need for more of it.

    facebook creates more of the “hive mind” mentality and i ask myself how much i want to contribute to that. and how.

    i appreciate your patience with me as i figure all this out. your thoughts help guide me and are very appreciated.

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  4. Diana Angus

    I am just going to follow your blog the old fashioned way. Feelings of ambivalence wax and wane in me just as a FB user, not even someone who is using it to market their art in a different way.

    I was going to start a blog for my fledgling textile career, but don’t want to go there due to further encroachment of my time. I fully understand.

    Everyone’s time is precious. Some people seem to be able to manage all of it–the Twitter, blog, chat, texting, email. For me it gets to be information overload. Guess that dates me.

    Diana

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    1. shiborigirl Post author

      i have come to realize that at least for me that too much chatter starts to obfuscate my own inner voices on which i depend as a source of creativity and sustenance.
      -i read some more of jaron lanier’s book (“you are not a gadget”) and he describes perfectly what i have been feeling about my use of FB as a marketing/ communication tool as a process he calls “lock-in”.
      it applies to many things tech/software related.
      an interesting concept and something to be wary of.

      well,if it dates you you are in good company!

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  5. aracne

    Dear Shibori Girl,
    it is a while that I am following your blog, I love and admire your work. My dream is to come for one of your workshops when I visit my son in California.
    Today I was surprised to find some words that I needed to hear: letting go of old ideas and patience is needed to go forward. I will make a good use of this today, since my life has suddenly changed, with an ancient mother who will have to be taken care of. I resent the change, I cling to my old habits, but maybe this is a situation that I have to face in order to let my innner self grow further. I have changed in the years, may be I was a little stuck in my confortable life and need to go on, your words give me the courage if not to accept at least to consider accepting. Which is ‘per se’ an enormous step forward.
    Thank you.

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    1. shiborigirl Post author

      considering is a big step forward for me too. i think there are many of us here who are dealing with aging parents-i expect some things to be changing soon with my mother as well. i’m sure it will come out in my work- one way or another- how can it not?
      i hope to hear from you on your next visit to california. (thank you for providing a translation on your blog!)

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  6. Diane

    The internet can be overwhelming indeed. I find when that happens the best place IS the studio. I dont think I have found you on facebook yet. I will wander over though and join your studio page if you have it up, I also have a studio page and a seperate friends and family page. I agree it’s for the best. Take care~

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    1. shiborigirl Post author

      you have figured out what works for you- congrats on that! i am still figuring it out. i went into it with gusto and then found a flurry of things that were driving me crazy about it. took a little hiatus from FB and have set some of my own limits and rules about it and how i want to use it. i will agree with you that i have found and connected with some mighty fine folks there and am grateful for that.
      still, if you are into reading such things, jaron lanier’s book will forever change the way you see online culture. i wish it was required reading for all music, art, and creative students or really any college students at all.
      thanks for the thoughts! i’m more at peace with it at the moment… it comes in phases.

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  7. mnemosyne

    i use delete liberally on fb but have really found that i have more in common with my virtual friends than with my friends and most of my extended family.

    i keep my friend limited and my content protected (lol) but i share openly. i’ve found myself connecting deeper with more people that way as opposed to two hundred people who rarely communicate with me

    but i dont’ sell anything and my blog is just a mis mash of random nonsense.

    anyway i’ve always thought that having some humor about it but knowing your personal boundaries is really the only way to go about it.

    i’ve got my little list of why i’ll delete someone and if they start hitting on anything on that list, regardless of who they are they’re gone.

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