"Nest"

Welcome to a spring nest!  How enjoyable it can be to put together a little house.  

Not without some problems along the way, this nest was built with more effort than I thought it would take.  After finishing, I wrote a page for myself outlining problems and how to solve them, solutions so that the design might be better next time.  That tells me that I'm still in a bit of unknown territory.

I'll be thinking more about what this 'house' plan means to me because I think there are deeper feelings going on and the practicality of my medium just has to catch up.

"Your sacred place is where you can find yourself again and again." - Joseph Campbell

Spring is on the way

Do you know what you are seeing here?  This is a sure sign that Spring is coming -- soon.  These are LOTS of frogs eggs in the little pond outside my studio window.  Tadpoles will soon be swimming - frog croaks will soon drown out my studio music - and I will be ever so happy.

"Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes." - Carl Friedrich Gauss

One Punch at a Time

Do you remember the Hansel and Gretel story where the children tried to leave bread crumbs so they could find their way in the forest?  That's where I felt as I moved ever so slowly through this 'house' design.  Because I'm using reverse punchneedle I can actually delineate each stitch one by one.  My own personal crumbs.

And slowly but surely it starts to take shape.  The end is actually in sight.  My story is being told with hundreds and hundreds of punches.

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." - Confucius

Lost Bird Film

Recently I had the opportunity to watch the "Lost Bird Film".  It documents the dream and creativity of sculptor Todd McGrain.  After reading the book "Hope is a Thing with Feathers"  by Christopher Cokinos, Todd determined that he would create sculptures to honor extinct birds.

Todd's idea was to not only create the sculptures but to place them in locations that were endemic to each of the birds.  The birds are Great Auk, Labrador Duck, Heath Hen, Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet.

Watching Todd's struggle to find suitable locations for his sculptures and the ultimate joy of seeing his creations in place was both sad and hopeful.  I send deep thanks to Todd. His work will be a constant reminder that these lovely birds are gone forever.  Hopefully, these magnificent representations will remind us of how truly fragile life is.   

"I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way I could." - John James Audubon

Once More...

 Deja vu -  from French literally "already seen", the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, whether it has actually happened or not .

Perhaps these pictures remind you of my last 'house building' experience. That one didn't turn out as I had hoped.  Because its something I really want to accomplish I'm beginning all over again.
  

My concept includes some mixed media along with punchneedle and I plan to use reverse punchneedle so that the design is a little more recognizable.  Will it work???  Guess I'll find out down the road.  Thanks for coming along me with me once again on this experiment.

"Whatever good things we build end up building us." - Jim Rohn