"Journey" - Heart

This heart became what it is in spite of any preconceived ideas that I had.  I began with the spiral button.  You probably already know that I love spirals - a circle that is open - never closed, always moving (just as hearts should be).

As I worked, the whole 'planned' color scheme changed - more toward 'jewel' tones than I had planned.  The design spaces also lost the boundaries that I had originally planned for them.  My lesson learned is that no journey, not even a thread journey, should be overly planned.

"What you are comes to you." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Textures

Tall oaks, maples, pines and all manner of trees surround me here in North Carolina.  The trees in the northern Arizona desert are quite different - mesquite, pine and my favorite of all, the Arizona Sycamore.  This large, sturdy looking tree has beautiful white bark.  When the bark pulls back from the trunk of the tree the darker bark underneath is revealed. 

The textures of this tree fascinate me.  What pictures come to mind as I look at the images of light and dark?  What stories could this tree tell me?

"A tree is an incomprehensible mystery".  - Jim Woodring

"Looking Within"

What if I put the key in the door?  What if I turn the key?  What if I actually look within to see what is there?  Do I hesitate to open the door or do I turn the key and hope for wonders and magic.  I'm on the side of opening it - of looking within to see what is there.  I may like it, or I may not like it - but how will I know unless I look?

This heart is 5-1/2" long x 4-3/4" at its widest.  For some reason I am drawn to rose and green these days.  Perhaps it is the time of the year, perhaps I'm just becoming a romantic.

The back is embroidered felt -- I love working with felt, don't you? 

And here I'm sending along x's and o's just for each of you.

"Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold". - Zelda Fitzgerald

From the Heart

I'm off on a new adventure - loop-pile embroidery-wise that is.  Recently Jude posted on her work with hearts - it seemed to be a healing time for her and of course her work is beautiful.  I had been thinking about working with the heart shape but a little voice kept saying 'its been done over and and over again'.  But then I thought, perhaps its been done so many times because it is a symbol that each of us can relate to.  Its our center, the core of our being.  Its our life force and symbolizes all that is good about us.  With those thoughts in mind I thought I'd play around a little.

Anytime I start a new project there are all the "what-ifs" to go through and the mundane questions like 'how big should it be', 'what do I really want to convey with this subject', 'how will it work with loop-pile embroidery'.  The planning began!

One of the first things that I did was to paw through my 'found objects', buttons, and 'junque' collections.  This is when I got really excited about the heart concept and the possibilities that might be before me.  Drawings have been made, patterns transferred to cloth and punching begun.  The most important piece of any fiber work (in my mind) is that my heart goes into it also.  That the time spent is time of gratitude and peace and joy -- let's see how this goes...

"Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.” - Rumi

"Desert Dreaming"

I began work on this bird after we got home from the desert.  The colors used, seem to reflect what I saw while out in that wild world.  Do you think this guy is waiting to fly off to the west, back to where he'll blend in well?

I experimented with his top-knot - by using loop levels of 10 and 11.  Now I know what those loops look like and they certainly made a good head dress!

"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds". - Aesop