.
Showing posts with label the body. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the body. Show all posts
Jan 7, 2014
Sep 22, 2009
breathe hard...
already with my black oil this morning. already. :)
and tons of scribbling in my notebook too.
but The Jog awaits and i can't let up when it comes to that. 5 months in and 2 inches disappeared from my waistline, not to mention the wonderful wide-open calm that rolls in after breathing hard and stomping and sweating my way through the big ol' morning vineyard.
there are NO TRESPASSING signs up now but the owner said they don't apply to me so i am thankful for those signs. no bad-mood tourists to ruin my day at the start. no grimaces and judgement. tourists are full of grimaces and judgement. at least the ones who make their way out here. they are covered in sneers. i have no clue what that's about but it's true. it makes no sense. i'm glad they've been barred. the air and space is mine and the signs ensure i don't have to share it.
i'm beginning to feel pretty again. it's been awhile since i felt that way and it's nice. i've missed my angles. i'm happy to see them returning. i've got the same insecurities most women have and, yeah i know it's all unreasonable and blah blah blah, but i'm finally starting to feel strong again... and that's the thing i've missed most.
before i slipped that disk in my back (twice!), i felt strong and capable and i knew i was able to defend myself if i had to. for the past 2 years, i haven't felt that way at all. i couldn't defend myself one bit. now, 5 months in and 2 inches lost and all sorts of leg muscles later, i've at least got a fighting chance. i can at least out-run someone. and just knowing that i can if i had to makes me feel better, more capable, more independent, a bit less fearful, a bit less worrisome, and a lot more pretty. it's a good feeling and a good reason to keep it up.
and my little girl dog loves it too. she bounces along at my side and smiles at the world and on days when i don't want to do it for myself i do it for her. her happiness and health is way more important to me than my own and i don't let myself off the hook when it comes to that. it's my job to love her and give her the things she needs. it's my job to make sure she is healthy and happy and has space to play in. she likes the smells and the birds and the shade of the tall vines. she is always so excited, full of endless happiness when we head out to the vineyard. i aspire to be more like her in that regard- every day is the best day ever to her... and i want to feel that way too. The Jog can (and does) supply that.
once again, it's a morning thing. part of my wake-up.
why wait til the end of the day to feel that the day is good?
and tons of scribbling in my notebook too.
but The Jog awaits and i can't let up when it comes to that. 5 months in and 2 inches disappeared from my waistline, not to mention the wonderful wide-open calm that rolls in after breathing hard and stomping and sweating my way through the big ol' morning vineyard.
there are NO TRESPASSING signs up now but the owner said they don't apply to me so i am thankful for those signs. no bad-mood tourists to ruin my day at the start. no grimaces and judgement. tourists are full of grimaces and judgement. at least the ones who make their way out here. they are covered in sneers. i have no clue what that's about but it's true. it makes no sense. i'm glad they've been barred. the air and space is mine and the signs ensure i don't have to share it.
i'm beginning to feel pretty again. it's been awhile since i felt that way and it's nice. i've missed my angles. i'm happy to see them returning. i've got the same insecurities most women have and, yeah i know it's all unreasonable and blah blah blah, but i'm finally starting to feel strong again... and that's the thing i've missed most.
before i slipped that disk in my back (twice!), i felt strong and capable and i knew i was able to defend myself if i had to. for the past 2 years, i haven't felt that way at all. i couldn't defend myself one bit. now, 5 months in and 2 inches lost and all sorts of leg muscles later, i've at least got a fighting chance. i can at least out-run someone. and just knowing that i can if i had to makes me feel better, more capable, more independent, a bit less fearful, a bit less worrisome, and a lot more pretty. it's a good feeling and a good reason to keep it up.
and my little girl dog loves it too. she bounces along at my side and smiles at the world and on days when i don't want to do it for myself i do it for her. her happiness and health is way more important to me than my own and i don't let myself off the hook when it comes to that. it's my job to love her and give her the things she needs. it's my job to make sure she is healthy and happy and has space to play in. she likes the smells and the birds and the shade of the tall vines. she is always so excited, full of endless happiness when we head out to the vineyard. i aspire to be more like her in that regard- every day is the best day ever to her... and i want to feel that way too. The Jog can (and does) supply that.
once again, it's a morning thing. part of my wake-up.
why wait til the end of the day to feel that the day is good?
Feb 4, 2009
looky looky!
territories 12
15" x 11"
embroidery on paper
2009
this is what i've spent the last three days working on. lovely! i've been so taken with how much the hanging strings on these pieces resemble a girl's hair so i tried to exploit that resemblance further by braiding it. i love it! and i think it really starts to push certain metaphors to the forefront of the work: body as landscape, traditional expectations or ideals of the female, the longing for a white picket fence childhood or life, etc.
detail
i think i may add a pink or black bow to the end of the braid to really bump up the little girl associations that this piece presents.
i'm still working on the jumbo version of this and it is going to take me a long long time to get it finished. the size that the last three of these have been is 15" x 11" and it's at least a good 10 hours of stitching. the jumbo one is 4 times the size so, mathematically, it'll be a 40 hour work week to get it finished and that's only if i work on nothing else. yeah right. i like bouncing back and forth between works in progress, applying what i've learned with one piece to another, testing ideas, and just exploring the possibilities certain materials offer.
paper is so versatile that while i'm working on one piece i get so many ideas for future works that i've got to stop for a minute and write the ideas down so i don't forget them. i've lost a great many wonderful idea by assuming my mind can hold on to every whimsical thought that passes through while i'm working. and these pieces in particular are so meditative that i lose track of time and get lost in thought quite easily. that's something i've always loved about sewing and cross-stitch and crochet... all the traditional women's work that i get caught up in. i'm just so attracted to using the lineage of these activities in an art context to talk about identity, loss, longing, day-dreaming, hope. there's an inherent poetry in these traditions that i'm trying to bring to the surface and highlight. i think i'm on the right track with these territories...
but i'm also thinking of changing their names. yes, there are definitely part of the entire territories series i've been working on for the past year, but they have been such a turning point for me that i really think they need a title of their own... they are definitely different than the earlier work and don't have anything to with notions of the decorative like the others do. there's something so quiet and humble in these last three embroidery pieces that i want to honor it. they need to have their own title. i've just got to think one up. :)
Oct 17, 2008
been on my mind...
hi everybody! sorry its been a few days since my last post but i was having too much fun hanging out with my mom, drinking coffee, and showing her around San Francisco. we had a blast! i also dropped off the work for Who's the fairest of Them All? at HANG and am so excited about my inclusion in this show. showing alongside artists Cheslyn Amato, Taraneh Hemami, Katie Lewis, KC Rosenberg, Hanna von Goeler, Adrianne Watson, Jan Wattenjan, and Kelli Yon is quite an honor. i'm anxious to see all our work in one place together.
i've been thinking a lot about politics the last few days. maybe because my mother was in town, maybe because my grandfather suffered a massive heart-attack monday, maybe because my sister is a single mother and doing an awesome job raising my nephew (while preparing to graduate from college in june)... whatever the reason, the fact remains that women's issues are very important to me and have been the heart of much of the work i've done. the timing of this show is pretty great, opening a few days before the polls do, and giving me the opportunity to voice some of my own concerns about the upcoming election.
i received the following email a few days ago, forwarded me to me by a friend and it speaks to many of the concerns i've had about the inclusion of Sarah Palin on the republican ticket:
The National Organization for Women has endorsed the Obamba-Biden ticket for just the reasons listed below. They usually do not endorse, but in this case believed it was absolutely necessary to take a stand. If you agree, please pass this on.
Subject: Women and Sarah Palin
Friends,
We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.
Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech, gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-(and possibly first)-most-powerful person on the planet.
We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and altogether devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and from which we've so demonstrably benefited.
First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.
If you agree that Palin is an irresponsible, even dangerous, choice for VP, please consider participating in this drive. Gentlemen, send this to the women you know and care for. I know it's tough to understand the way this choice is impacting women, but I have never seen so many women so outraged, angry and distraught in my entire life. We'd like our voices heard. If you agree, PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! If you send this to 20 women in the next hour, you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously. Stranger things have happened.
i am not trying to add to the divide that exists within the American populace at this point, but rather i want to extend my concerns, as a woman AND as an artist, to those who might still be confused or conflicted. i also wanted to use this space to speak to those who, although they have made up their minds to vote for McCain, have the capacity to consider the other side of the debate and recognize the danger this poses to half of our nation's citizens. women's rights and issues need to be taken seriously. our bodies should not be cages. currently, i am happy to live in a country that respects this outlook and i want to protect this ideology. i am engaged to a man who feels just as offended as i do. he wants women to be treated as equals, to be respected as such, and is as adamant as i am that a woman's body is her own.
if you agree with the statements of the above email, please feel free to cut and paste it and send it to anyone you think might have even left the smallest window open for this discussion. if not for me, if not for yourself or your sister or your daughter, then for your grandmother. please do not forget the struggle and suffering SHE went through to give you freedoms that she did not have. remember the suffragettes... they are the people who fought for us to have the right to vote.
i've been thinking a lot about politics the last few days. maybe because my mother was in town, maybe because my grandfather suffered a massive heart-attack monday, maybe because my sister is a single mother and doing an awesome job raising my nephew (while preparing to graduate from college in june)... whatever the reason, the fact remains that women's issues are very important to me and have been the heart of much of the work i've done. the timing of this show is pretty great, opening a few days before the polls do, and giving me the opportunity to voice some of my own concerns about the upcoming election.
i received the following email a few days ago, forwarded me to me by a friend and it speaks to many of the concerns i've had about the inclusion of Sarah Palin on the republican ticket:
The National Organization for Women has endorsed the Obamba-Biden ticket for just the reasons listed below. They usually do not endorse, but in this case believed it was absolutely necessary to take a stand. If you agree, please pass this on.
Subject: Women and Sarah Palin
Friends,
We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.
Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech, gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-(and possibly first)-most-powerful person on the planet.
We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and altogether devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and from which we've so demonstrably benefited.
First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.
If you agree that Palin is an irresponsible, even dangerous, choice for VP, please consider participating in this drive. Gentlemen, send this to the women you know and care for. I know it's tough to understand the way this choice is impacting women, but I have never seen so many women so outraged, angry and distraught in my entire life. We'd like our voices heard. If you agree, PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! If you send this to 20 women in the next hour, you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously. Stranger things have happened.
i am not trying to add to the divide that exists within the American populace at this point, but rather i want to extend my concerns, as a woman AND as an artist, to those who might still be confused or conflicted. i also wanted to use this space to speak to those who, although they have made up their minds to vote for McCain, have the capacity to consider the other side of the debate and recognize the danger this poses to half of our nation's citizens. women's rights and issues need to be taken seriously. our bodies should not be cages. currently, i am happy to live in a country that respects this outlook and i want to protect this ideology. i am engaged to a man who feels just as offended as i do. he wants women to be treated as equals, to be respected as such, and is as adamant as i am that a woman's body is her own.
if you agree with the statements of the above email, please feel free to cut and paste it and send it to anyone you think might have even left the smallest window open for this discussion. if not for me, if not for yourself or your sister or your daughter, then for your grandmother. please do not forget the struggle and suffering SHE went through to give you freedoms that she did not have. remember the suffragettes... they are the people who fought for us to have the right to vote.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)