September 22, 2010
There was a wonderful discussion on Jude Hill's blog about the classification of art and all its baggage. This is a comment I found so permeated with beauty I had to post here.
"Marti said...
This conversation is a wonder to me since I am not someone who has an intimate knowledge or skill set with needle and thread but I have been deeply moved by the exchanges posted here. This past year, I have been introduced to this world of cloth through dear friends, grace and Nance. As a result, I have been reading many cloth blogs and looking at many, many works of cloth.
The cloth I see has a sense that moves it beyond a static object. It feels alive and I am not even touching it, I am only sensing what comes over my computer monitor. How much of that is due to the words that accompany the photos and how much is due to a jolt or feeling that I get, I can' really say. What I do know is that when cloth resonates with me, it does so because I sense a personal vision unfolding from the cloth maker, not a commercial vision, but a need to tell coming from deep within a special and I will come right out and say, at times, a sacred space. Certainly I have seen etsy shops in some of the blogs and some do make things specifically to sell and that is fine. But what I sense so strongly from the cloth work that creeps into my marrow, is this personal quest,this translation of an inner voice via needle and thread. Cloth is alive, it can tell a story, but most of all it lives in the hands of the person who works with it. When does it cross over into "fiber art" and does that label matter? Cloth speaks, it connects and it does so, to someone like myself, on the periphery of all of this, by amazing, by causing questions to be raised, by reaching in deeply, by being beautiful in its own right, by being powerful, by being gentle, by being revered if it is especially old cloth. It is no different than when I look at a painting, a sculpture, a basket from long ago, a piece of pottery. If looking at spirit/story and/quilt cloth gives me all of this, there is no need for anything more and no need to define it further. That's all I wanted to say."
I feel such emotions, even almost tears whenever I read this. Marti, whomever you are and where ever you are thank you. Truly thank you for making this statement. For voicing it and bringing it to existence. I would make this my statement, my motto, my belief, since I also feel the same way about cloth, about the energy put into a piece of fabric. It amazes me how one thing can be so meaningless and turn into such a wonder, a beauty, a life all on its own. It craves to be touched, loved, held, homed by someone. I believe the reason why I love cloth making so much is because I try to recreate myself, and yearn for all that which the cloth receives.
Either way, this is what I find beautiful today.
The cloth I see has a sense that moves it beyond a static object. It feels alive and I am not even touching it, I am only sensing what comes over my computer monitor. How much of that is due to the words that accompany the photos and how much is due to a jolt or feeling that I get, I can' really say. What I do know is that when cloth resonates with me, it does so because I sense a personal vision unfolding from the cloth maker, not a commercial vision, but a need to tell coming from deep within a special and I will come right out and say, at times, a sacred space. Certainly I have seen etsy shops in some of the blogs and some do make things specifically to sell and that is fine. But what I sense so strongly from the cloth work that creeps into my marrow, is this personal quest,this translation of an inner voice via needle and thread. Cloth is alive, it can tell a story, but most of all it lives in the hands of the person who works with it. When does it cross over into "fiber art" and does that label matter? Cloth speaks, it connects and it does so, to someone like myself, on the periphery of all of this, by amazing, by causing questions to be raised, by reaching in deeply, by being beautiful in its own right, by being powerful, by being gentle, by being revered if it is especially old cloth. It is no different than when I look at a painting, a sculpture, a basket from long ago, a piece of pottery. If looking at spirit/story and/quilt cloth gives me all of this, there is no need for anything more and no need to define it further. That's all I wanted to say."
I feel such emotions, even almost tears whenever I read this. Marti, whomever you are and where ever you are thank you. Truly thank you for making this statement. For voicing it and bringing it to existence. I would make this my statement, my motto, my belief, since I also feel the same way about cloth, about the energy put into a piece of fabric. It amazes me how one thing can be so meaningless and turn into such a wonder, a beauty, a life all on its own. It craves to be touched, loved, held, homed by someone. I believe the reason why I love cloth making so much is because I try to recreate myself, and yearn for all that which the cloth receives.
Either way, this is what I find beautiful today.
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September 20, 2010
guardians, spirits, protectors, felines, warriors and such
I find this beautiful today. The craftmanship, the hours spent, the energy the human has left in the stone
giving it life, and eternity.
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innocence lives within the eyes, especially those of children. I could gaze into my son´s eyes all day and still be amazed by the sweetness that seems to stream out of them. I ask myself, where does this innocence go? What does it turn into? If only we could all be children at heart and eyes. Then this world would truly be a beautiful plays. A plays where play is obligatory, where imagination is a requirement, and enjoyment is a way of life.
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To me that is beautiful...
Pictures, thoughts, poems on beauty.
Today, I find this to be beautiful:
These are lovely words and thoughts and many of them resonate with me. I love the doll on your blog and the things that you write about. I started my blog to share a lot of things that go on in my life and to just express and then suddenly I have an audience of family that see my words and I find I resist saying whats really on my mind. But I do so love what you have shared here regarding Marti's post. I just in the past year have been following Jude's blog and then took the Heart Whispering class and stitched My Heart & Soul hearts with thread beads and found myself feeling so close to the work .. I am amazed at the connection I feel to it... I'll add myself to your list of followers. :)
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