Big Doll Update

I wish there was some way to convey the Millions and Millions of stitches I've put into this nine-foot lady over the last...has it been two? years?


She is a true representation of her title, WOMAN's WORK, so many small, unseen, un-celebrated, often painful small steps to create a magnificent whole...at least in her case, because of her size... she WILL/Does have a strong presence.



She's hard to ignore, since she stands in the
middle of my central living space...a benefit of
Not having to share my home with another
person.





I stand on a high step ladder (and I HATE heights) to stitch, twisting my body this way and that to attach her (final?) skin.


I still haven't decided what the ultimate coating will be.


And I keep getting distracted by other projects, which I'll show you later.

In thinking about the Defining Stories that people use to make their lives Meaningful and Important...and to drive them to get out of bed each morning, I see Food and Shelter, Family, Work, Religion, Sport, Conquest, Romance...and that mine is a life-long Romance with ART and the Innumerable Possibilities and Mysteries of what comes out from my hands and brain.



Sometimes I wonder, "Why have I always been driven to make things, from the Princes stories and drawings when I was five, to writing every day in my journal, to this ... What?"


Has each culture that's come along started decorating as soon as it was possible to get by on only part of a day of hunting and gathering?


What is this urge to create something bigger, and perhaps more lasting, than ourselves?


Maybe it's the adult equivalent of babies playing with their toes,
an enlarging of skills that might come in handy in later life and
that takes up time as we grow.



Stretching, stretching, stretching our minds and bodies, just because we can.


I am compelled to write every morning, noon, night, to document my thoughts, my life...possibly no one will ever notice but me...although I sometimes hear from students or readers that something I've said resonates with them....do I do it for that?... the moments, the flashes of resonance and contact that say, Yes, we both exist and share some of the same elements of thought and feeling.



Thanks, Laura Jane...I do Love my Work!!!

More Summer Fun on the Peninsula

On a sunny Saturday, when I was supposed to be working on new patterns for Soft Dolls and Animals, I got lured by the magic of Port Townsend, the Rose Theater, real butter popcorn, a visit to Akamai art supply store, which always makes me giddy with possibilities, and seeing Julie/Julia in the perfect setting, instead of the multiplex here in Port Angeles.













I saw paintings, Potential Paintings Everywhere, from grand old Victorians, to worn glass circles in sidewalk, to paint daubs contrasting with sun umbrellas.



I went in to Akamai for a tube of purple paint and came out with that, plus sepia pencils, marvelous collage paper, shiny gold poster board, some new glitter pens, Extrav Organza, and LazerTran...I'll need help from Annie, the Queen of Lazer Tran. I'm thinking repeated self-portraits on the bag of tins that Barbara Houshmand brought me.







Speaking of self-portraits, here I am taking a picture of my shadow against a riot of urban flowers. I like the concept of self-portraits in as many different media as possible...idea for a new class.






Another reflective self-portrait, in one of the Port Townsend store windows, filled with exotic items to recreate the artistic air of this Victorian town in homes all over the world.

As an inveterate Foodie, I found the movie irresistable. "Butter makes Everything Better!" I was also inspired by Julie's story...how can I make my own Blog popular...how popular do I want to be? I really enjoyed doing that day and the whole weekend alone and at my own pace.



The weekend before, I had tons of company, which was fun, too. We finally had a week of cool and rain after nothing but SUN since May. David, Brian, and I went up Hurricane Ridge, and if you've been following my saga, you'll notice that the visual distance shortened from Miles and Miles when Steve and Linda visited, to a few feet. I'm enjoying my Golden Eagle Pass to all the National Parks, and am looking forward to going up the mountain in many seasons and climates.






Apparently I wore the boys right out. It seems that they are among the many who have come to the Peninsula to rest and heal.

They were refreshed when the next contingent of company arrived on Saturday evening for a big home made pizza party.









Penny and Arlinka are friends who live at a conference center in Hawaii. I've known Arlinka since the first doll conference I ever attended, We Folk of Cloth in MD...and all of us weird doll makers found each other: Arlinka Blair, Tracy Stilwell, Margi Hennen, Kathryn Belzer, Sara Austin, Lynn Sward, and me.










Just as if the last seven years or so had never passed. Arlinka said that I seem happier than the last time she saw me in Saugerties, NY...I am.

She's embellishing clothing, making Buddhas on stones, and collecting all kinds of things to send to herself back in Hawaii, where there's no shopping on her island.







I'm happy to be here on the Peninsula, working on my endless projects. More about the Big Doll in tomorrow's post.

I've always been good at keeping myself amused.

Fantastic Sunset!!! I rushed outside to catch it, but the photo doesn't do the intense reds justice...you'll just have to imagine it.