Category Archives: Smoldering

Perception

Hello,
Summer is in full swing here in central New York. On my walk I saw a deer this morning and noticed that I have a double blossom on one of my Day Lilies. One needs to keep their eyes open to perceive the world. We seem to live in a world of lines, both strait and curved. Our buildings are mostly sharp edges and lots of squares and  rectangles. To balance that we often add shrubs and trees that have curved lines.     Most roads are laid out in strait lines  with curves that are created mostly by the landscape.     For the most part here in the west we do not live with may circles like the beautiful moon gates of the orient or the curved onions of the middle east domes. I wonder if there is any   cultural  reason for our preferences or are we just familiar with them?
It was a quiet week for me. I did a zoom with the Pixies and Liz and I spent a day dying. We did a progression emersion dying process. Turquoise to Orange. I learned a lot and we plan to try it again later this summer.

Progress Report: Fallen I did finish applying the leaves to the surface and I washed the quilt in the washing machine. I like how washing frayed open  the cuts to reveal the layers of cloth beneath.  I now need to add a focal point to this work.

Smoldering I am stitching/quilting this work now. The process is slow as I am trying to spend more time looking at the work as I go along.

 

 

Butterflies I finished the machine drawing of the butterfly and I sewed him down to the quilt base. I am now in the process of quilting in butterflies  around the big one with  thread.

 

100 Days I am moving along on this project. Today is day 45. I am starting to play a bit more with how I might arrange them.

 

 

Daily Practice I finished another square this week and started a new one last night.

 

 

 

 

 

Drawing I just keep doing a drawing every day or two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adolescence Spring trip II

We went to the White House on the Tues morning of our Spring Trip. The line  wrapped around the outside of the building along the black wrought iron fence and  it took an hour to get to the door. Rooms were huge and I recognized a few details from the TV tour that Mrs Kennedy had done a few years earlier. We then went off to the Treasury Building were we looked at counterfeit currency and got to see a real 100,00.00 dollar bill. There was also a exhibit of how folks had mutilated bills and a second exhibit of sculptures made by folding bills . I remember a bird and a dollar car. Next stop was the National Aquarium. I enjoyed the sea turtles the most. The National Aquarium is no longer in DC, but in Baltimore. After a light lunch we went back to the Smithsonian again. We visited the Space exhibit and saw Freedom 7 and Friendship 7. I was surprised that the capsule was smaller than a Volkswagen Beetle. We also checked out some amazing doll houses full of beautiful hand made furniture.
> Wednesday was our day to do history outside DC. We went to Fredericksburg first. Gene and I did look for bullets in one of the battle fields after reading a sign that said folks could still find them- but we were not successful. We then went to Williamsburg. We checked out the visitors center and enjoyed a historical movie about THE area. It was my first experience with a living history museum, and I liked all the colonial dress. We went to the Hatters, a Cabinetmakers shop and an Apothecary  shop. There was a demonstration going on across the green from where we were on the use of long guns. Gene and I started out running toward the location and one of the guns was fired. I know I changed direction in mid air, I was so startled. The demo was interesting when we got there. Next stop was the National Seashore and Cape Hatteras. We stopped at Kitty Hawk, first with a stop at the little museum. They had a model of the Wright Brothers plane that I found a bit flimsy to my way of thinking.  Good use of wire though.   We checked out the light house and then did a little beach combing. The water was too cold to even wade in, but we had fun building sand castles and collecting shells. I even found a sword from a swordfish. I remember that the wind was blowing so hard that the tops of the waves were blown backward . It was a nice restful day for us.
> When we got up and we started home, I was not feeling well. I could not get cooled down, but I did fall asleep until we blew a tire. When we got home I went straight to bed and did not feel any better on Sunday. Monday morning found me weak and I stayed home from school. I was still running a temperature in the afternoon. I do not know how or what happened next, but two days later I woke up with a clear head in isolation in Ball Memorial Hospital. I had Hepatitis and was one sick    yellow puppy. I was in the hospital for two weeks. Mom and Dad both came and visited me , but had to remain outside in the hall outside  the room. The room was just above the bay were the ambulances delivered their patients and near the end of my stay I sometimes learned out the window and talked to the drivers while they waited. No one else in the family got sick . I was Still weak when I was allowed to go home. I got steadily better, but I was very tired. I read Oliver Twist, Beowulf, and Return of the Native in that time. After six weeks I was allowed to go back to school for two hours every day to take English and History class. I can’t say that I know much about American History from 1900 to 1950. I did pass into my Senior year and I was well enough by June to go to summer school. My best friend Margaret and I took Art and Music Appreciation together. I remember going to the cemetery with her one hot summer afternoon to do our sketchbook assignments for Mr Carr. I recovered fully over the course of the summer.
Stay Safe  and keep your eyes open

Carol