Looking at the red thread of creativity
Sunday is “Fabric Manipulation Day” and I haven’t taken part for the last three months. It didn’t look too good for this month either, when time and ideas were sparse. So instead I mended an old favorite pair of pants; at least that was something productive to do.
And how things often go, at the end of the evening I was in full experimentation mode with needle and thread.
Sooooooo…..see you on Sunday!
Over the weekend I was hoping for a sudden inspiration regarding fabric manipulation. But with the incredible weather we’re having in the North East and visiting the corpse plant three times, it just didn’t happen. But man, was that flower smelly. It’s open now for the next few hours, if you want to see.
Yesterday evening, I re-visited the “boro-inspired” skirt I made two years ago from recycled jeans and thought adding some more patching and stitches would help me get into the mood.
It’s difficult to see, but the skirt is full of small mended areas:
And now, I have an idea and it involves this:
More to come this week.
Jackie Nickerson‘s photographs need no explanation. These images are part of her ‘Farm’ series, shot in South Africa. They are moving and powerful beyond words. After a successful career in commercial photography, Nickerson ditched her magazine job, bought a truck and traveled 2 and a half years through Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
A woman much to my liking.
For more of her incredible images, click here.
Did you look at all the glitzy gowns worn to the Oscars? I frankly didn’t see any dress to fall in love with. Since all the award ceremonies and Fashion Week Milan are in full swing, I thought we could use a break and go back to the basics.
Pictured above is a Hunter shirt worn by Dogon/Bamana men from Mali found at the Hamill Gallery in Boston and I think it’s spectacular.
From the Hamill Gallery:
These garments, called shirts, jackets or tunics were worn by Dogon or Bamana men for protection in the forest, from both wild animals and dangerous spirits. A successful hunter must not only be master of the forest and wild animals, but must also have the spiritual power necessary to negotiate the dangerous supernatural realm.
The environment clearly reflects the clothes. While Malian tribes men navigate the forest and spiritual realm, Hollywood’s players navigate the complex territory of competition, talent and fame.
Some of the actresses looked fantastic, but I couldn’t help but wonder about the choices of some of their stylists. I guess that happens when clothes are predominately used as a marketing tool and fail to reflect the personality of the person who wears it.
Will we ever see one of Alabama Chanin’s incredible gowns at the Oscars?
18th century tea bowl Kintsugi originated in the 15th century and is the Japanese term for mending broken pottery with lacquer resin and gold powder. My friend Suschna shows how she mended hers here using a slow drying glue called “Anlegemilch” and gold leaf (post in German). Mending is more than just saving an item [...] Read more »
While my family is visiting, there’s no time to stitch or work on any creative endeavors. But that doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of inspiring thoughts and images. Here are a few of my favorite stitchers. There are many more, of course, but to appreciate each of them individually, I thought to limit myself to [...] Read more »
http://oldjapanphoto.wordpress.com/ A kimono is the quintessential Japanese garment. The word kimono actually means “thing to wear” from “ki” = wear, and “mono”=thing. So, why am I writing about Kimonos? Sass Brown from ecofashiontalk.com had a very thoughtful post on the Japanese company ‘Ichiroya Kimono Flea Market‘ which sells kimonos and related items. Not only was [...] Read more »
Boro Textile from Japan (c) SRI Thread Artists, seamstresses and quilters alike are fascinated with the process of patchwork and so am I. So here’s a patchwork post. A post of tiny thoughts, some recycled, some found, sewn together without a plan. Let’s see where it goes. Patchwork is not a necessity these days, however [...] Read more »
I need new boots. It’s not that I don’t have proper footwear for fall or winter. Oh no, there are plenty of boots in my closet to last a lifetime and beyond. Even my very own blue suede boots, which of course I never wear. So buying another pair seems really wasteful. And I won’t. [...] Read more »
This is an incredible online road book from Jessica Hilltout. It takes a bit of time to load, but it’s well worth the wait. She spent 9 months in Africa taking a different look at the meaning of football. Given that it is World Cup time, I thought this was a very fitting moment [...] Read more »
