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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Inspiration

Evening All Afternoon

Pantomime




I sold my Evening All Afternoon scarf this week. This was made on the same warp (yarn going the long way) as Pantomime but using different colored wefts (yarn going the short way, or horizontally).

The idea for these scarves came to me as I was watching CPTV, our public channel here in Connecticut. It was early in the morning and the alarm went off so I watched a bit of tv before I got up. I have no idea what the program was or who the artist was and I think it was in Spanish. Basically, the program showed some beautiful wooden tables, plain, but maybe they were made of salvaged wood. Then there was an exhibit that showed cubby holes cut out in walls, found objects from drug war zones in central America placed inside (shoes, I remember), and a sheer fabric placed over the hole. Very haunting.

But at some point there was a painting or a door, which appeared to have been painted red but was weathered to shades of gray. The weathering followed the wood grain and I was struck by this image the most. Sometimes I become absolutely mesmerized by images. It can be a little unnerving to be so captivated by something, to try to remember it and burn it into my brain, then try to figure out how to translate it into something. That's what happened that morning. I would have honored the artists and their work by naming the scarves after them but I could not find out what the program was.

Hence, the two scarves above. It was a fun project. I'd like to do more. These things sometimes have a way of taking you down a road that you had not expected, giving you food for other ideas or changing your current ideas and plans due to technical challenges or my own limited abilities at this time. Or sometimes, as you move forward with an idea, you meet with new ideas, much as you would walking down a path in the woods or in normal interactions with people, music, books. And I feel like my head is going to explode.

Note: always carry a writing instrument and paper with you.

Merry Christmas! And even if you don't celebrate, it's still a day on the calendar, so have a good one!

3 comments:

  1. Leslie,
    I love hearing about your artistic process and the places you've gotten inspiration. You make startling connections and it's all so well thought out.

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  2. Congratulations on the sale! I hope you and your family are enjoying the holidays. Talk to you again soon! :) Theresa

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  3. Thank you, Shannon and Theresa! I'm going crazy to get back to work soon, but it's hard with the holidays and the husband home!

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