Sheep!

Homestead

Welcome to our homestead, my dear sheep.

Three ewes and a ram joined us yesterday, relocating from White Barn Farm Sheep & Wool in Gardiner, NY. I have dreamed of this day for years. But I also fretted about having livestock again — what if the coyotes go after the sheep? What if they run away? What if I resent the extra work? Am I going to curse them (or myself? Or my husband?) while hauling buckets of water in February?

I don’t know any of the answers, but we decided to go for it anyway. I have already visited their pen twice this morning – I went out at 6:30 just to make sure that they hadn’t broken the fences overnight and escaped.

The kids keep climbing in and out of the yard – checking water again and again. I have implemented a new family policy, too: all complaints must be submitted to the sheep. I sent Eli out to tell the sheep that he didn’t like what we served for dinner last night.

Names are still being decided – the list is so long now!

City thoughts

Stitching

Jim came home from a conference in Seville, Spain, and his stories & pictures got me thinking about historic urban spaces. The way that buildings were built first, and the space that was left over became the public space — the buildings defined the pathways between them. Cities that established a grid grew by defining the streets first — where the carriages, and then cars, would belong. The roadways defined the buildings between them.

I started stitching these little maps — a variation on my treasure maps — and also a throwback to my architecture classes in college. I got lost once I stitched some building footprints… what happens outside those buildings? What happens in the public space? These pieces are only asking questions right now, no answers yet.

I am thinking especially of a visit to Venice with my friend Julia in 2000. The pathways are so fascinating to wander – I could turn left and find a dead end, and I could turn right and find a tiny piazza with a cafe and a fountain.

And I had to revisit a favorite book: Courtyards by John S. Reynolds, because I had some of his drawings on my mind. And now I am left to wonder…

Art Retreat, Day 1

Stitching

Welcome to my own art retreat. I am retreating a few hundred feet from my house, into my cabin. Where it smells good, there are no dishes to wash, and it is quiet. The kids are at camp, and I have a rare 5-hour stretch of time alone.

The first day I spent working on this piece which I call, eh, well, I don’t have a name yet. It keeps changing. Tree Witches is what I call it most often.

I can pick away at the tree branches here and there — in little scraps of time — but I couldn’t envision the larger piece or the next steps while watching kids roast hot dogs or waiting for the water to boil. In those moments, I can do the simple stitching, but not the creative work. In those moments I need the simple stitching, so I can give my brain a rest and find some calm. Today I have calm and silence and a clear desk, all to myself. And so now my brain is ready to open and my thoughts are ready to play. Such a treat.

Art & Math

Inspiration, Stitching

I have been making lots of English paper pieced squares recently, and the grids are bringing my mind to math and ratios and angles.

I found this video after spending some time reading about the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio. The three videos in this series are fascinating (and so quick-paced, it’s helpful to watch them twice). I pulled out my sketchbook halfway through the first one.

July 17, 2019

Kitchen, Mending

What I am making:
Lots of 1 inch and 2 inch English Paper Pieced squares, for a class I am taking with Jude Hill

Mint Extract (I made the Instant Pot version, pictured above)

What I am reading:
The Life-Changing Magic of Making Do, by Benjamin Leszcz

Several years ago, while living in London, England, my wife met Prince Charles at an event associated with the Prince’s Foundation, where she worked. She returned with two observations: First, the Prince of Wales used two fingers – index and middle – when he pointed. Second, Charles’s suit had visible signs of mending. A Google search fails to substantiate the double-barrelled gesture, but the Prince’s penchant for patching has been well documented. Last year, the journalist Marion Hume discovered a cardboard box containing more than 30 years of off-cuts and leftover materials from the Prince’s suits, tucked away in a corner at his Savile Row tailor, Anderson & Sheppard. “I have always believed in trying to keep as many of my clothes and shoes going for as long as possible … through patches and repairs,” he told Ms. Hume. “In this way, I tend to be in fashion once every 25 years.”

What I am eating:
Fennel Apple Salad with Walnuts

What I am learning (on guitar):
California Stars by Billy Bragg & Wilco
Old Shoes & Picture Postcards by Tom Waits

Scrambling

Stitching

I had a storycloth that wasn’t meant to be — the figures were meant to be in different stories. I started it while in a class with Jude Hill, and I was following along with her process. I reworked the central figure a few times, but it just never felt right. So I cut it each figure apart and tried moving it around to join different pieces that I am working on.
I find that I like the two tree figures as a pair, singing or howling together.