Links to inspire

I have two finished projects to showcase but they will wait. Today it is all about a link fest - things I have read and seen in the last few days that have inspired or educated me, or both.

Read the Yarn Harlot's description of her experience on a charity bike ride from Toronto to Montreal. Her determination to complete what she started is admirable. But what I really liked was the fact that several of the commenters complimented Amanda and Pato for making the decision to take the bus on a difficult and rainy day. When I coach I teach that deciding to get off your bike to walk or accept a lift is extremely difficult. Once you have done it, though, it feels wonderful. That's not because your suffering is over but because you realize that you did what was right for you. It sounds like everyone in Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's family group had important experiences which will change the course of their lives.

Go here to see the routines performed by the top ten on So You Think you Can Dance last night. They were almost all wonderful - the competitors rose to another level when paired with more experienced partners. This routine, by former winner Chehon ( a ballet dancer) and competitor Jacquie (also trained in ballet), and choreographed by the talented Travis Wall, really resonated with me. I saw magic in the perfect combination of planning and control. The combination sounds like it would result in something dry and unattractive but instead we see compelling and seemingly effortless beauty.




And just for fun, from all star Twitch and competitor Jessica, choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha. There is just as much planning and control here but it is easy to let the story divert us.



I have been poking around on the internet looking at large scale installations and went back to look at Ai Weiwei's work for the Unilever Series at the Tate Modern Museum in London. For the series artists are asked to produce site-specific pieces for the Turbine Hall at the museum. I was intrigued by Weiwei's concept the first time I saw it. A few years later it raises all sorts of issues for me: What kind of courage and determination does it take to conceive and execute something like this? How does one go about engaging the imagination and work of enough people to make it happen?

I have installed a slideshow in the sidebar on the right side of this page. It shows 12x12 inch works of fibre or quilt art which have been donated to Studio Art Quilt Associates. They will be sold in a reverse auction beginning on September 15. The group of artworks contains pieces by acknowledged masters as well as quilts submitted by much less experienced artists. It is those latter people who inspire me. It is both a generous and courageous gesture to submit a piece and then watch to see if it sells at a high price, at a lower price, at an even lower price or not at all. At the SAQA conference I spoke to someone whose donation last year didn't sell and was returned to her. To add further insult she had to pay duty on the package. To her credit she has continued to donate pieces to SAQA. In fact, I bought one at an auction in May. I will post a picture after I receive permission from her to use the image.

Large art

Once again I find myself entranced by a large installation piece. This one incorporates my fascination with repeated elements.

888,246 hand-crafted ceramic poppies will be planted in the moat of the Tower of London. The work began this week, the 100th anniversary of Great Britain's and many Commonwealth countries' (including Canada and Newfoundland) entry into World War I, and will be completed on November 11. Each poppy represents a British or Colonial fatality in the war. The piece, entitled Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red was conceived by ceramicist Paul Cummins, with setting by stage designer Tom Piper. The Huffington Post has more photos. You can read about the project and see a video here.

I don't know what it is but the sight of those repeated forms literally takes my breath away. In this case it might be the fact that each of those stands for a life tragically cut short but I think it is more than that. I see our individual lives played out in the repetition. The accumulation of similar elements add up to a marvelous whole. That seems to me a statement of hope, not despair. 

What dog people do

Among the weird things you will find us doing - taking a completely unremarkable and uninteresting photo of the youngest so a few people will get an idea about the new colour coming in on his tail.

When I grow up

I would like to be able to create work that is effective as this with the same economy of line and colour.

Waterlevel 1/Waterspiegel 1 by Pauline MM Nijenhuis

Check out the artist's website for more information.

HDMGG - August 3

It's a jungle out there.

August fun, chapter one

In advance of my surgery in September I am planning to have lots of fun in August. Today four of us went for a bike ride. It was just 67 km - not a stretch but it's not about beating myself up. It is about fun. And fun we had. I mapped a route that took us to a part of the province in which we haven't yet ridden. Here's our route - we rode clockwise from the bottom right corner.

And here's the elevation profile, which looks scarier than it was. In all we only climbed 629 m.

  

It was overcast and the temperature was in the low 20s.

It is nice to ride with a small group with whom you have spent lots of time. There is a good rhythm and everyone understands what the others want to get out of the day. And we all understand when it isn't appropriate to be chipper and happy - that kind of attitude is misty not welcome on hills.

As you can see from the map, the route ran along the coast of Cobequid Bay. The bay is actually the most inland portion of the Bay of Fundy. For that reason it experiences very high tides and there are several local businesses which allow people to raft on the tidal bore. As a consequence it wasn't your typical ride along the ocean. The tide was out so there were ugly mudflats where there should have been glistening water. Where there was water it was silt-filled and as brown as the mudflats. But it didn't matter. It is enough to see new scenery and for me it helps if everything is green and there is corn and cows. We checked all of those boxes today.

Red or Finished: #3 - Cable Collar Pullover

From the garden

From my needles, Ta da da da