EDIT: My old blog at squarespace will have no more new posts. Comments are also off there. I can’t keep going back and forth from blog to blog. Bookmark or subscribe here, or whatever. That one will disappear in 120 days, period.
NARF.
Two hours of regular poly/cotton thread, soutache and 12wt Aurifil cotton:
hand
detail a
detail b
The whole is slightly larger than my own hand and fore-arm, about 6 and 1/2 x 14″.
Showed you the “blue print” yesterday. The bee fell in there by him/herself. Bees have a long history of meaning in myth and parable, too many to choose from for this one, and besides, as i said, he/she just fell there: as simple as seeing more of them lately. Google “what symbolism do bees have?” if you’re truly curious. The lines on and through the hands are important too: there will be more of those. And they definitely say something to me, which i reveal later. It’s not that i am going for deep meaning with this one–occasionally the ol’ vasty space we call the subconscious gets the upper hand (NARF) in our art. Just don’t push or belabour it; let it happen.
Inspired partially by the Body Worlds exhibit i saw, I can see a few pieces done this way, with different parts! As i have noted before, i don’t think my obsession/compulsion with bodies is done yet–or ever will be. Page 116 from “Art&Fear”:
And i *am* glad for the constancy of my life and art:
She Was Glad For the Constancy of Her Life/2009
I’m looking forward to doing the intricate hand stitch background, a la EBHAH! (Scroll down to “Every Beat Has A History” for the whole and more details)
stitch details on EBHAH
I finally remembered to bring home some eucalyptus from the flower mines to see what colour i can get with natural dyeing. More on that later.
Tuesday was gardening day—posted on the Dangerous Mouth of the Rose blog (see sidebar). Perfect timing, now it is cooler, grey and definitely an inside kind of time. We had a massive thunderstorm yesterday which really watered all my transplants and they are looking quite happy! And i have lost 13 lbs of “butter” so far partly because of the physicalness of it!!! (“Only” 47-57 to go!) But man am i stiff today after 6 hours of digging, schlepping, hucking and squatting!
annalisa
May 20, 2010 at 3:44 pm
I saw bodyworld too (stunning!)
and that was what immeadiately clicked into my head when I saw this! its so cool, can’t wait to see more
albedoarlee
May 20, 2010 at 4:49 pm
YES!!! I’d love to do a WHOLE body this way.
deemallon
May 20, 2010 at 5:05 pm
I don’t think you can help the meaning being there… so whether you’re ‘going for it’ or not, whether you are holding it lightly or with earnest seriousness, the meaning comes through and out — as pointed out by the passage you scanned for us.
Congrats on the weight loss — that is really, really something to be proud of!!!
albedoarlee
May 21, 2010 at 7:44 am
i guess my subconscious works all right after all
Mary Anne
May 23, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Hey – we will have to start calling you Ms. Lever (you know – of the 2000 body parts?). And 13 lbs? WAY TO GO SIS!!!! Hmm…maybe you should do a body parts piece of art centering around the ‘body butter’?
albedoarlee
May 23, 2010 at 9:22 pm
NARF
Faith
June 3, 2010 at 3:00 am
I like the red hand.
But mainly I wanted to thank you for the page from Art and Fear. Who wrote that?
albedoarlee
June 3, 2010 at 7:43 am
“Art and Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking” by David Bayles and Ted Orland