Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Come so far..

As I sit here in my bed in Miami, I contemplate how very far I have come, literally, in the past 10 days
When I began in New York I was starry eyed, excited, perhaps dusty?
We pulled away and as the speed picked up so did our imaginations, instinct for something new
From New York we cruised through desolate New Jersey, quickly passing through to Pennsylvania
We stopped in Erie, PA on our first night,the sky was illuminated with the lights of fast food restaurants
Other than that we pretty much did what we always did, that being the comfort
What surprised me the most about driving cross country were the great farms, absolutely extraordinary
We ate at an old warf in Erie, right on the lake, I was so sunburned
You could almost break the sky into soaring blue seperations, blinding, so bright but yellow- sunshiney
Then Kalamazoo, Michigan..the place I chose..
But that day of driving was pure pleasure, nothing but wind and forest.
We pulled off to the side and found these breathtaking woods, there was a sand path
We walked down it and it lead to to the most gorgeous beach I have ever witnessed.
On the Great Lake Erie.
Coinciding with the forest
We skipped stones, found sea glass and one of us left her phone behind
It was almost too stunningly perfect
As we kept going we reached Middle America, we were searching for something..
What?
We stopped in Chicago which was absolutley brilliant
Two days
Gone
Then the Wisocnsin Dells, waterparks. Dirty and crowded.
But how beautful the Wisconsin landscapes are, how scenic
Finally we were at our final destination in Minneapolis.
Minnesota, I can say with 100% certainty has the nicest people in the country. Period.
Now I'm back in Miami.
Bizarre.
I feel like there is so much more to say to describe the road trip but I will say it was amazing, more freedom than you could imagine.
It feels so fucking good to have nothing to HAVE to do, nothing to anticipate.
I felt suspended in time, hanging in a land where the sun doesn't set and the beauty stretches on forever.
I know sunglasses fuzzed my vision and joints clouded my mind, but each moment was a tiny memory.
Folky:
Feel Flows- The Beach Boys on Sunflower/Surf's Up
"I'm gonna make a lot of money, then I'm gonna quit this crazy scene
I wish I had a river that I could skate away on"
-Joni Mitchell, River

Monday, May 18, 2009

I want THIS-

The Watson Scholarship is a one year grant, for independent study, and travel outside the United Stats, awarded to graduating college seniors, nominated by participating institutions.

A girl from Carleton College for the Watson Fellowship
Dyeing to See:
Exploring Color and Craftsmanship through Natural Dyeing

Japan, India, France, Mali, Peru
Letting indigo guide my path, I will explore color and natural dyeing before this ancient art vanishes. I will see color as different peoples do and experience what it means to be a craftsperson as I spin, dye, and live with artisans in Japan, India, France, Mali, and Peru.




This is Parfait-I would do my project all about fabrics and choose,
Nimes, France
Kathmandu, Nepal
Tibet Tunisia OR Morocco
an ashram in India
Tokyo, Japan

:)

Justin and I are having a sleepover!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

pretty sweet. haha. summer candy..



SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2009

Yarn Story: Summer Candy

Summer Candy closeupThis week's yarn story is brought to you from my 9 year old daughter Natalie, who has her own tale to tell...

I was coming home from school and saw my mother dyeing with her friends. I asked if I could dye something. Mom gave me some white wool [pencil roving] and asked me what colors I wanted. I picked purple, pink, and blue. Mom already had the dyes mixed up. I painted them onto my wool, lots of purple, a little pink and one dab of blue. We wrapped it up [in plastic wrap] and put it in the microwave. 

[Amelia: We use my non-food 
dyeing microwave, 2 minutes on, 2 off, 2 on, 2 off, 2 on to set the dye, which was Cushing's Acid dyes, mordanted with white vinegar in the dye liquor.]

After a couple of weeks, I spun it on my mom's Journey Wheel. That was my favorite wheel until she got me a Pocket Wheel [so I can have my JW back...says mom!]

Summer Candy
Natalie is quite an exploratory artist -- she loves trying new things. Natalie loves spinning pencil roving, because she can "just spin" and not worry about drafting. Though she's getting in more practice with drafting, she'll still pick pencil roving over regular roving, so she can get yarn on the bobbin as quickly as possible.

Spinning pencil roving without drafting can be more of a challenge for the experienced spinner, actually -- we build habits as spinners, and one of them is the feel of the tug of fibers between our hands, i.e., drafting. Spinning pencil roving without drafting is a good way to learn to spin thicker singles. Reset your inner drafting-barometer to zero, and then try to draft less, the next time you pick up regular roving.

The second challenge is putting in a minimal amount of twist so that it is yarn, but not high twist -- especially if, like Natalie, you don't plan to ply. She has a natural knack for not putting in too much twist; in part because we set her wheel at a low ratio, and partly because she tries not to treadle super-speedy.

Natalie enjoyed spinning Summer Candy, and is happy to think that someone may knit, crochet, or weave it into their scarf, hat, tote, or even sweater, so we've put it up on our Etsy shop, 
By Our Hands. It's Corriedale wool, 19 yards at 6 wraps per inch, 1 ounce. All of her earnings go to her "France Fund", for her planned trip there when she turns 18.






The end...the Move out. Today's the Day.

Find me a Daisy field please!?! Someone! (I know Raz hates hearing about this--you can't just google a daisy field)

Done all I can do
Seek peace with you
Can't get along this way
Gone, oh, sugar baby now

Today Is the last day of my sophomore year of college.
My roommate is leaving today and it's supremely bizarre.
I just woke up and I feel as though I'm still somewhat dreaming
It's nine-thirty. AM.
Maybe, it's that I was just pulled from a dream into a strange reality
It's so foggy that I can barely see five feet in front of my window. 
Yesterday I saw a fan in someone's room in Kober, and I thought it was a star. 
Yesterday was clear skies.
I guess we stayed a long, long time.


Friday, May 15, 2009

Spring over sky stretched like liquid Gumby.


Whilst the summer begins to stretch over the eternal wilderness like a turquoise Gumby
A heavy, drippy, covered feeling trickles through everyone
The sunshine rays continue to cling and twinkle to everything in their path 
The sky, when you look up is infinite. 
The most perfect juxtaposition to the ground as you can get.
Imagine the tiniest fraction of color but then quickly, as if falling down Alice's Rabbit Hole, the color changes. It opens up into a spider web of different fractions. Like Stained Glass. I love creating art words. It reminds me of my Kaleidoscope. 

Everyone should listen to the song "Wildwood Flower" by Joan Baez while looking at this blog,  but more importantly "Fall on my knees" by Sam Amidon (he went to Sarah Lawrence)

Anyway I've been moving out of my Bronxville apartment today and I am exhaustedddd.
Goodnight all. 





Thursday, May 14, 2009

You've got your diamonds and you've got your pretty bows



Have you ever thought about what litters the ground?
I adore bells and wooden beads. I think I could be in a band where all I have to do is tinker with bells and maybe play the tambourine. I would love that. How marvelous.

Anyway, the ground is littered. Always. With cigarette butts, puddles, cobblestone, graves, tiny flowers, in the springtime-petals, each step is a dream especially when your head is always down. For some reason my eyes always reach for the ground and lately I've been pulling in every color, shape, and worlds litter. If my eyes are towards the floor, my head is surely somewhere up in the clouds. If you actually think about it each person contributes to the art of the worlds floor. Everywhere you go it is different, but somehow the same. Squares, shapes and shadows flow over the ground as fluidly as through ones own mind. It's also what people walk on which means everything on the ground is ever changing, evolving and full of movement. 
Curious. A lot goes onto the floor. 

As we see it the ground may well be the most special and wonderful piece of art on Earth, for we all contribute and make it beautiful. Nothing hinders the fact that any part of the Earth's floor or surface is valuable or was at some point to some person. -Just some thoughts to reflect on for the day. 

Finally found a throw away camera that was given away at the Sarah Lawrence midnight breakfast.
Of course I shot all the pictures within 20 minutes but they're all of the ground and/or surfaces
New photo posts when I have them printed. 
For now. 

I would like to go to Kathmandu


Nepal
Every time I think of the Far East I envision extremely tall mountains.
It's funny how people associate.
The above photo was taken by Doveman in Kathmandu, Nepal
It seems to be a place of peace, joy and spirituality
How much would it cost to backpack around the Far East? 
From India, to Tibet, Nepal, the Philippines, Indonesia, definitely Lebanon
((Cambodia))
From Bangladesh to Bangkok.
Mt. Everest anyone??
Vietnam.
GOA

The lure of these places- enchanting
Maybe it's because I am a child of travel
Yoga.

A spritual journey that one could never experience unless they experience it-
I feel very inarticulate about the reasons I feel drawn to this part of the world. 

Need to change the music.
Now Darjeeling. Maybe it's Wes Andersons fault. 
But first Paris. Le Francaise. 
Each portion of the world shall gradually be explored, uncovered as I become all the wiser with every step.


The petals fall and so don't forget.


Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Tiny images of nostalgia..

iPhone Memories. A Memoir?





Memoir?




Springtime scatters my thoughts away with the wind..



(Photo by Alee Gleiberman)

Clarity.
As I realize how short my time will be 
The city calls me and I will slowly fall into the new routine of scorching heat,
But before that
Waterparks, dreams, lengthy car rides (to say the least), time. 
Time.
Time.
CIEL
Stretching from light blue, to darker blue, to deep blue
Moving to yellow- blue to yellow
Then lavender. 
Fast food, joints, stretched out afternoons like taffy. 
The summer is calling me, sticky and sweet. 
Saturated. 



(William Eggleston)