The Wisdom of Gilgamesh

Reflecting on the death of his friend, Gilgamesh decides to search for the key to eternal life, an ultimately futile quest. “Gilgamesh, what you seek you will never find. For when the Gods created Man they let death be his lot, eternal life they withheld. Let your every day be full of joy, love the child that holds your hand, let your wife delight in your embrace, for these alone are the concerns of humanity.”

It’s funny how sometimes there are no words, sometimes there are too many, and other times the only words that seem to fit are someone else’s. Lately these words from The Epic of Gilgamesh have been ringing through my head, as late last week my grandfather and uncle (father and son) both died of separate illnesses within 10 hours of each other. So, maybe today, after reading the above, you’ll go hold a hand, or hug someone or just smile at someone who looks like they could use it.



And also of note, two lovely books out of late that you might want to check out:

Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery

and Craft Activism.




Full Disclosure: I was asked to write the foreword for the first book and a blurb for the second, so am foregoing reviews, because, yes, I AM BIASED… because I LOVE BOTH BOOKS AND THEIR AUTHORS!! You should no doubt go check ’em out and see how crafting can be more about just, er, crafting.

Ebb and Flow.

In case you missed it… PBS is doing an amazing interactive series right now, PBS Arts, which includes an online component of videos. The latest features interviews with two of my favorite makers, Olek and Swoon.

In the latest “Off Book” feature, PBS explores the work of two unique artists who use the streets as their canvas: Olek, who wraps everyday objects (and even people) in layers of colorful crochet, and Swoon, who pastes large-scale paper drawings on peeling city walls and in public spaces. Equally at home in museums and galleries, both artists create installations that challenge the formats of traditional art spaces. With powerful layers of meaning, beautiful aesthetics, and unique media, these two prolific creators are pushing the boundaries of contemporary art.

Oh, and thanks so much for the super kind emails, comments and Tweets to my last two posts. They have not gone unnoticed, and have warmed my heart lately at a time when it needs a little extra warming. Just got one of the phone calls I’ve been expecting, which was only joyous as it signals the end of someone I’ll miss dearly’s pain. And currently the screensaver on my phone is my teeny tiny little niece smiling, ever reminding me that things ebb and flow, from happy to sad to happy again. As they will always.






Falling Leaves and Blank Screens

For the first time in I don’t know how long, for the past chunk of time, I can’t write. Not a depression-made can’t write kind of thing, or a writer’s block thing, but “let’s just focus on getting through the day” kind of way. I’ve been cross stitching and walking and listening to a freakish amount of Deep Forest and crying and taking deep breaths as I watch those close to me go deeper into helplessness and loss and fear as two loved ones simultaneously get weaker and sicker as time goes on. As health things often do, it brings a crystal clear clarity to everything, what we’re here for, what we’re meant to do, how to best spend our days, what to really, truly appreciate.

And those questions I’ve been turning around in my mind, much like the way leaves twist and fall off the trees in autumn, they’ve been swirling around me and floating and crunching under my feet to not let me forget that they are the real fabric of life. I’ve been pursuing various paths of research and asked questions and reached no headway in certain areas and wondering if I’ve hit an impasse and need to redirect my course and if it’s the universe’s way of making sure I really want it. I wonder where my career is supposed to go and my family life and if I’ll ever go on even a date with someone who simultaneously makes me feel and laugh again. And, just as the leaves do, these questions get stuck in my hair or hitch a ride on my purse or stubbornly get stuck to my shoe. They float and they caress and they follow their simple path of gravity. Their written path of gravity, following the law of gravity.

We all have our own leaves falling, hitting us, reminding us, nudging us, asking us various questions about our lives. Sometimes they’re crystal clear, other times they’re kinda fuzzy and unsure. As I look into the face of my brand sparklin’ new baby niece and hear the excitement in my brother’s voice when he talks about his new role as father on one phone call and then hear tears of sadness on the next, as one watches a loved one fade away, the leaves seem to fall faster and clearer. And all I can think of is that this clarity is no mistake and of some grand design, that these are the moments we should pay attention to and the questions we should pay attention to because they are the quilt we wrap up in when we’re unsure of what to say, what to do or which way to turn.

Each leaf represents a choice that either we grabbed or let float away, and when raked into a giant big pile at the end of the season… We’re met with the important moments and we jump into the whole crinklin’ earthy heap of our lives, our loves, our fears, our regrets, our laughter, our mistakes, our joys and most of all, the snippets of clarity that we were lucky enough to witness because we dared to participate in it with our eyes and hearts open. And therefore, we don’t sink to the bottom, we’re held amid this big pile of leaves, buoyed by all the good stuff that was made sharper by the not-so-good stuff and squeal in delight at just how big and varied it is and how just okay we are.

So I guess I’ve been unable to write because I’ve been too busy watching the leaves fall and not busy enough deciphering what they’re trying to tell me. Instead of running from them and dodging them, I should be welcoming the way they tickle my neck and crackle when I step on them. Because just as each stitch helps me move towards completion of a project, each leaf is just as significant in creating a full and unique tapestry that will keep me warm, buoyed and safe in the knowledge that I’m still moving forward.

Also… something amazing you should check out… this video from the brilliant Reel News of the construction of Carrie Reichardt’s amazing statue of suffragette Mary Bamber.

Mary Bamber: A Revolutionary Woman from Reel News on Vimeo.

QR-3D: Can Textile Versions of QR Codes Work?

One of the greatest things about being involved in the world of craft is the people you meet. Over the years, I’ve come to befriend two very talented crafters and thinkers, Sally Fort and Inga Hamilton, aka Rockpool Candy*. A few months ago, Sally got the idea that some project needed to be done… and invited Inga and I to brainstorm on just what this project was. After about a bazillion awesome emails where we traded thoughts and inspirations and ideas back and forth, we kept asking ourselves questions surrounding QR codes and textiles, mainly:

Can they (QR codes) be functional and direct people to places on the internet?

How can QR codes be created in textile form?

How can designers, crafters, makers, tinkerers, artists, coders and interested dabblers use textile QR codes to send viewers to interesting places?

How can an internationally and digitally collaborative project share ways of working and increase opportunities for exposure and networking?

And thus, QR-3D was born.

And asks for YOUR participation should you be obliged to join in this project with us! Some amazing codes have already been sent in, which you can see over here and here, over at the QR-3D pool at Flickr.

*Be sure to go read the Rockpool Candy post on how she made her QR code using codes from her and her husband, combining them to be a “matrimony code,” the end result being the headboard for their bed!! Holy heck it’s awesome.



P.S. Recently I asked to participate in an Artist Series over at Unconsumption. You can see my project here, where I used a Radical Cross Stitch tutorial on how to cross stitch on clothes to cross stitch Unconsumption’s logo Mr. Cart on to a t-shirt using a chart made by Cat Mazza’s knitPro!



Kristin Hersh Meets Nirvana. Or, When to Just Say F*ck It.

Yesterday on the way home I was listening to music on shuffle, and Kristin Hersh’s cover of Nirvana’s “Pennyroyal Tea” came on.

I love Kristin Hersh and LOVE her work with Throwing Muses! But, whenever I hear her name, my mind drifts to songs like “Your Ghost” a duet with Michael Stipe from her amazing 1994 debut solo album, Hips and Makers:



And almost under the clunk-whomp-thwack of the train via my headphones came this almost guttural primal scream making me want to recheck the track listing to see if this really was Kristin Hersh. Not angry necessarily, just deep and true and honest and freeing. A sound full of creative power holding back zero reservations. Now if you weren’t familiar with her work with Throwing Muses and just knew of her solo work, this cover may just take you as a surprise. It seems a complete 180 turn in the vocals.

And it got me thinking, about how empowering it is to just shake it up, do something different, make people check that track listing/schedule/blog feed/show listing and just go for it. Learn a new skill, try a new route home, test a new recipe, whatever. Just need to step out of what you think you are, or what other people think you are and just say fuck* it.

Because you know what? You may just fucking** nail it like Kirstin Hersh does on this covers album. And when that happens? It feels pretty freakin’ good.


Where can you hear this amazing Nirvana covers album? Over here at the brilliant music blog that is Music is Art.

*Sorry, Mom.
**Even sorrier.