Friday, August 19, 2011

Feather-Muse FRIDAY-PROJECT PICTURES and TEXT


August 11th
"Feather Muse"
The story begins as so many do... 

..."Once Upon A Time, a fine, feathery time, in a particular year, long, long, very long ago, in a land called 'Delight', located, so far as I can tell, somewhere between the Provinces of 'Despair' and 'Elation'. There, on the heels of a terrible snowstorm in late January, an egg--thought to be infertile,  abandoned by it's parents, who flew South at the necessary time--quite suddenly cracked!  The chick that finally emerged was bald, as newborns sometimes are, except, it had a curious tuft of bright blue fuzz at the top of it's head."

August 12th
See Previous Post
http://eclectic-meanderings.blogspot.com/

August 14th
The Story Continues...

..."The nest, having been blown to the ground, was now under fallen fir branches that formed a water-proof dome around it.  A family of field mice, who took opportunistic lodging there, had fortified the Inside; packed it up with animal fur, dried grass and thistle down, as well as bits of cloth.  Thus insulated, it was much warmer than the surrounding landscape. They watched the newborn struggle with great attention.  Meanwhile, a human egg was arriving at a similar moment. The fetus, suspended in its mothers womb, was jolted violently, by a sudden storm. The walls of it's home trembled. Then, in a great whooshing cacophony of sound, buckets of blood penetrated the amniotic atmosphere, and there was an accompanying strong contraction. The space itself pushed the child forward forcefully, through the birth passage, and out into the bright, cold world."

August 15th
Pix Elated Thoughts
 

August 16th
The story concludes for now...

..."Later that year, as Spring broke into Summer, that full grown blue jay called out to it's own chicks to return to their nest from where they had been gleaning seeds their mice cousins dropped.  Nearby, the six month-old child heard the call as though it were meant for her.  She had a strong affinity for the sound, an imprint that would mean something personal, intimate, and elemental throughout her life.  Each time she heard it, it meant either that she longed to be home. or that she was, in some sense, home again. The jays shrill alarm call, its melodically thrilling song call, and its defense screech, all, pierced her equally, crossing every boundary of time and place, to become the same call as when first she'd heard it.

It spoke to her of the seasons, of arrivals and partings, heartbreaks and joys. It was talisman and doppelganger, spirit guide and shadow, her compass.  It stood for her truest self - wild, untamed, at the center of it's own natural logic, neither good nor evil - "There's my Jay." she thought, "She flies to me wherever I am."  And so it was, that in one place she remembered all other places, and in all places she was at home."

August 17th
Materials overview
"Keep it simple."
I have the theme.

August 18th
To do...
...Separate threads, and thread a needle-Deposit travel check-pick up nutritional supplements-Transfer photographs-Edit the "Crossing Boundaries" story-Edit again-Edit to finish.
Finalize the construction of blog posts for the first set of weekly FeatherMuse Fridays, SpiritMuse Sundays
and MusicMuse Mondays.

Question: what about Saturday Muse, Tuesday Muse,
Wednesday Muse, and Thursday Muse?

Answer: Everything in it's own time.  One day at a time, One stitch at a time.  Tonight there will be yoga practice to reset my clock, and tomorrow is another day.


INSPIRATION
Jude Hill's "Magic Feather Project" set my Muses rolling.
She is a generous teacher, an accomplished crafts-person
and inspiration for many.
Visit her here:
***





4 comments:

deanna7trees said...

love the story. looks like you're on your way with your feather design. for me, that's the hardest part. the stitching is so enjoyable--a kind of meditation.

Ms. said...

Yes, it;s time for meditative activity, and writing is that too in a way, Most stories evolve over time, and this one might just have more chapters down the line. Meanwhile, my design idea has changed and I still have not put needle to cloth.

jude said...

my ideas often change in the middle of a stitch.
you're in it, how cool.

Ms. said...

Yup, and who can I blame but myself (Ha!) However, the last batch of videos really helped me get closer to the actual stitching. The idea that I can applique has opened the field to less labor intensive possibility for this stitching novice. I really just want to get this one done and sent (the easiest way to accomplish the simple idea will make that possible). When I'm in Massachusetts, I'll have plenty of time, and a bit more skill, to play around with a feather made entirely of stitching.