Monday, April 19, 2010

all that is required is to slow down and reflect

I spend a lot of time alone.

I read the art reviews, the concert reviews and the movie reviews in the Toronto Globe and Mail and realize how isolated I am. (Manitoulin does not have a movie theatre)

“Ned” I say. “My work is backwoods, its out of step.”

He responds, “I don’t know Jude, where IS the centre of the universe?”

So that’s the title of the talk I'm giving on Friday.

11 comments:

Kim Hambric said...

I often complain of my surroundings -- how there is too little stimulation in my neck of the woods. Too little to see and do.

I would love to know where the center of the universe is. I would like to be much closer to it.

Wish I could attend that talk.

Jeana Marie said...

wish I could attend too.

I just adore dried poppy stems and love the lines they make and how you've arranged them.

Would you get out to the movies if there was a cinema? Only on the rare occasion do I...:)

Laura said...

I actually love spending time alone, I crave solitude. If I didn't have to go to work every day, I'd most likely become a hermit. Trends, fads & fashion are not interesting to me, I do the work I like because it interests me, and that's all that matters right now.

jude said...

i headed up a design department in a big corporate textile company for 20 years. i always felt isolated. now that i am more isolated i feel like i have found the center of something vital.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm out of step, out of time, too .... because I think your work is startling.

Clare Wassermann said...

I've found your blog really interesting - I especially love the house and quilts paper collage - I don't know why but it does something to me...

Jacky said...

I like your husbands mind.... and what a great idea for your talk.

Beautiful poppies.

Jacky xox

nj said...

Hi Judy

I'm new to your blog. I came to it through Jude Hill's and learned that I'd already met (and fallen in love with) your "Inanna's Prayer Rug" in St. Jacob's this past December! I am mesmerized by the image of Halcrow house in your photo collage. Perhaps because I share a connection to the same landscape (I grew up on the shores of Georgian Bay and still live there part-time -- on the Bruce). But it goes beyond that -- I find the image iconic. A metaphor for shifting/eroding centres of personal universes over time (that also speaks to the many disappearing small universes of economic and community activity across the central and northern parts of our province and country). I hope that you will continue to work with it.

mendofleur.com said...

I completely identify with Laura's comment except I do not work anymore.

I think for me the center of the universe is wherever I am. I know that sounds trite and maybe shallow, but I think we tend to be too outer-directed in this world we live in with our fast communication and inherent stimulation. I find contentment in my solitude when I am sewing or reading or walking amidst nature in all kinds of weather. This is the best universe for me, a very personal one. I too, crave and need much solitude. Wish I could attend your talk.

I also would guess your work is not as you said "backwoods" or "out of step," and most work derived from a solitary nature seems very deep and more fascinating than work that is generated from outer tugs and pulls. I think your work is very rich and life-sustaining.

Unknown said...

Oh, Judy! I know where you're coming from! As a former Torontonian who has planted her roots on the Island, I know what you mean!!! :) This said, I am in love with the Island and find it so inspirational.

Hope to bump into you on the Island sometime soon! xo

Rosemary@semo.net said...

Not back woods, not out of step. Classic, archetypal, minimalist, soulful. Your quiet work is an inspiration to me, a kindred spirit. I'm in the rural Ozarks in southern Missouri, and also am alone quite a bit. Keep on with what you are doing. It's true to you, and your spirit. That's the essence of art, possibly.