circles repeated and repeated

what endures?

old cloth

a spiritual place covered with marks

the directness of paint with the substance of thread

communication with the environment

large scale

immensity of space, minutiae of surface

the time we need to cope with life and death

about love

only the earth lives forever, 2008 by Judy Martin
 favourite shirt on gessoed paper with hand stitch and painted cloth border

full of emotions

crying easily

needing a generous kind of love

the reverse side of newest stitching by Judy Martin
wool thread on linen   work in progress

having an inner world

seeking passion, intelligence

finding magic

feel better bundles by Judy Martin 2015
hemlock twigs wrapped with cloth and thread over a period of years.  (three times so far) 

"I tell you, the more I think, the more I feel, 

that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people"  

Vincent Van Gogh

her textiles

stitching by April Martin  cotton thread on canvas

I'm visiting our daughter April and this post is about the textile soul of her apartment.

 Many of the fabrics are of her own design, like this wall hanging and curtains.

screen print by April Martin on cotton fabric

embroidered quilt by April Martin in progress

 She was inspired by the eyelet embroidery in the circle project for this piece.

reverse of April's quilt in progress

string quilt by Judy Martin, Hearth Rug For Hestia, pillow covers from Ikea

 Some of the pieces are gifts from me.

I'm visiting this weekend because she graduates with MFA in sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on Monday.

protection amulet from textile museum of Canada - a gift from Judy

Marimekko bedding

Chicago sky scrapers

indigo moon

 

This is a brand new embroidery - made as a sample for slow stitch class.
I am teaching the stitches that we used in the manitoulin circle project.
Here:  couching, pearl-bead basting, and eyelet stitch.  Also curved seams.

I was so surprised when I placed this little moon on a runner made last spring for april's wedding, I had to drop everything and reverse-applique it in place.

Slow stitch is a gift on many levels.

a thousand ant holes

circle motif, white cotton thread, eyelet stitch, on indigo dyed cotton cloth

Part of the embroidery that covers the chest, torso, and upper back of a man's robe from Nigeria.

detail of eyelet stitch, nick named 'a thousand ant holes'

The cloth for the robes was woven by men, embroidered by men and worn by men for special occasions like weddings and funerals.  They were also made for kings, chiefs, and important men. The first ones were made in the 15th century by the Hausa, Nupe and Yoruba cultures.  Saved as family heirlooms, the robes continued to be made through the early 20th century.

African Tunic, cotton, stitch, indigo dye,  Collection of the Art Institute of Toronto textile department, donated by Anne Wilson

Several men did the embroidery, following the lead artist's design, over a period of months.  The design used here is a variation of eight knives, a protection motif.

I first saw these kinds of garments in the Textile Museum of Canada,  It is the time involved in creating garments like this that hits me in the heart.  Here, time is an aesthetic.

I was inspired to use the eyelet stitch in the meditation panel, Layers of Time.  It took several of us 6 months to cover the upper half of a large circle with the stitch.

Once the robe was completed, the embroidered area was beaten with a wooden mallet over a smooth log so that the cloth took on a glossy, ironed appearance and the threads of the work were compacted.

Information is from Australia's powerhouse museum.
Images are from my recent visit to the textile collection of the school of the art institute of chicago.

foundations

The fourth meditation circle within its surrounding square.

 bias bindings

(note the original sketch above on the left)

poof, it's in the frame and we start quilting

Manitoulin Circle Project, every Thursday at the Little Current United Church, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada.
All welcome.

binding time and place in experience

I will always connect the upper half of this white circle with the winter I'm spending with my father.

  January in the apartment.  February in the hospital.

My hands make small gestures and pull the threads tight around the many holes.
This eyelet semi circle is the last large part of the final panel of the four meditation panels I am making with my home community.  I am so glad to have had this work to do.

And walking.
I am so glad to be able to walk

Walking every day.  Walking there in the morning and then back to his home again early evening.

Step by step by step. Stitching the place and the weather to myself.
I recall walking in this town six years ago.
In fact it's the walking I remember when I think of that time when she was ill and dying.
I stitched beside her too.

"Where's your stitching?" she would ask me, until I brought it out
and my moving hands soothed both of us.

learn to learn

Let us just learn a little everyday.
Try.
It is so difficult to learn.

Dance Overskirt, Congo 20th century, raffia  collection textile museum of Canada

What keeps us from learning?
Be in a learning spirit.
You have lots of time.

Just be receptive.
Just be accepting.
Just be tolerant.
Just  be self loving, not self indulgent.

Not selfish
but self-respecting
self forgiving
self relating

Wait and see

Try again
Give yourself a chance
To learn is difficult
Try again
Start again tomorrow

Learn to learn

text by Louise Bourgeois when she was 83