Here is something to decorate your pool. I know my grand daughters would love it.
Not for me. I keep my eyes peeled for sharks on my morning swim in the bay. I see birds diving or fish jumping and I'm out of the water in a flash. We have had a lot of rain which brings the sharks in. This ones name is Bob!
While the hearts will be on going I needed a special focus for my second piece. I saw reflections of my second son, Guy, in the first 4 sonnets. All my children are special to me but Guy is a special gift.
As a baby, only 4 weeks old, he contracted a virus. He was one of the first to contract it in our city of Cairns, which is in north Queensland. It didn't present as a virus, rather in babies and children it looked like Pneumonia. He was given a half penicillin injection and almost immediately suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest, he had inherited the autoimmune gene that I have, which we didn't know then. He was clinically dead for 50 minutes, although was having resuscitation in only seconds, which continued till they got him on a ventilator. (This had arrived at the hospital that day and it had to be assembled to hook him up.) The next 3 weeks, until he regained consciousness, were the worst of my whole life. But, he lived.
They told me he would be a brain damaged. I spent the next years looking for this. Yes, he had trouble with co-ordination but grew up to be a normal child, if a bit withdrawn. It did not effect his intellect. He now works as a Analyst Programmer and has done so since he graduated from University.
I look at that photograph of us when he was given back to me and sonnet No 4 "Thou art thy mother's glass " rings so true. The section that I have selected reads:
"Thou art thy mother's glass, And she in thee calls back the lovely April of her prime."
I have an old piece of cross stitch that I picked up on a sale table. It was partly stitched and my thought was to unpick some of the stitching and use it in a sampler.
I immediately ran into problems. The original stitcher had not been consistent with her direction of stitch, they went in all directions, were over sewn, pulled tight and just couldn't be unpicked. The fabric was old and ended up with pulls and lumps. But I have kept at it and am finishing the leaves. For the verse I have had to replace the thread with a thinner version than in the image above but kept the same colour. I intend to make the leaves into a wreath to frame the text.
These first set of sonnets are addressed to a young man and the sentiments and context do not ring true in our modern world. But, there are sections in every one that are timeless. I'm sure every mother can resonate with these lines. As yet I haven't been able to find any embroidery or textile item inspired by this sonnet.
As I continue reading Shakespear's sonnets I now understand why only 'selected pieces' were included in the curriculum. Some are 'not quite' suitable for young people. And I also understand that we just didn't have the 'life experience' to appreciate the sentiments expressed. So much was left unsaid. We were told they were wonderful, but not why.
I have spent all these years with no clear understanding of what was written, and now, in old age, I have opened this wonderful box of beauty. I am reading the sonnets at https://nosweatshakespeare.com/sonnets/#read. Watching Patrick Stewart read each sonnet is a delight, even when he makes mistakes and has to start again.
He makes you 'feel' each word.
This is a personal journey I am undertaking, although Bear seems to think he is included!
My little blind shadow is with me all the time.
A music friend (I have embroidery, patchwork, teaching, academic, all kinds of catagories of friends) attended a Jacob Collier concert and said I would like his work. Oh Boy!!! What an artist? I LOVE his work. Not just the music or performance but the way he 'swims' through the emotions, feelings, techniques and explores music in the fullest sense. You can find lots of videos of his work on You Tube. But in this video, which is quite long, I got the opportunity to look into his soul. This man is a great, a one off and I look forward to looking at everyone of the videos he has and will produce. I might even get out a guitar again because he has made me look at music so differently, or rather made me recognise, by putting into words, what it is about music I love so much.
I am now well enough to resume the monthly Member's Lectures at the Art Gallery. It has been a year since I have been able to attend one of these and they are a great source of information and inspiration. One of my favourite places to just sit is under the Bodhi Tree outside the gallery.
This is a descendant of the ancient Bodhi Tree at the site which gave birth to Buddhism and every year the Buddha's Birthday Festival starts here and then continues at the main temple in Underwood.
As I continue to write about the Tibetan Temple is the Southbank Parklands, which is only a block away from this tree, I think that one of my projects for 2025 will be based on the leaves from this tree. Once a month I will collect one leaf and design an embroidery or some other textile item inspired by it.
I have been following this years Sketchbook Revival and it has been sensory overload for me. There have been two x I hours classes each day and I was tempted to just pick and choose between them. But I found that some of the classes that I liked the best were the ones that I thought I wouldn't like.
I have never been enamored of Pentangles and just wrote them off as mindless but I did a class with Anica Gabrovec and have completely changed my mind. (Here are links to her YouTube channel, her blog and she is also on facebook .)
Partly I think I liked it because she is such a good teacher. She has broken the process down to each of it's elements and then built from that. So now I am off to get some supplies and am even tempted to take a class or two. I can see all kinds of possibilities for designing embroidery using this method.
I wonder if I added the the boards to the end of my IKEA trolley, which looks like this,
Could I make it to look like this?
These ideas are always good to start with but then reality steps in, but it might be worth a try.
ALSO
I have signed up for this years "Sketchbook Revival". It's free and I took part in this a few years ago, time to have another shot at it.
It is a taster. You could buy the classes each tutor offers, but I have used it just to get inspired again. There are lots of great tutors. Carla Sonheim is one I have bought classes from and I often use her "free stuff" with my grandchildren. Actually I'm looking forward to this.
This is such a powerful song and I'm sure the people suffering war would agree with the lyrics.
English Translation
Mr President
I am writing you a letter, that maybe you will read, If you have time.
I have received my military papers to leave for war before Wednesday night.
Mr President I do not want to make it (war), I am not on earth to kill poor/unfortunate people.
It's not to make you mad.
I have to tell you my decision is made, I am going to desert.
Since I was born, I saw my father die, I saw my brothers leave and my children cry.
My mother suffered so much that she is in her tomb and doesn't care about bombs and doesn't care about verses.
When I was a prisoner they stole my wife, the stole my soul and all my dear past.
Tomorrow early morning I will close my door on (the nose of) the dead years.
I will take to the road.
I will beg to survive ("my life") on the roads of France.
From Brittany to Provence and I will tell people "Refuse to do it" (war)
Don't go to war, refuse to leave.
If blood must be given, go give yours,
You are a good apostle .
Mr President if you pursue me warn your policemen that I won't have weapons and that they can shoot.
I have always loved Turner's paintings. If you have time this as a great look at his life.