creative regeneration

uuurrm

2012-01-24T22:03:00.002Z

its been a while....

why? lack of inclination... lack of imagination... lack of tings to say of a creative nature...
all of the above.
the busiest times are the most interesting times. less time to say it. but more to say.

lots of education work going on. and some new personal work.

a proper posting will follow soon.

lets just say this:

' just as rain penetrates an ill roofed house, so desire penetrates an underdeveloped mind.'

Dhammapada v. 13-14

The word desire does not only refer to sexual desire, but in the context of the Buddha’s teachings, it has a much broader meaning. There are two major movements of our minds when the mind is not at peace: “I want” or “I don’t want”. This verses address the enormous category of all the things we want badly enough to unsettle our minds, to make us careless of others and forget what might be best for ourselves.

2011-09-19T22:24:00.000+01:00

Word of the Day

Monday, September 19, 2011

slum·ber [sluhm-ber]

verb (used without object)
1. to sleep, especially lightly; doze; drowse.
2. to be in a state of inactivity, negligence, quiescence, or calm: Vesuvius is slumbering.

verb (used with object)
3. to spend or pass (time) in slumbering (often followed by away, out, or through ): to slumber the afternoon away.
4. to dispel or forget by slumbering (often followed by away ): to slumber cares away.

2011-09-18T08:47:00.000+01:00

Word of the Day

Sunday, September 18, 2011

care·tak·er (kârtkr)

1. One that is employed to look after or take charge of goods, property, or a person; a custodian.

2. One that temporarily performs the duties of an office

*someone who is the recipient of care, rather than the giver.

2011-09-18T08:42:00.001+01:00

Word of the Day
Saturday, September 17, 2011

surge

[surj]

1. a strong rush or sweep; sudden increase a surge of anger

2. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) the rolling swell of the sea, esp after the passage of a large wave

3. a heavy rolling motion or sound the surge of the trumpets

4. an undulating rolling surface, as of hills

5. a billowing cloud or volume

6. (Transport / Nautical Terms) Nautical a temporary release or slackening of a rope or cable

7. (Electronics) a large momentary increase in the voltage or current in an electric circuit

8. (Engineering / Mechanical Engineering) an upward instability or unevenness in the power output of an engine

9. (Astronomy) Astronomy a short-lived disturbance, occurring during the eruption of a solar flare

1. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) (intr) (of waves, the sea, etc.) to rise or roll with a heavy swelling motion

2. (intr) to move like a heavy sea

3. (Transport / Nautical Terms) Nautical to slacken or temporarily release (a rope or cable) from a capstan or (of a rope, etc.) to be slackened or released and slip back

4. (Electronics) (intr) (of an electric current or voltage) to undergo a large momentary increase

5. (tr) Rare to cause to move in or as if in a wave or waves

[from Latin surgere to rise, from sub- up + regere to lead]

2011-09-18T08:38:00.003+01:00

Word of the Day

Friday, September 16, 2011

dimple

Dimples are visible indentations of the skin, caused by underlying flesh, that form on some people's cheeks, especially when they smile. They are usually found on both cheeks^{[citation needed]}. Dimples may appear and disappear over an extended period.^[1] Dimples may play a role in sexual selection.^[2] Some cultures, for example Asian and Indo-ethnic sub-groups, prefer dimples as a sign of attractiveness and veracity.^[3] Dimples may be genetically inherited and have been called a simple dominant trait, but there is no scientific evidence for this.^[4] hi Dimples may be caused by variations in the structure of the facial muscle known as zygomaticus major. Specifically, the presence of a double or bifid zygomaticus major muscle may explain the formation of cheek dimples.^[3] This bifid variation of the muscle originates as a single structure from the zygomatic bone. As it travels anteriorly, it then divides with a superior bundle that inserts in the typical position above the corner of the mouth. An inferior bundle inserts below the corner of the mouth.

Dimple or Dimples may also refer to:

one of the indentations on a golf ball
Dimples (film), a 1936 Shirley Temple film
Dimples (2008 film), a 2008 film
"Dimples" (song), by John Lee Hooker
Dimple Kapadia, a Bollywood actress
a brand of Scotch whisky
Cuddles and Dimples are fictional characters in the UK comic The Dandy. The stories are based around two toddler brothers who like to cause double the trouble whether they go.

a week in words

2011-09-15T08:33:00.003+01:00

participation in a course in performance art at chapter art centre has prompted a new journal project.

a word a day, for a week initially, but maybe more.

just see what comes, what fits. the words are here. the images and other associated articles to follow.

Word of the Day

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

fey

1. Possessing or displaying a strange and otherworldly aspect or quality; magical or fairylike; elfin.

2. Having power to see into the future; visionary; clairvoyant.

3. Appearing slightly crazy, as if under a spell; touched.

4. (Scots.) Fated to die; doomed.

5. (Scots.) Marked by a sense of approaching death.

Word of the Day

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

volare

Italian for the infinitive form of the verb 'to fly'

"Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più. Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu; poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito, e incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito."

"I think that a dream like that will never return; I painted my hands and my face blue, then was suddenly swept up by the wind and started to fly in the infinite sky."

bird shrines for FAB

2011-05-05T16:37:00.001+01:00

magpie

swallow

cuckoo

peacock

the studio

2011-05-05T13:19:00.001+01:00

W.O.M.A.N

2011-03-28T12:25:00.001+01:00

IMG_5876_1, originally uploaded by Owen Martin.

at Elysium Gallery now.

wunderland

2011-03-06T21:22:00.001Z

bodymapping film

2011-03-01T10:44:00.000Z

wunderland: there will be blood

2011-02-28T18:15:00.000Z

which fault is mine?

2011-01-17T19:23:00.002Z

fault
— n
1. an imperfection; failing or defect; flaw
2. a mistake or error
3. an offence; misdeed
4. responsibility for a mistake or misdeed; culpability
5. electronics  a defect in a circuit, component, or line, such as ashort circuit
6. geology  a fracture in the earth's crust resulting in the relativedisplacement and loss of continuity of the rocks on either sideof it
7. tennis, squash, badminton  an invalid serve, such as one thatlands outside a prescribed area
8. (in showjumping) a penalty mark given for failing to clear orrefusing a fence, exceeding a time limit, etc
9. hunting  an instance of the hounds losing the scent
10. deficiency; lack; want
11. at fault
a. guilty of error; culpable
b. perplexed
c. (of hounds) having temporarily lost the scent
12. find fault  to seek out minor imperfections or errors (in); carp(at)
13. to a fault  excessively

— vb
14. geology  to undergo or cause to undergo a fault
15. ( tr ) to find a fault in, criticize, or blame
16. ( intr ) to commit a fault

[C13: from Old French faute , from Vulgar Latin fallita (unattested), ultimately from Latin fallere  to fail]

moving on

2010-12-12T18:35:00.000Z

the red is still present, but less to the fore. i do become more monochrome in the winter.
the drip is what is interesting. overloaded excessive uncontained but on a path bulging falling ...dripping
not so much the drop. the point of contact but the liminal between overflow and death.

running in tandem is the mind / action dilemma. of a stimulus creating an an uncontrollable reaction.
been reading simone de beavoir and diamond sutra to try to have a clearer perspective.

but i think there is a bridge. a meeting point of the two trajectories.

images will follow..

red drawing

2010-11-25T16:40:00.000Z

red textile

2010-11-25T16:38:00.000Z

attempting to make a mithridate for the mind

2010-11-25T10:39:00.000Z

object11.10

2010-11-22T15:44:00.001Z

object11.10

2010-11-22T12:01:00.000Z

loss of focus

2010-11-21T00:02:00.003Z

how to make ink

2010-11-18T22:20:00.000Z

cottrell park wood blog

2010-11-11T21:07:00.004Z

walden

2010-11-10T00:08:00.002Z

as if you can kill time without injuring eternity

The path is narrow...it is easy to fall off

2010-09-23T14:23:00.002+01:00

I have been very lax lately, and have been buying way to much new stuff. It is like a drug. I even bought wrapping paper yesterday, something I havn't done in 3 years.

But having just come across this blog I am back on the path of goodness, reused and handmade!

http://abuncandance.blogspot.com/

Melin Medi Weekend

2010-09-14T14:10:00.007+01:00

So - a lot didn't go to plan, but that didn't matter.

Friday was a washout, so Saturday morning was spent building the barley sheaf instead of grinding oats. .

With help from Derren and Alyn, a beautiful structure emerged. We used sticks from various trees of the site, bamboo, gold silks, wool and threads.

Saturday afternoon I decided to embroider the Rumi poem onto a piece of linen attached to a hawthorn tree. I left it there for others to complete. Standing beside the river taking the time to stitch the words is a good way to contemplate.

In the evening at twilight I tried to light the fire to make the transformation to the next stage - it absolutely refused to light - of course I had used entirely non-flammable materiels so what did I expect. I think that secretly I didn't want it to burn. And so after three attempts I left it to see the Sunday morning sun.

On Sunday afternoon I finally made some oats cakes on the fire in the garden. I tried three different varieties of salt. I liked the plain best. With cheese and Mari's Plum jelly. Lovely.

Melin Medi

2010-09-05T20:43:00.003+01:00

Notice how each particle moves
Notice how everyone has just arrived here
from a journey
Notice how each wants a different food
Notice how the stars vanish as the sun comes up
and how all streams stream towards the ocean.

Rumi

How to make Bara Crai / Oat bread

Location: Under the stone arch bridge

Saturday Midday: Rolling and grinding the oats to make flour

Sunday Midday: Making the flat bread over a fire.

Notice...

Location: The Meadow

Saturday Sundown: burning the haystack

Sunday Sunrise: transformation of the residue

The artworks made at New Mill are very much determined by a period and context specific spirit. The do-it-yourself process of constructing objects from odds and ends demonstrates the value of conceiving art as a model of engagement with the world, speaking not only with things but also through things. Through transformation and reinvention, the works effect a temporalisation of objects that articulates new forms, placing emphasis on the 'act' rather than on the finished 'product', seeking to dematerialise the art object as a commodity.

2010-09-05T19:10:00.003+01:00

prepping at new mill. walked in circular direction to create space for the barley stack fire next weekend.

listened to the melody of a fallen tree.

New Mill Drefelin

2010-08-10T13:16:00.003+01:00

Exhibition Melin Medi in a month. Visited on Sunday. An amazing place. Thoughts so far are about taxes, hair cuts and reflections. hmmm.

failure and success

2010-07-08T13:17:00.006+01:00

I managed to make 4 of the 5 inks I set out to do. The hawthorn was a failure. After filling the pig bladders (which were kind of like a piece of chicken, not so bad) I made small parchment and leather bags to put them in,

and tied tightly with suture. This was left hanging outside my window for 10 days to dry out. It smelt. It got contaminated with maggots. So I froze it, then cut it open the next day. Emptied out the frozen maggots. There was really nothing left with which I could try to make the ink. So although there was no end product, the process was totally fascinating.

Of the other 4,

the oak gall, or Gallo-tannic, was the most successful. A small sample of each ink was on display, in petite bottles from my dad's old dental kit box. Along side was a small book of process photographs and a sample of text written onto calf vellum that detailed the materials, processes and contributors.

Exhibition over. Distinction achieved. What now?

Continue the process -

no buying.

i am thinking of making lipstick next. or cigarettes. or soap. or shoes.

bladders

2010-06-02T10:13:00.002+01:00

I have made contact with an abattoir willing to get me a couple of pigs bladders for the hawthorn recipe. Ugh - not looking forward to having to go there to collect. But am kind of intrigued to see what they will be like. I have also ordered my vellum from William Cowley (lovely people), which I will write the five recipes on. NOT cheap - but then why should it be. It is an animal skin. It is a precious object. They are also sending me something to make little pouches out of to put the ink bladder bags into.

2 weeks to go.

Recycled paper - how hard can it be?

2010-04-29T22:58:00.003+01:00

I just had to buy my first new paper in over 2 years so I can print my MA report. Managed to feel ok with Xerox recycled pure+ - 100% post consumer, no bleach, paper wrapped.

Ivory Black

2010-04-29T13:22:00.004+01:00

I have made my first two inks for the Slow Writing project:

Ivory black and vine black.

Thanks to the donations of vine tips

and the ivory tusk

The ivory is a beautiful deep brown. The vine much bluer black.

The muller given to me by Rob has made such a difference - beautiful glossy liquid with lovely patterns on the base as it is created.

I will start in the hawthorn and oak gall soon.

The MA show web site is up and running, if not yet complete:

www.smuma.org

Oak Apples

2010-04-15T10:07:00.002+01:00

Thanks to the lovely Helen - A Farmer's Daughter - for the Oak Galls. I will keep you posted!

Beginning the ink

2010-04-15T09:32:00.002+01:00

Today I am off to carbonise... I have vine tips collected from Wild Fig farm, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. I have a fleece from Danae's mum's farm in Llangynidr, and a sheeps skull from Llyn y Fan mountain. No luck with the ivory yet, tho I plan to try some charity shops on the way down to Fireworks.

Faraday was a bookbinder

2010-04-14T00:18:00.002+01:00

I just found out that Faraday was a bookbinder first. I just love co-incidence.

Enchanting History exhibition

2010-02-27T21:27:00.004Z

Llantarnam Grange

Western Mail article

long time

2010-02-27T21:22:00.003Z

ok - i have been lapse. a catch up is required.

ma project - slow writing: an etymology of ink. using all the detritus etc of the past few yrs to make inks, explore writing, drawing, making, historical, political, philosophical, ....

exhibition work for llantarnam grange arts map show - 5 birds; a collaboration with Danae Hunter - final year homeopath student. A series of performances documented photographically, a book, prints, bird shrines, beliefs, medicine, craft ...

some images to follow.

recycled present ideas

2009-12-14T10:28:00.001Z

Showing with MaP @ the Knit & Stitch

2009-11-06T10:07:00.005Z

Some images of my installation at the Knitting and Stitching show in Aly Pally in October. It was good to re-show this piece in a different situation and in quite a different way to how it was shown in Bath. I hope it gave visitors a contemplative space in all the hustle and bustle of the show.
The film shown was 'light matter' - 21 gms of feathers. This was projected onto my old square pillowcase suspended by silk painting hooks and thread. On the opposite wall were small lightboxes with 21gms of earth (soil), water, fire (charcoal) and final one with nothing (void). Lettering was done with old lettraset. The light boxes came from Recreate. I did buy some battery powered lights to fit inside the boxes. But I will get a lot of use out of them so I thought they were an acceptable purchase.

9 ways to use an old towel and foam matress

2009-10-07T09:38:00.001+01:00

National zero waste week - reducing plastic

2009-09-02T12:31:00.000+01:00

National zero waste week - reducing plastic

Back to it

2009-09-02T11:53:00.004+01:00

Ok - school is back. Time to get back into order! I have lapsed slightly over the summer, buying swimware and surf stuff for Mia. And 1 warm top for me in the sale! I feel guilty but warm. I am inspired by this lovely lady and hope to meet her soon at the Hobbycraft show in Cardiff in October.

My daughter wants a bedroom makeover for her birthday - be gone pink! In the frenzy I have not really thought through how I am going to do this with the least new purchases possible. So if anyone has a metal daybed no longer needed...

A lovely day at Barry yesterday on the last day of the holidays. Here is our mermaid.

summer holidays

2009-08-25T22:40:00.005+01:00

time flies etc etc... camping, rural, fires, beaches. Not blogging. However I did take lots of photos.

and ponder platonic solids a bit.
One week to go and a need to kick my brain into gear a little.

Roasted marrow soup.

2009-08-02T13:14:00.001+01:00

My fab tent

2009-07-21T09:33:00.001+01:00

Bought on ebay. Lovely sleeping in cotton. It's perfect.

Final project

2009-06-19T10:15:00.002+01:00

I am thinking of this blog being my written submission. And to print sections of it through the Blurb blog print facility. Maybe.

Wedding flowers

2009-06-19T10:08:00.002+01:00

For friends wedding in 4 weeks - Old cups, interesting books from charity etc, and garden flowers. Now to make 14 of them! Oh and the dress to wear.

Gooseberry n elderflower

2009-06-13T09:28:00.001+01:00

2 Degrees | Arts, Activism & The Global Climate Emergency

2009-06-11T14:00:00.002+01:00

Go see if you can.

Making stuff

2009-06-11T13:20:00.002+01:00

Today I made rhubarb and ginger jam, and Goosberry and elderflower sorbet. Both deeeelicious! I am making up for how bad I have been over the winter on the homemade food front. Elderflower cordial next. And strawberry jam soon!

I also made Oxalic acid from the rhubarb leaves, to play with as a natural dye mordant/modifier.
Must get the sheep fleece cleaning back on the go again.

Summer time and the livin is easy!

show time

2009-05-25T23:11:00.005+01:00

Fringe art bath fesitval opened on Friday. Swansea Met showing at Walcot chapel. Lovely space, lovely people, wicked show.

Really Really Free market Cardiff

2009-05-06T08:20:00.002+01:00

I have made moves to get this started. There is a Facebook group, already over 100 people signed up - which is so encouraging! A bit of positivity in an otherwise frustrating time... See it here http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=185155915300&ref=ts
Now we need to do it!

A web site

2009-05-02T01:53:00.003+01:00

Finally, I have a web site. OK, so there's nothing on it yet, but hey it's a begining...

Corporate conspiracies and environmental lip service by WAG

2009-05-01T13:20:00.004+01:00

I am sooo frustrated. I want to insulate my home with a natural product called Thermafleece, or something similar. I am eligable for a grant to do this. BUT I cannot use the grant to have this product fitted UNLESS I can provide a doctors letter confirming an allergy to bloody Rockwool - the standard product used. AGGGHHHHH!!! So much for the WAG sustainability / environmental policy. It's all a conspiracy. The grant scheme is run by HEES which is a part of the group EAGA, who are funded by Barlclay's Bank. What's the bet that somewhere there is a link to the Rockwool company. It stinks.
Anyway, for those that can afford it without all the grant crap, here is the lovely Thermafleece site.

Ikon gallery visit

2009-04-16T20:18:00.001+01:00

Great wood n harrison show. Plus incredible minute woodcut prints by thomas bewick.

Abundance project

2009-04-08T14:26:00.003+01:00

I had the pleasure of listening to and meeting activist artist Anne Marie Culhane at the Nutopia symposium.

Save the vulcan!

2009-04-03T20:01:00.001+01:00

Makin a sphere

2009-03-30T19:03:00.001+01:00

Fun in the lovely snow

2009-02-06T10:54:00.001Z

dark and light...

2009-01-23T17:36:00.003Z

I have been editing video clips all week. Getting to grips with final cut pro and also seeing how completely useless my first attempts at video shooting are. Back to the light box I think..
I have been working with film that I took of 'falling matter' - 21 grms of it to be precise. I like the effect and atmosphere - it is just the filming technique is not good enough, so I am trying to make up for it by edditing. But can't!
Only a week to go to the PechaKucha night and I have got nothing - except I am picking up the badge maker in the morning to do freebie badges with positive slogans onto old newspaper scraps:

Bake bread, muck about, quit moaning, stop consuming, start producing, back to the land, embrace beauty, ignore the state, love thy neighbour, be creative, dig the earth, make compost, be alive, be merry, BE FREE!!

Jenny Holzer's Truisms

2009-01-12T12:45:00.002Z

In the midst of writing an essay on the post modern, I broke to come and make an entry.

I can't believe it is over a month since I have been on here. That is not good.
Christmas came and went - I am satisfied I did what I could as far as the Compact goes.
I bought no wrapping paper, instead using papers I already had that could be recycled, bags and fabric. I reused last years cards for labels and decorated with fabric ribbons and natural things like ivy. Most pressies came from either charity shops or local suppliers of home made goodies. It felt good.
My room is definately looking emptier.
Back to the essay..!

2008-12-05T22:41:00.004Z

I have gone from the sublime to the rediculous today.
A great day at the Reclaiming the Rural seminar in beautiful Pen Pont Nr Brecon.
Followed by an evening with Lyn Evans, creator of the Large Haldron Collidor particle accelerator. I am not sure what to make of it at the moment. A waste of money? - probably. Scarry? - I think so, despite Mr Evans saying not so (did Oppenheimer think the same before his great development?). Possibilites? - Unknown. Interestingly he died in 1967 - the year I was born. A lot happened that year.
Other strangeness with numbers:
Dark matter - Just over 21% of the universe.
Human skin - 21 sq feet.
21 gms - weight of the 'soul'.
3 weeks - 21 days - (that was the time I had to write the 'horrific tale' for my experiment project, remember - Oh keep up!)
In 2005, astronomers from Cardiff University claimed to discover a galaxy made almost entirely of dark matter, 50 million light years away in the Virgo Cluster, which was named VIRGOHI21. (I am a virgo).
The solctice is on the 21st.
The Roman festival of Divalia was a was held on December 21st, in honour of the goddess Angerona, so it is also called Angeronalia. On the day of this festival the pontifices performed sacrifices in the temple of Voluptia in which stood a statue of Angerona, depicted with a bandaged mouth and a finger pressed to her lips, demanding silence.

Something is coming to mind. At last.

Thought of the day

2008-12-01T13:52:00.000Z

"...but things are so complicated and tangled together. I can't seem to separate them out and do one thing at a time. I don't know how to untangle things."
"Start by thinking about the simplest things and go from there. You're are not in a hurry to decide anything. It may be tough but sometimes you've got to just stop and take time. You ought to train yourself to look at things until something becomes clear."
-extract from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami

thoughts on 'the experiment'

2008-11-27T13:39:00.003Z

Recession -the very mention just makes me smile. I think of writing a 'horrific' tale, related to troubled financial times, and just want to shout from the treetops - ABOUT FUCKIN TIME. Did you think that this excess could go on forever, with no consequence??

'... what is interesting ... is the novel beauty to be found in works of art and architecture of the past which have changed their appearance due to the damage of time or destruction by disasters in the course of the centuries. This is described as the beauty of decay, but is it not perhaps that beauty which material assumes when it is freed from artificial make-up and reveals its original characteristics? The fact that the ruins receive us warmly and kindly after all, and that they attract us with their cracks and flaking surfaces, could this not really be a sign of the material taking revenge, having recaptured its original life?...." The Gutai Manifesto
http://www.ashiya-web.or.jp/museum/10us/103education/nyumon_us/manifest_us.htm

I get references to Alan Kaprow and Fluxus all the time. "The line between art and life should be kept as fluid, and perhaps indistinct, as possible."
Humour and collapse. The thin line between laughter and tears. Think positive. Look for the space between destructive and creative action.

A Sunday walk

2008-11-27T13:14:00.003Z

To ease the troubled mind of Mia, I have to take her into nature more; to give her a sense of wonder and of context. We are not all that important. So we had a great 2 hour walk on Sunday. I didn't even know there was a lake across the road from me. Will try hard to do this every week at least once.

A wreath for Nain

2008-10-30T10:44:00.003Z

I am so pleased that I decided to do this ourselves from the garden and lanes nearby. We both thought of Nain as we collected items and made it. We will look for her in the stars.

The New Thought Experiment

2008-10-22T20:59:00.002+01:00

Have I made a mistake??? I decided to join in with the 1st years in dong the Thought Experiment again as I felt it gave me such a good push off last year, and as I have no real committment to a particular piece of creative activity at the moment I decided it could only be good for me. HA! Look what I have...

Evaluate current trends
Devise the most horrific tale possible
Write it in three weeks

It relates to a comment on William Faulkner's plan for writing the novel Sanctuary in the 1930's.

Keep you posted...

INFINITE REGRESS/ ULTIMATE METAMORPHOSIS

2008-09-29T14:45:00.001+01:00

http://www.eclectica.org/v3n3/lefcowitz.html
A lovely and inspiring piece of writing. I do seem to have a predeliction for reducing things to'nothing'. Devore = devour. giving away things. paper shredding. Hmmm..

A wee bit of an experiment

2008-09-29T14:14:00.006+01:00

OK. So I followed instructions to clean fleece with lots of tubs of water.It was OK, but still had to do a final rinse in washing machine.

So I am now trying a different approach.

"At Convergence 2000 in Cincinatti (The giant Handweavers Guild of America conference) I took a seminar from a lady whose name I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember. However, her talk was on Pee, Piddle and Whiz. It was about using urine in your spinning and dyeing processes.
She told us to "get over the yuck factor." Urine is not some acid that will eat through your hand. It is pH neutral and sterile, which is more than you can say for your water supply.
Urine was used in ancient times to wash wool. Yes, wash wool. She did an experiment. She put some grease wool in a ziploc baggy and poured urine over it. She sealed the bag and waited a few days for the wool to completely absorb the urine. She opened the bag and let it air out and dry out a bit. Then she touched the wool. Soft and very easy to spin. Maybe the ancient folk were on to something. Of course, she washed her finished yarn, so no urine actually was in the finished product.
Dye recipes also used urine. However, old recipes don't mention it. It was like water. They took it for granted that you were using it. Also, stale urine has different properties than fresh urine. "Stale" being urine that's been sitting around in a vat waiting to be used. I read somewhere that men on their way home from a pub on the Shetland Isles would stop by the dyers house to donate to the vat. Don't know if that one's true or not. I do know that old indigo recipes used urine. It's got to be safer than alot of chemicals you can buy."

So now I pee into a pot in the garden. Then zip lock it. This is the 1st one after 4 days. Looking good. I am going to dry out a bit today, then rinse in machine on wool setting.

I have also tried adding some plant stuff to see if it will dye whilst cleaning.

Waste of 1 beetroot

5 fennel heads

10 blackberries

cleansing

2008-09-24T14:18:00.002+01:00

Cleaning: two bags ready to go - 1 soaking in my fresh wee, the other to be washed in granny's soap flakes

Fleeced

2008-09-24T13:18:00.006+01:00

Am about to embark on the fleece project! The poor thing has been sat in a bin bag for 2 months. I am now about to clean it with advice from Lime and Violet's blog!. It is an amazing shape, and sooo thick. Waiting to hear back from Danae's mum who it was from and what breed she is.

Click here! for Quebec piccies

2008-09-19T14:17:00.003+01:00

Back home again - missing the Montreal art lifestyle. Be back soon....

Away

2008-09-03T01:17:00.001+01:00

Off to Montreal in the morning. Very excited, nervous, and as yet, unpacked.!

Really really free

2008-08-18T18:34:00.004+01:00

I would really like to start a 'Really really free market' here in Cardiff. Coming sooon!!

"About the RRFM
Because there is enough for everyone
Because sharing is more fufilling than owning
Because corporations would rather see landfills overflow than anyone get anything for free
Because scarcity is a myth constructed to keep us at the mercy of the economy
Because a sunny day outside is better than anything money can buy
Because "free trade" is a contradiction of terms
Because no one should have to do without food, shelter, entertainment, and community
Because life should be a picnic, but it only will be if we make it happen

Have you ever picked up something you found on the sidewalk? Or saved your neighbor from throwing away something useful?
A Really Really Free Market is like a potluck for whatever you want to give or take away. Have you ever brought one dish to a potluck and gone away with a full belly and a balanced meal? Everybody brings something and goes away with more.
We all have skills, ideas, objects, smiles, talents, friendship, excitement, discussions, and many other things to share. If we bring them all together at the Really Really Free Market, we can provide more balanced and full lives for everyone.
As a community we have many more resources than we do as individuals. If we share our resources we won't need to buy as many new ones. This uses fewer of the Earth's resources, and fewer of our working hours, leaving us more time to devote to ourselves and our communities.
Would we all work forty hours a week at one job if we didn't feel we had to? What if instead we worked at improving our individual skills and talents and shared them with each other? We would all spend more time doing things we enjoyed."

The Compact

2008-08-18T13:51:00.002+01:00

I read this today - 6 months into my own pledge not to buy new.

The Compact - A pledge to go a year without buying anything new
A pledge to go a year without buying anything new
By Kara McGuire, Star Tribune
January 8, 2008
Karen Heimdahl used to be part of the throngs that crowd area malls at Christmas. But this year, bound by the Compact -- a growing social movement in which members vow to buy nothing new for a year -- she hit used book stores and consignment shops. Last Christmas her husband received gadgets from Best Buy. This year he unwrapped a hand-powered coffee grinder that Karen scoured eight antique stores to find.
"Buying new is so much easier," she lamented.
The American economy depends on consumers willing to buy the latest in fashions, furnishings and flat-screen TVs. Indeed, in the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, shopping was cast as a patriotic duty, a way to help prevent the economy from tipping into a recession.
But the Compact, started by a group of San Francisco friends as a rebellion against what they see as gluttonous consumerism and its thoughtless destruction of the environment, turns that notion on its head.
Today, with a former vice president as the spokesman for global warming and higher energy prices hitting everyone's pocketbook, some Americans see going green as their new duty, or at the least, a money-saving measure. More mainstream Americans are going beyond recycling to considering their carbon footprint when flying, buying locally and second-hand shopping as an environmental statement.
A KPMG Consumer Survey conducted in December found 88 percent of respondents were very concerned about the environment.
For others, buying less is the harsh reality after years of relying on stock market gains and home appreciation to live beyond their paychecks. With talk of a possible recession, others are spending less to fluff up their cash cushion.
The Compact, named after the creed made by the revolutionaries who sailed here on the Mayflower, started in 2004 with a San Francisco dinner party. The conversation had turned to the downsides of recycling, and the group agreed to a revolutionary idea of its own: to buy nothing new, aside from a small list of exceptions that includes medicine, underwear and cleaning products. They could buy food without restrictions, including eating out.
Officially the Compact has grown from 10 friends around the dinner table to more than 8,700 members of online users groups today. Founding member John Perry figures thousands more are living the Compact life offline, though it's hard to track exact numbers of members and success rates.
"We never set out to start a movement," says Perry, who works in the high-tech industry. A 2006 story by a San Francisco Chronicle reporter, who was a friend of a friend of a Compact member, changed that. The story created buzz around the world. There are about 50 users groups on Yahoo from as far away as Thailand and Australia. One in Minnesota was formed last January and has 41 members, although it's somewhat inactive.
Candles for dad
It was fall of 2006 and Heimdahl was counseling a growing number of Minnesotans having trouble paying their mortgage and credit card debt when she read about the Compact in the news.
"For a while I had been feeling fed up about the consumer nature of our society," said the 31-year-old financial counselor for Lutheran Social Service. "I think part of it is what I do for my job too, seeing a lot of people have debt ... and not having anything to account for it."
Still, she didn't sign up right away. "My first thought was 'well, I don't need to do that, I don't buy much stuff anyway.' But then I realized that was an excuse."
On April 8, 2007, she and her husband were sitting at their desks in their Waconia home. Without a triggering event or much thought of how this would change her life, she signed up for the Compact group online. Although her husband, Andy, was just feet away, she didn't mention her new commitment until later that day. She worried about his reaction, knowing he viewed the Compact as extreme. But he surprised her. "He was actually very supportive."
"I wasn't sure she was going to be able to follow through," said Andy, 33. "In this consumer-driven society it seemed like a nearly impossible task."
It hasn't been easy. The week after she signed up, she picked up a box of candles for her father's birthday party. Driving to the party with her sister, she confessed her sin, which her sister brushed off. It was months before Heimdahl set foot in a big-box store again.
"Every three months is when I tend to have a cheat," she says. After the candles was the gift certificate she bought for a new motorcycle windshield for her husband. She didn't actually buy the item for him, but with the gift certificate, "the intent was there."
Then in September, an out-of-town friend had a baby. The new parents were hosting the Heimdahls and they wanted to show their appreciation. They purchased some wine for their friends, within the guidelines of the Compact. It was the newborn gift that forced Karen to break the rules. "I looked and looked and couldn't find anything [used] and I found this outfit and it was so cute and I caved. I regretted it, but not really," she said. That was her last new purchase. "Maybe I'm getting better."
Repulsed by the dollar bins
Her dedication has impressed her friends and family. Some have said they've made small changes -- like saying no to plastic bags or thinking twice about buying something they wanted but didn't need.
Andy Heimdahl, despite his initial skepticism, has also been living in the Compact spirit, fixing a wheelbarrow instead of buying a new one and making a coffee table for his wife for Christmas.
Heimdahl has changed too. "It's really taught me patience," she said. "Solutions will come if I wait." She found buttons needed for a sweater she knitted at an antique store. She spent more hours searching for the materials to make a compost bin than she cares to remember. She's also learned to garden and cook her bounty. "It's kind of forced me to slow down in some ways, which I really like."
And there's the financial benefit of not spending $10 here and $50 there. The couple retired a loan for their property up north and have more money in savings. "Our pocketbook really looks much better for it," said Andy.
During her time, she's tried not to keep a list of new items she wants, although the first snowfall renewed her desire for new skis and she'd love to get a cold press coffee mug before she and Andy go camping again in the Boundary Waters.
Heimdahl can buy both on April 9, when her Compact ends, but "I'm not going to go out on a shopping spree," she says. And the influence the Compact has had on her habits is here to stay. "Everyone can make minor changes with just a little shift in mentality," says Heimdahl. She used to love Target and enjoyed wandering through the store's abundance of cheap, trendy items. Now a walk by the dollar bins repulses her. "There's all this stuff and so much is unnecessary and disposable."

5x5

2008-07-16T17:39:00.002+01:00

Feelin VERY pleased with myself as I have just had my feedback on practical module - with great comments and 5 x high-5 for my grades.
Had a great days collography workshop on Sunday. Results were not great but will lead to development of the nest images. But lots of fun with the MaP girls.

Go Green girls!!

2008-07-04T23:54:00.000+01:00

MA part 1 show

2008-07-03T23:16:00.004+01:00

Elderflowers

2008-07-02T21:50:00.001+01:00

YES! I have made a preserve this month - well its actually elderflower cordial. But preserved it is so it counts!
Lovely.

Free ad

2008-07-01T12:22:00.003+01:00

Very pleased with my banners advertising the school fair - a bit more fabric used up and my hedge is now smaller!

La Friperie

2008-06-28T11:22:00.002+01:00

The show went really well. All given out! Is it allowable for art to be this much fun?

nest building is hard

2008-06-26T23:45:00.003+01:00

How do birds begin? I had 3 attempts and it is still very precarious. This was the start of number 2.

Lovely Lynn who came and helped.

Entrance and Exit

2008-06-26T23:43:00.003+01:00

It's tomorrow.

Bill of sale

2008-06-21T12:06:00.005+01:00

I have made up 'Bills of Sale' for the dress exchange - onto the back of scrap posters left over from the gallery. The ink takes a while to dry but should be OK. I like the roughness of the print. I have also made up my visual diary now, again from the scrap posters. I will have a rehersal tonight to work out practicalities of the 'potlatch' event.

I have scanned some of the dresses - lots more to go!

2008-06-09T21:36:00.003+01:00

Feeling VERY happy following a nice little tutorial with tutor.
I am now going to give away the dresses only on the opening night, then leave some evidence of what occcured in the show cases I have use of. It then becomes much more a performative piece. At the end of the show I will make a gesture of clearing eveything out, removing the evidence, wiping the disk, and leaving no trace.
Some stuff has been put into my store room today - not a lot, mainly branches and scrap paper! But it's fine. There will be more I am sure. Checking the skip each day too. I am not aiming to make a 'piece' of work with it, but to create my space, my environment, for the giveaway.
Have started making labels for the dresses.
I will also have t-shirts done by a student a long time ago - I know she won't mind, and anyway - its about 5 years ago and I have tried to trace her with no luck.
So there will be something for the boys and girls who aren't into dresses.
Still need a mirror....

Indigo fun

2008-06-08T21:40:00.005+01:00

Spent the evening Indigo dyeing in preparation for a workshop. Not done it for ages. really enjoyed myself! Also tried some green sage leaves. Looks good, but have left overnight so results tomorrow. Note to self - spend the summer building up a good range of natural dye samples.

Tomorrow is E-day - the start of my work for the exhibition. The BA shows come down, and I start to collect their remains to make something. My show is to be titled Fripperie - always loved the term since I first heard the lovely Georgia Volpe refer to it in Quebec.

'Tis very exciting and liberating - having no firm plan or idea what I am going to do, other than give away some great clothes. I will try to keep up my documentation on here.

1st essay!

2008-05-27T00:02:00.002+01:00

Just finished my first essay - thank God. I now know all there is to know (professionally) about Mr Craig Wood!

Came in at over 4000 words instead of 3500, but ther we go - couldn't stop myself.

Now to concentrate on the exhibition that's looming...

Mirror mirror

2008-05-26T22:33:00.001+01:00

I really need a long mirror for my show! Something like this one.. Any offers?

Bartering

2008-05-13T13:26:00.001+01:00

Show detritus

2008-05-06T18:04:00.005+01:00

I am documenting the build up to the degree shows in our building in Swansea. I will make something out of whatever is left behind following the degree and the the 2nd Yr BA show breakdowns. Something that has an aesthetic value to me, leading up to the MA 1 & 2 show later in June. A kind of Arte Povera I guess. Not knowing what I will do - relying on the situation, the space left to me, the feelings it evokes.

'As opposed to endorsing a distinctive style, Arte Povera described a process of open-ended experimentation. In the wake of the iconoclastic artistic innovations of Italian precursors Lucio Fontana and Piero Manzoni, artists were able to begin from a zero point, working outside formal limitations. Arte Povera therefore denotes not an impoverished art, but an art made without restraints, a laboratory situation in which a theoretical basis was rejected in favour of a complete openness towards materials and processes.'

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/artepovera/default.htm

This is a follow on from my own changing rooms work. The idea of making a space out of what I have, using the things that surround me, consuming less and living more.

I am pleased with myself for not buying any clothing or art materials for over 3 months now. Wandering through the mass of stores in towns, instead of feeling frustrated at not being able to either afford or fit into the things I desire, I feel free.

I continue to give items of clothing away when I am inspired to.

Here is Elle in a little silver 80s number. It was perfect for her.
I want to do a giveaway for the MA show too - unless it is too much to do both. I think there is a way of working it together tho'.

Consumer

2008-05-01T08:38:00.001+01:00

I bought a new phone. Feel guilty. Huge amount of packaging.

Back on line

2008-04-25T08:17:00.001+01:00

Having planned to use this as my visual diary I then lost my internet! So I am back now and will spend the weekend catching up.

The mouse nest remains.

2008-03-26T09:47:00.002Z

Not sure how old this is... no sign of life though.

Mosaic Monday - Nests

2008-03-24T09:45:00.002Z

oh dear

2008-03-10T11:54:00.002Z

I have been semi off line for the last week due to computer failure - so not a great start to the new me!! However I have been making and clearing so tonight I will post lots..
Please take a look at my new link to 'the rubbish diet' - let's all try to join in this week. ;-)

nesting mice

2008-02-29T21:53:00.002Z

Whilst looking for my paints and lustre powders today in the shed, I found that my box of blankets for papermaking and printing have become the winter home for mice. No sign of the little things, but lovely evidence that they have been there. I didn't get a picture but will update tomorrow with one.
Almost finished cousin's wedding/engagement piece today. It's ok. A bit more refinement needed tomorrow.
Boxes and crap are reducing. Work room getting messier. Shed getting emptier! I have to start turning it back into a summerplay house for Mia n friends soon. Realised it's only 4 weeks till summertime starts. Winter seemed short this year.

Todays page

2008-02-28T21:18:00.004Z

Playing with polaroids and gestures

November drawings

2008-02-28T20:47:00.005Z

A nest

2008-02-26T14:06:00.002Z

Cute little piece I just found by friend Mixi.

Polaroid swinger camera video

2008-02-26T09:55:00.002Z