vessels

I have been thinking a lot about the mind/body connection lately, how the mind has incredible control over the body, and how we are connected to everything around us. Here are a few things Ive been working on since Ive been here:

I was using the tea bag impression a lot this summer but didnt exactly know how to use it. Now I finally see how it fits.

For me, the tea bag impression represents the entire process of making the tea. Filling the tea kettle, listening for the gentle roll of the boil, steeping the tea bag and relaxing to enjoy a cup. It is very meditative and helps me slow down and re-balance myself. This is the psychological aspect.

The vessels are physical. Ive been seeing them as boats, but Im trying not to get locked into that just yet. They represent the body, the journey, and what physically connects us to the world and each other.

I am stitching over the tea impression, reinforcing the mark, creating physical connections. Sometimes I also collage with the tea bag.

In this piece there was another red line under the small boat but it looked unbalanced so I took it out. I like that the holes are still there, maybe a broken connection or a psychological connection.

I tried creating the “environment” or “atmosphere” by directly painting with watercolor. Meaning I was putting brush to paper using intentional strokes. This turned out horrible and I wanted a more indirect approach so that I wasnt in control and I could let things just happen. Now I am essentially doing a mono-print with the watercolors and I love the result. It reminds me of the irregularity of color in the stone here.

I would love to know what you think, please feel free to make comments and suggestions. What do you see? How do you feel we are connected to ourselves, our environment, and others? Feedback is more than welcome!

second round in paris

My second trip to Paris was very exciting. We went non-stop the entire time going to museums and site visits and just walking around the city.

As a disclaimer, the wordpress editor does not want to separate my pictures when I try to put space in between them, which is why everything is going to be a little close this time. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt, its a very fickle thing this wordpress editor. Anyways, on to the photos…..

Our first stop was Prell. They are a 5th generation weaving company.

They created the fabrics used in the Marie Antoinette movie from the original fabrics in their archives. All of the fabrics they produce now come from their archives. Their current exhibition is their Art Nouveau fabrics.

The Pompidu Center was having an Alberto Giacometti exhibit, one of my favorite artists.

He mostly used plaster but his figures look like they have been rusted.

Giacometti used his studio walls to work out his ideas. They are like pages from his sketchbook, he would draw and write all over the plaster walls. After he died, his studio landlord wouldnt renew the lease, so his wife had the walls removed so they could be preserved.

We also went to the Christian Lacroix exhibit at the Louvre. They had his pieces separated by color and pattern. My favorites were the Blancs.

The Greens.

Polka dot dress with lace.

A Paris metro station with beautiful painted graffiti on the walls.

Thats me freezing my tush off in front of Notre Dame.

Prayer candles inside Notre Dame. We happened to be there during mass so we sat for a little while and took communion. It was a very nice experience.

We went to Li Edelkoort, which is a trend forecasting studio. I wasnt allowed to take photos in the studio, so I took one in the bathroom. I liked the trough sink. We watched a presentation on trends and color forecasting for summer 2009. The studio and the trend books were amazing, I wish I couldve photographed them to show you.

A Paris street.

My feet on a Paris street.

After the rain, the trees had so many gorgeous colors.

On our last day we went to an antiques market. I got scolded a few times for taking photos. Oh well.

I couldnt read what the letters said, but I imagined them to be old love letters.

A suitcase full of buttons.

This was the sink in the Avignon train station. The left nozzle is the automatic soap dispenser, the middle is the automatic sink, and the right is the automatic hand dryer. Genius.

this just makes me laugh

the lace lady

By the time I got to the studio today to take photos of my work it was too dark to get any good shots so it will have to wait till I get back from Paris. In the meantime, I wanted to show pics of the lace lady’s booth at the market in L’Isle sur la Sorgue. This is one of my favorite markets and she is an expert on antique handmade lace and embroidery and had so many things to show us. Enjoy!

Handmade lace is made using a template, pins and bobbins of string. They would pin the template into this pillow, then wrap the pins with the bobbins to create the pattern.

 

 

This is the template she gave me as a gift when I bought 3 of the small bobbins. Its paper but almost looks like leather.

 

 

 

 

Notice there is no “W” on the embroidery sampler. From what I understand, the English brought “W” to the language and it is not used in French.

I will be back in 4 days hopefully with new inspiration and lots of photos to share!

studio and bedroom shots

My friend Christy and I did this tea bag installation in our studio window. After people heard I save my tea bags they started giving me theirs from the cafe.

I like the little cheesecloth ones.

A little sailboat embroidery.

This is a view of my bedroom from the doorway. I am really lucky to have my own room.

Mom, see that scarf hanging from the wardrobe? I hope you like it!

I think I might be the only one here with a double bed. It is hard as a rock but I guess it beats a twin and sharing a room with 3 people.

We are leaving for Paris tomorrow! I am going to try to photograph some of my work and post later today because I wont have my computer with me and limited access to the internet. Have a great day!

matali crasset

During Matali Crasset’s workshop we were given the assignment to build a new world only using paper. Our concept of this world was that the earth was no longer able to create seasons, so in order to avoid a year long summer in desert conditions, the humans created robots that lived in the clouds and manufactured the remaining 3 seasons. We were split up into 4 groups to work on things like architecture, transportation, nature, and robots. I was in the robot group and had a great time creating them and thinking of specific tasks they would perform.

Installing the structure

 

The robots. One makes water by combining hydrogen and oxygen, one holds the water, one condenses the water into ice, one is a fluffer to fluff up snow, one distributes the water/ice/snow to earth, one creates energy, and one communicates to the robots. They all have an orange engine with a yellow communication device built in.

 

My robot, the “distributor.” Other robots can dock at any of the 4 docking stations around the bottom and the distributor would shoot the rain/ice/snow out the large cone.

 

 

Matali with the cloud world.

What I learned from Matali:

I learned to ask questions. To dig deeper to find the most basic and underlying parts. Keep it simple, form should follow function. Color is a universal language.

 

quarry graffiti

One of my favorite spots in LaCoste so far is the quarry. It is beautiful and peaceful down there and also a nice walk. I was really inspired by the graffiti. A lot of it is really old, from the early 1900’s.

Christy

 

Sharon

 

 

These vessels inspired a stitching I did for my Stitch Diary class. I think they will also be a theme in my work here.

 

I am.

 

 

We had such a busy first week and I am exhausted. We had a very interesting workshop with Matali Crasset, a brilliant designer. It was a challenge working in groups to create a cohesive piece but I learned a lot from the experience. I will post photos of the (imaginary) world we created tomorrow, along with photos of the rest of the weekend and some of my work so far as well. I will really try to keep the blog updated better, Ive just been trying to settle in and find the time to do it. I hope you all had a great weekend!

views of lacoste

View of LaCoste from the road

Olives on an olive tree

View of the valley and Bonneau in the distance

Walking in the village

The chateaus at the top of the mountain

week one in paris

The Champs-Elysees and the Arch de Triumph

The ferris wheel at the end of the Champs

Tour Eiffel

Eating at a bistro and a cat jumped in my lap

From the metro

Chatlet

An exhibit at the Pompidou Centre

A love carved tree

A boy pushing his sail boat

The coolest sail boats ever

I have been having a great time exploring Paris. These photos are only the first half of the week. Ive taken lots of photos but it doesnt feel like enough. Im glad we are coming back with the group at the end of January because we didnt go to any museums. We went into the entrance of the Pompidou but didnt get tickets to see the exhibits because it was so crowded. Ashton and I did go to some galleries which was very cool.

Paris is a wonderful city. It is beautiful and has so much culture, not to mention the people are extremely stylish. I have mastered the metro system but still cant speak any French except a few words. Ashton’s friends are so great and have been showing me a really fun time.

Tomorrow morning we leave for LaCoste, meet up with the group and get to work!

to paris!

Hello! Or should I say Bonjour?! This is my last post before leaving for Paris tomorrow. I know Ive been super lame and havent updated in a long time and I am even lamer because I dont have any pictures of my finished Christmas gifts to show for my long absence. It has been a whirlwind since mid-December and I feel totally unprepared to be leaving for 2 and a half months.

I got a new haircut for France tho!

My family barely recognized me haha.

I am going to miss these boys so much. I am looking forward to my adventure tho and I will be sure to update often to let you know what Im up to over there.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I will be back soon with photos of Paris!